Anatomy of Azure API management service
1. Anatomy of Azure API management service
In this video, we will cover the structure of the Azure API Management resource.2. Dealing with different API types
Suppose we've built a REST API by using an Azure Function, like we did in the previous exercise. However, we can have more than one function in a Function App. Moreover, a function app is not the only way to build a REST API. We can have it built in a standard server-hosted web application by using any programming language. Finally, REST API is not the only type of API available. There are many more, such as GraphQL, gRPC, and so on. They also rely on HTTP, but are used for different purposes. For example, GraphQL is used for a more fine-grained control over data queries, while gRPC is used for fast performance-critical communication in binary format.3. Managing all APIs in one place
The good news is that if we have many different APIs, there's a way to manage them in one place: Azure API Management. It provides a centralized way of managing multiple APIs, providing them with consistent configuration and security policies, achieving high level of control at scale. However, this tool is more than a centralized API management system. It can do many other useful things, such as helping to identify performance bottlenecks, rate-limiting incoming requests, applying common security policies to all APIs under its management, and so on.4. Managing APIs in One Place
API Management supports many several different API types, such as standard HTTP, WebSocket, GraphQL, gRPC, and more. APIs can also be connected based on published API documentation, such as OpenAPI, WSDL, etc. There can be many APIs of different types connected to the same API Management instance. All will be managed in the same place in the centralized manner.5. Using API Gateway
Once we added APIs to an API Management instance, all HTTP requests into our API will go through the component called API Gateway. It acts as a mediator between the consumer and back-end services. It applies security measures, rate limits, request/response transformations, and other policies. It can also convert protocols as needed, such as translating requests from HTTP to HTTPS. Because API Management takes upon itself the role of a public API gateway, the APIs its acting as a mediator for are no longer accessible directly by external clients.6. Cental hub
All public endpoints for them are now provided by the API Management itself like a central hub7. The developer portal
The Developer Portal is a customizable, web-based interface that comes with Azure API Management (APIM).8. Using developer portal
Its purpose is to provide customizable publicly accessible user interfaces and documentation for the API endpoints managed by APIM such as Open API. The developer portal can even publish documentation. This means that your organization can have a completely bespoke documentation web page for its public APIs.9. Let's practice!
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