Understanding Reverse-API Gateways

Reverse-API Gateways are becoming increasingly popular in the world of software development. In this article, we will explore what they are, why they are used, and how they differ from API Gateways.

Introduction Webhooks are a type of reverse API, meaning that they reverse the usual flow of communication between a client and a server. Instead of the client requesting data from the server, the server sends data to the client when a specific event occurs. This is where Reverse-API Gateways come in.

What are Reverse-API Gateways? A Reverse-API Gateway is a tool that sits between a webhook provider and a webhook consumer. It acts as a reverse and forward proxy for webhooks. It can be deployed by both the API provider that sends webhooks and the consumer that receives webhooks to handle webhook events multiplexing and de-multiplexing respectively.

Why use a Reverse-API Gateway? Speed is a competitive advantage in today's ever-changing user requirements. Development teams are required to move fast and deliver user value. More teams are adopting a serverless, micro-service, and service-oriented architecture to move fast. Teams are leveraging technologies like an API Gateway to consolidate duplicate tasks like authentication, rate limiting, circuit breaking, and more. However, API Gateways are not designed to handle webhooks. This is where a Reverse-API Gateway comes in.

A Reverse-API Gateway can help to manage webhooks by providing a centralized location for webhook management. It can handle webhook events multiplexing and de-multiplexing, which can help to reduce the complexity of webhook management. Additionally, it can provide features like load balancing, caching, and security.

Architecture of Reverse-API Gateways The architecture of a Reverse-API Gateway is similar to that of an API Gateway. It consists of a set of servers that act as a reverse and forward proxy for webhooks. The servers can be deployed in a cluster to provide scalability and high availability.

API Gateways vs Reverse-API Gateways API Gateways are designed to handle API requests, while Reverse-API Gateways are designed to handle webhook requests. API Gateways provide features like authentication, rate limiting, and circuit breaking, while Reverse-API Gateways provide features like webhook management, load balancing, and caching.

Conclusion Reverse-API Gateways are becoming increasingly popular in the world of software development. They provide a centralized location for webhook management and can handle webhook events multiplexing and de-multiplexing. Additionally, they provide features like load balancing, caching, and security. If you are working with webhooks, it is worth considering using a Reverse-API Gateway to help manage them.