Reverse Proxy, Load Balancer, and API Gateway: Key Structural Differences Explained

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A technical article published on DEV Community on July 13 by Folasayo Samuel Olayemi breaks down the structural differences between three commonly confused system design components. The piece focuses on Reverse Proxies, Load Balancers, and API Gateways, clarifying that despite frequent overlap in usage, they are not the same thing. The article is categorized under system design, architecture, and API topics and is estimated to be a seven-minute read. It aims to help developers better understand when and why to use each component in software architecture.

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As web applications scale, engineers place intermediary layers between users and backend servers to manage traffic and security. A reverse proxy sits in front of backend infrastructure, handling tasks like SSL termination, caching, compression, and IP anonymization without understanding business logic. Unlike a reverse proxy, a load balancer distributes incoming requests across multiple servers to prevent any single server from being overwhelmed during traffic spikes. An API gateway goes further by handling authentication, rate limiting, request routing, and API versioning, making it aware of business logic. Though all three components sit between clients and servers, they address distinct problems and are often used together in production systems.

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