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AWS API Gateway Advanced

⬢ TIER 2Tech
💰
High
Salary impact
⏱
2 months
Time to learn
📊
Medium
Difficulty
👥
2
Careers
At a glance

API Gateway is AWS's API management service. Handles routing, authentication, rate limiting, caching, request/response transformations. Advanced mastery: caching strategies, custom authorizers, WAF integration, monitoring via CloudWatch. Learning takes 2-3 weeks basic, another 3-4 for advanced patterns. Widely used in AWS-first companies. Mastery earns $120k-180k, especially for DevOps/platform engineers.

What is AWS API Gateway Advanced

AWS API Gateway is a managed service for creating and managing REST, HTTP, and WebSocket APIs. It sits in front of backend services (Lambda, EC2, Fargate, DynamoDB) and handles routing, authentication, rate limiting, caching, request/response transformation, and monitoring. Advanced mastery covers caching strategies (by query param, by user), custom authorizers (JWT validation), request/response mapping (VTL), WAF integration (DDoS protection), and observability (CloudWatch, X-Ray).

🔧 TOOLS & ECOSYSTEM
API Gateway (REST, HTTP, WebSocket)Lambda integrationAuthorizers (Lambda, Cognito, IAM)VTL (Velocity Template Language)CloudWatch loggingAWS WAFCloudFront cachingTerraform for IaC

📋 Before you start

Aws LambdaApis Rest DesignBackend Development

💰 Salary by region

RegionJuniorMidSenior
🇺🇸USA$90k$145k$210k
🇬🇧UK$54k$87k$126k
🇪🇺EU$59k$95k$138k
🇨🇦CANADA$95k$150k$220k

🎓 Certifications

AWS Certified Solutions Architect→AWS API Gateway Developer Associate→Pluralsight API Gateway Path→

🎯 Careers using AWS API Gateway Advanced

Backend Developer
Technical Architect

⚖ Compare with

Cloud PlatformsServerless ArchitectureApi Design Best Practices

❓ FAQ

▶What's the difference between REST API and HTTP API in API Gateway?
REST API: full-featured (auth, models, CORS, logging), slower. HTTP API: simpler, faster (optimized for Lambda), cheaper. Use REST for complex logic, HTTP for simple passthrough to Lambda.
▶How do you cache responses in API Gateway?
Enable caching on stage, specify cache TTL (time to live). Cache key = method + path. Sophisticated: vary cache by headers/query params. Reduces backend load significantly.
▶What are custom authorizers and when do you use them?
Lambda functions that validate requests (JWT, OAuth, custom logic). Runs before request hits backend. Returns IAM policy allowing/denying access. Use when: need custom auth logic beyond Cognito.
▶How do you handle CORS in API Gateway?
API Gateway handles CORS headers automatically. Configure allowed origins, methods, headers. Or use VTL to customize response headers.
▶What's VTL and why is it needed?
Velocity Template Language. Maps request to backend format (JSON → XML, etc.). Used in request/response transformations. Powerful but verbose. Try to avoid if possible.
▶How do you monitor API Gateway?
CloudWatch logs (request/response), metrics (latency, count, errors). X-Ray tracing for detailed debugging. CloudWatch alarms for anomalies.
▶Can API Gateway handle WebSockets?
Yes. Create WebSocket API, handle $connect/$disconnect/$default routes. Lambda integration for each. Good for chat, real-time updates. Lower cost than traditional WebSocket servers.

🔗 Related skills

Api Design Best PracticesApi Design PatternsAws LambdaAws Waf SecurityCode ReviewDecision Making FrameworkEvent Driven ArchitectureInfrastructure As CodeInternal Developer Platforms IdpMentoring Others GrowthMentoringMicroservices Architecture
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