Understanding Anypoint Flex Gateway: Overview and Introduction

Please note that this is not a technical tutorial. This is intended as an introduction to the product. See below for a list of the technical tutorials to start using Flex Gateway.

We would like to thank Sue Han for their contribution to this developer tutorial.

In this tutorial, we will guide you through an overview of Anypoint Flex Gateway. We will see:

• An overview of how Flex Gateway works
• An example to configure it in connected mode
• An overview to apply policies in API Manager

If you want to follow the steps to use Flex Gateway, please see the following tutorials.

Connected mode:

• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in connected mode as a Docker container
• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in connected mode as a Kubernetes Ingress Controller
• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in connected mode as a Linux service
• Secure your APIs with Anypoint Flex Gateway in connected mode (API Manager)

Local mode:

• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in local mode as a Docker container
• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in local mode as a Kubernetes Ingress Controller
• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in local mode as a Linux service
• Secure your APIs with Anypoint Flex Gateway in local mode (config file)

Anypoint Flex Gateway Overview

Anypoint Flex Gateway is MuleSoft’s new ultra-fast gateway designed to manage and secure APIs running anywhere. The gateway is built to deliver the performance required for the most demanding applications while providing enterprise-grade security and management.

You can configure the gateway in one of two ways: connected mode by using the Anypoint Platform web user interface, or you can configure the gateway locally to manage APIs in private environments.

Configure Flex Gateway in Connected Mode

We will take a look at configuring Flex Gateway using the connected mode. You can deploy and run Flex Gateway as a Linux service, a Docker container, or as a Kubernetes ingress controller. All setup commands for deploying Flex Gateway are available in Runtime Manager. To install, simply copy and paste the commands into your terminal to quickly register, deploy, and start Flex Gateway.

Once registered and configured, you can see the gateway listed as connected in Runtime Manager. Then, you can go to API Manager to manage and secure any API.

To add a new API to Flex Gateway from API Manager, you can either choose to import from Exchange or create a new API.

Once you upload the specification, API Manager detects the back-end implementation URL and lets you make any changes to your gateway configuration.

After you review the configuration, simply deploy it to the gateway.

All the traffic to the back-end is now routed through Flex Gateway. You’ll get detailed analytics and telemetry data for each API deployed.

Apply policies in API Manager

Through API Manager it’s easy to apply policies. There are several out-of-the-box policies for compliance, quality of service, security, and troubleshooting that are commonly used with APIs.

Let’s apply a limiting-rate policy.

Once added, Flex Gateway instantly applies the policy to the API with zero downtime or interruptions. As we make calls to the API, the rate-limiting message is returned after a couple of requests.

Anypoint Flex Gateway can be deployed to manage APIs regardless of architectural patterns or type of environment. It truly is flexible for all use cases or architectures, inspiring our name: Anypoint Flex Gateway.

Next Steps

In this tutorial, we saw an overview of Anypoint Flex Gateway. We learned:

• An overview of how Flex Gateway works
• An example to configure it in connected mode
• An overview to apply policies in API Manager

If you want to follow the steps to use Flex Gateway, please see the following tutorials.

Connected mode:

• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in connected mode as a Docker container
• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in connected mode as a Kubernetes Ingress Controller
• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in connected mode as a Linux service
• Secure your APIs with Anypoint Flex Gateway in connected mode (API Manager)

Local mode:

• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in local mode as a Docker container
• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in local mode as a Kubernetes Ingress Controller
• How to install Anypoint Flex Gateway in local mode as a Linux service
• Secure your APIs with Anypoint Flex Gateway in local mode (config file)

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