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What is an API gateway vs a load balancer?
FresherFundamentalsComputer Networks
API gateway vs load balancer
For What is an API gateway vs a load balancer, interviewers listen for a crisp definition, how the pieces interact in a real system, and one trade-off or failure mode you have seen or would guard against.
| Load balancer | API gateway | |
|---|---|---|
| Layer | L4/L7 traffic distribution | L7 + policies |
| Features | Health checks, SSL offload | Auth, rate limit, routing, aggregation |
| Example | ALB to EC2 fleet | Kong, AWS API Gateway |
Gateway is BFF for microservices—single public entry.