Skip to main content

Overview

Connect is the central control layer for managing, securing, and observing all API traffic entering or leaving your enterprise.

It acts as the enforcement point between clients and downstream services, ensuring that every request complies with your organization's security, traffic, and performance policies — without requiring changes to backend systems.

Why an API Gateway?​

In distributed and microservices-based architectures, services must be protected and governed consistently.

Without a gateway:

  • Security policies are duplicated across services
  • Traffic spikes can overwhelm systems
  • Observability becomes fragmented
  • Policy enforcement is inconsistent

Connect centralizes these responsibilities into a single, scalable control plane.

How It Works​

Every request passing through Connect follows a controlled lifecycle:

  1. Client Request – A request is received from an external or internal client.
  2. Authentication – The client identity is validated.
  3. Traffic Management – Rate Limiting and Quality of Service policies are applied.
  4. Encryption – Payload Encryption rules are executed.
  5. Caching – Cached responses are returned where applicable via Caching.
  6. Logging & Monitoring – Metadata and execution details are recorded through Logging.

This ensures consistent policy enforcement before traffic reaches backend systems.

Core Capabilities​

Connect API Gateway provides the following key capabilities:

Throttling​

Control and regulate API consumption.

Security​

Protect APIs and sensitive data.

Performance​

Improve response times and reduce backend load.

Observability​

Gain visibility into API usage and behavior.

Each capability can be configured independently per service.

Enterprise-Grade Control​

Connect enables organizations to:

  • Enforce uniform security standards
  • Prevent abuse and traffic overload
  • Improve system performance
  • Maintain audit trails for compliance
  • Govern APIs without modifying downstream applications

By centralizing control, Connect simplifies API governance while increasing reliability and security.

Next Steps​

Explore the following sections to configure and fine-tune your API Gateway: