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docs/API_GATEWAY_DESIGN.md
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# Unified API Gateway Design
**Date**: 2025-01-27
**Purpose**: Design document for unified API gateway
**Status**: Design Document
---
## Executive Summary
This document outlines the design for a unified API gateway that will serve as a single entry point for all workspace projects, providing centralized authentication, rate limiting, and API versioning.
---
## Architecture Overview
### Components
1. **API Gateway** (Kong, Traefik, or custom)
2. **Authentication Service** (Keycloak, Auth0, or custom)
3. **Rate Limiting Service** (Redis-based)
4. **API Versioning** (Path-based or header-based)
5. **Monitoring & Logging** (Prometheus, Grafana, Loki)
### Architecture Diagram
```
Client
API Gateway (Kong/Traefik)
├── Authentication Layer
├── Rate Limiting
├── Request Routing
└── Response Aggregation
Backend Services
├── dbis_core
├── the_order
├── Sankofa
└── Other services
```
---
## Features
### 1. Authentication & Authorization
**Methods**:
- JWT tokens
- API keys
- OAuth2/OIDC
- mTLS (for service-to-service)
**Implementation**:
- Centralized authentication service
- Token validation
- Role-based access control (RBAC)
- Permission checking
### 2. Rate Limiting
**Strategies**:
- Per-user rate limits
- Per-API rate limits
- Per-IP rate limits
- Tiered rate limits (free, paid, enterprise)
**Storage**: Redis for distributed rate limiting
### 3. API Versioning
**Strategy**: Path-based versioning
- `/v1/api/...`
- `/v2/api/...`
**Alternative**: Header-based (`Accept: application/vnd.api+json;version=2`)
### 4. Request Routing
**Features**:
- Path-based routing
- Header-based routing
- Load balancing
- Health checks
- Circuit breakers
### 5. Monitoring & Observability
**Metrics**:
- Request rate
- Response times
- Error rates
- Authentication failures
- Rate limit hits
**Logging**:
- All requests logged
- Structured logging (JSON)
- Centralized log aggregation
---
## Technology Options
### Option 1: Kong Gateway (Recommended)
**Pros**:
- Feature-rich
- Plugin ecosystem
- Good documentation
- Enterprise support available
**Cons**:
- More complex setup
- Higher resource usage
### Option 2: Traefik
**Pros**:
- Kubernetes-native
- Auto-discovery
- Simpler setup
- Lower resource usage
**Cons**:
- Fewer built-in features
- Less mature plugin ecosystem
### Option 3: Custom (Node.js/TypeScript)
**Pros**:
- Full control
- Custom features
- Lightweight
**Cons**:
- More development time
- Maintenance burden
**Recommendation**: Kong Gateway for production, Traefik for simpler setups
---
## Implementation Plan
### Phase 1: Basic Gateway (Weeks 1-2)
- [ ] Deploy API gateway (Kong or Traefik)
- [ ] Set up basic routing
- [ ] Configure SSL/TLS
- [ ] Set up monitoring
### Phase 2: Authentication (Weeks 3-4)
- [ ] Integrate authentication service
- [ ] Implement JWT validation
- [ ] Set up RBAC
- [ ] Test authentication flow
### Phase 3: Rate Limiting (Weeks 5-6)
- [ ] Set up Redis for rate limiting
- [ ] Configure rate limit rules
- [ ] Implement tiered limits
- [ ] Test rate limiting
### Phase 4: Advanced Features (Weeks 7-8)
- [ ] API versioning
- [ ] Request/response transformation
- [ ] Caching
- [ ] WebSocket support
### Phase 5: Migration (Weeks 9-12)
- [ ] Migrate dbis_core to gateway
- [ ] Migrate the_order to gateway
- [ ] Migrate Sankofa to gateway
- [ ] Migrate other services
- [ ] Complete testing
---
## Configuration Example
### Kong Gateway Configuration
```yaml
services:
- name: dbis-core
url: http://dbis-core:3000
routes:
- name: dbis-core-v1
paths:
- /v1/dbis
plugins:
- name: rate-limiting
config:
minute: 100
hour: 1000
- name: jwt
config:
secret_is_base64: false
```
### Traefik Configuration
```yaml
http:
routers:
dbis-core:
rule: "PathPrefix(`/v1/dbis`)"
service: dbis-core
middlewares:
- auth
- rate-limit
services:
dbis-core:
loadBalancer:
servers:
- url: "http://dbis-core:3000"
```
---
## Security Considerations
### Authentication
- JWT tokens with short expiration
- Refresh token rotation
- Token revocation
- Secure token storage
### Rate Limiting
- Prevent DDoS attacks
- Protect against abuse
- Fair resource allocation
### Network Security
- mTLS for service-to-service
- WAF (Web Application Firewall)
- DDoS protection
- IP whitelisting (optional)
---
## Monitoring & Alerting
### Key Metrics
- Request rate per service
- Response times (p50, p95, p99)
- Error rates
- Authentication failures
- Rate limit hits
- Gateway health
### Alerts
- High error rate
- Slow response times
- Authentication failures spike
- Rate limit exhaustion
- Gateway downtime
---
## Success Metrics
- [ ] Single entry point for all APIs
- [ ] Centralized authentication operational
- [ ] Rate limiting functional
- [ ] 80% of projects migrated to gateway
- [ ] 50% reduction in authentication code duplication
- [ ] Improved API security posture
---
**Last Updated**: 2025-01-27
**Next Review**: After Phase 1 completion