How does APIcast compare to Kong or Tyk?

APIcast is tightly integrated with Red Hat 3scale, making it ideal for enterprises in that ecosystem, while Kong offers a more standalone approach with a larger community, and Tyk provides more built-in features. Choose based on your need for 3scale integration versus flexibility.

How to deploy APIcast on Kubernetes without OpenShift?

You can deploy APIcast on Kubernetes using the Docker image from Quay.io, but you'll need to manually manage configurations like secrets for ACCESS_TOKEN and ADMIN_PORTAL_DOMAIN, as OpenShift templates are not directly applicable. Refer to the Docker setup examples for guidance.

Does APIcast support JWT authentication?

Yes, APIcast supports JWT authentication and can apply rate limiting based on JWT claims, as mentioned in the features. It integrates with OIDC providers like Keycloak for robust identity management.

Can I use APIcast without 3scale?

APIcast can be configured via a JSON file without 3scale, but this requires manual setup and lacks the dynamic management features of the 3scale platform. The example configuration file shows how to define services and policies independently.

What are the best practices for monitoring APIcast with Prometheus?

Enable the built-in Prometheus metrics endpoint and configure scraping in your Prometheus setup. Use the documented metrics to monitor request rates, latency, and errors, and integrate with Grafana for dashboards.

How to write a custom policy for APIcast?

Follow the policies framework documentation: use Lua to develop policies, test with busted for unit tests, and deploy by adding them to the policy chain. The development guide provides steps for building and integrating custom modules.

Open-Awesome

APIcast

Apache-2.0Lua3scale-2.15.6-GA

An NGINX-based API gateway for the Red Hat 3scale API Management Platform, offering high performance, scalability, and extensible policies.

GitHub

324 stars173 forks0 contributors

What is APIcast?

APIcast is an API gateway built on NGINX that serves as part of the Red Hat 3scale API Management Platform. It handles API traffic management, security, rate limiting, and monitoring, providing a scalable solution for enterprises to expose and control their APIs. It integrates with identity providers and supports extensible policies for custom workflows.

Target Audience

API platform engineers, DevOps teams, and organizations using Red Hat 3scale who need a performant, scalable gateway to manage and secure API traffic. It's also suitable for developers building custom API management solutions with NGINX.

Value Proposition

Developers choose APIcast for its high performance leveraging NGINX and LuaJIT, stateless scalability, and flexible policy framework. It offers enterprise-grade features like OpenTelemetry tracing, Prometheus monitoring, and OIDC integration out of the box, making it a robust open-source alternative within the 3scale ecosystem.

Overview

3scale API Gateway

Use Cases

Best For

Managing and securing API traffic in microservices architectures
Implementing rate limiting and authentication for APIs
Integrating APIs with identity providers like Keycloak
Monitoring API performance with Prometheus and distributed tracing
Deploying scalable API gateways on Docker or OpenShift
Extending API gateway functionality with custom policies

Not Ideal For

Teams seeking a simple, standalone API gateway without dependencies on Red Hat 3scale
Projects requiring a fully managed cloud API gateway with minimal operational overhead
Developers who prefer GUI-based configuration over JSON files and environment variables

Pros & Cons

Pros

NGINX Performance Core

Built on NGINX and LuaJIT, it delivers fast request processing and low latency, as emphasized in the features for high-performance API handling.

Stateless Horizontal Scaling

Architected to be stateless, enabling easy scaling across multiple instances, which is ideal for high-traffic and microservices environments.

Extensible Policies Framework

Modular design allows custom policies and integrations, providing flexibility for tailored API management workflows, as detailed in the policies documentation.

Integrated Monitoring Stack

Includes built-in Prometheus metrics and OpenTelemetry tracing with Jaeger support, offering comprehensive observability out of the box.

Cons

3scale Platform Dependency

Requires an ACCESS_TOKEN and ADMIN_PORTAL_DOMAIN from Red Hat 3scale for configuration, limiting its use as a standalone gateway without the platform.

Complex Initial Setup

Deployment involves Docker or OpenShift and configuration via JSON files or environment variables, which can be cumbersome for quick prototyping.

Lua Expertise Required

Developing custom policies demands knowledge of Lua and OpenResty, adding a learning curve and development overhead for teams unfamiliar with these technologies.

Frequently Asked Questions

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