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What's the role of an application load balancer vs. API gateway?
Application load balancers and API gateways both manage network traffic. Learn the differences between them and how to use them together in a modern IT deployment.
Load balancers and API gateways both handle network traffic, but the services function and support enterprise networks differently.
The conversation around network traffic management shouldn't focus exclusively on application load balancers vs. API gateways: Organizations can use the two together, but one doesn't require the other. For example, an API gateway connects microservices, while load balancers redirect multiple instances of the same microservice components as they scale out.
The choice of application load balancer (ALB) vs. API gateway should depend on the business need and use case. When application access is the goal, an ALB is typically the right choice. When an API is used to connect a client application with business data and back-end systems, an API gateway is the appropriate addition.
What is an application load balancer?
An ALB distributes incoming network traffic across two or more servers. An enterprise network sees high volumes of traffic, and an application that runs on a single server can lack sufficient network or compute power to handle all the traffic requests it receives.