Implementing an AWS API Gateway

Implementing an AWS API Gateway

Learn → Teach → Master Framework for Enterprise App & Cloud Teams

By Mark Kendall | Learn · Teach · Master

You do not implement an API Gateway by configuring routes.

You implement it by defining a boundary.

This framework keeps the team grounded using the 7 ± 2 principle — three architectural planes, each with no more than seven focus areas.

Six weeks is enough — if you stay disciplined.

1️⃣ LEARN — Establish the External Boundary

Mental Model: Gateway as a controlled front door.

Goal in this phase:

Create a secure, minimal, working external ingress.

No overengineering.

Focus Areas (Max 7)

1. Define Scope

   
   

   • External-only traffic?

   • No internal service mesh routing.

   • No legacy exposure migration yet.

2. 
   

3. Choose API Type

   
   

   • HTTP API (preferred for simplicity)

   • REST API only if usage plans / API keys are required

4. 
   

5. Environment Separation

   
   

   • dev / test / prod

   • Separate gateways per environment

6. 
   

7. OIDC Integration

   
   

   • Integrate with existing corporate IdP

   • Validate issuer, audience, and token signature

   • Do not custom-build auth logic

8. 
   

9. Basic Route Model

   
   

   • Versioned pathing (/v1/orders)

   • No internal endpoint mirroring

   • Only curated APIs exposed

10. 
    

11. Integration Pattern

    
    

    • Gateway → ALB/NLB → Microservices (ECS/EKS/EC2)

    • No Lambda logic

    • No business logic at gateway

12. 
    

13. Observability On Day 1

    
    

    • Enable CloudWatch logs

    • Capture metrics per route

    • Monitor 4xx / 5xx

14. 
    

Deliverable at end of Learn:

A secured external endpoint returning real microservice data in dev.

That’s it.

2️⃣ TEACH — Introduce Governance & Repeatability

Mental Model: Gateway as a managed API contract surface.

Now we formalize structure.

Focus Areas (Max 7)

1. API Registration Model

   
   

   • App teams submit:

     
     

     • OpenAPI spec

     • Required OAuth scopes

     • Owning team

     • Backend integration target

   • 
     
2. 
   

3. Scope Standardization

   
   

   • Naming pattern: orders.read, orders.write

   • Gateway enforces coarse scope

   • Services enforce business rules

4. 
   

5. Infrastructure as Code

   
   

   • Gateway defined via Terraform / CloudFormation

   • No manual console route creation

6. 
   

7. Route Versioning Strategy

   
   

   • /v1/...

   • Deprecation policy defined

   • No silent breaking changes

8. 
   

9. Rate Limiting

   
   

   • Global default

   • Optional partner tier overrides

10. 
    

11. Security Controls

    
    

    • WAF integration

    • TLS enforcement

    • No public backend services

12. 
    

13. Deployment Workflow

    
    

    • CI/CD pipeline

    • OpenAPI validation step

    • Automated route deployment

14. 
    

Deliverable at end of Teach:

A repeatable onboarding process for new external APIs.

No chaos.

No ad hoc routes.

3️⃣ MASTER — Operate as an Integration Platform

Mental Model: Gateway as enterprise contract infrastructure.

This is not required to launch.

This is required to scale.

Focus Areas (Max 7)

1. Central API Registry

   
   

   • Documented APIs

   • Version visibility

   • Ownership metadata

2. 
   

3. Consumer Identity Mapping

   
   

   • Client apps mapped to OAuth clients

   • Token claim auditing

4. 
   

5. Usage Analytics

   
   

   • Per-route metrics

   • Latency tracking

   • Consumer tracking

6. 
   

7. Zero-Trust Backends

   
   

   • Services only accessible via VPC

   • No direct internet exposure

8. 
   

9. Audit & Compliance

   
   

   • Retain logs

   • Trace external calls

   • Monitor auth failures

10. 
    

11. Performance Tuning

    
    

    • Caching (if required)

    • Integration timeout tuning

    • Scaling backend services

12. 
    

13. Operational Playbook

    
    

    • Incident response

    • Gateway outage procedures

    • Route rollback strategy

14. 
    

Deliverable at end of Master:

An enterprise-grade integration platform.

Six-Week Execution Reality

You do not need Master to go live.

You need:

• All of Learn

• 4–5 of Teach

That’s achievable in six weeks.

Week 1–2:

Boundary + OIDC + first route

Week 3–4:

IaC + onboarding template + scope standard

Week 5:

Add rate limiting + WAF

Week 6:

Operational validation + performance testing

That’s disciplined delivery.

Responsibility Split

Cloud / Platform Team

• Gateway provisioning

• OIDC configuration

• Security standards

• IaC pipeline

• Route governance model

App Teams

• OpenAPI specification

• Scope definition

• Business authorization

• Backend microservice integration

Clear boundary.

No overlap confusion.

Final Grounding Principle

Do not treat API Gateway as:

• A router

• A reverse proxy

• A traffic toy

Treat it as:

The enterprise contract boundary.

If you anchor that idea, the implementation becomes structured instead of overwhelming.