*You Don't Know the Gateway Layer!* | Reverse Proxy vs Load Balancer vs API Gateway What actually happens between a user request and your backend server? In this video, we break down the *Gateway Layer* — the hidden infrastructure powering modern backend systems — and explain the difference between *Reverse Proxies, Load Balancers, and API Gateways*. If you're preparing for *system design interviews*, learning *backend engineering*, or trying to think like a *Principal Engineer*, this video will help you understand not just *what* these components do — but *why they exist* and *when you should use them*. We simplify concepts like *SSL termination, caching, Layer 4 vs Layer 7 routing, intelligent traffic distribution, API management, authentication, and microservice gateways* using practical architecture examples. 🔥 *What you'll learn in this Gateway Layer tutorial:* 00:00 — The single server bottleneck 01:49 — What happens when your server is exposed? 03:21 — Reverse Proxy explained (SSL, caching, security) 06:35 — Load Balancer explained (traffic distribution & failover) 12:25 — API Gateway explained (microservices, auth, rate limiting) 18:08 — Why these concepts get confusing (Nginx vs Kong vs Envoy) 21:19 — The modern backend architecture 25:28 — Which one do you actually need? (decision framework) 28:27 — Quick recap + key takeaways 💡 *Keywords covered (for learning & interviews):* Reverse Proxy, Load Balancer, API Gateway, Gateway Layer, System Design, Backend Architecture, Microservices, Traffic Routing, SSL Termination, Load Balancing Algorithms, API Management, Distributed Systems, Scalable Backend Design 🎯 *This video is perfect for:* Backend developers (Node.js, Java, Python, Go) Software engineers preparing for system design interviews Students learning backend architecture & distributed systems Anyone building scalable APIs, platforms, or microservices ⚠️ *By the end, you'll understand:* Why reverse proxies exist How load balancers scale backend systems When API Gateways become essential Layer 4 vs Layer 7 traffic routing How large-scale systems manage millions of requests How experienced engineers design the Gateway Layer 💬 *Join our Discord community for coding discussions, backend engineering & system design talks:* [https://discord.gg/VEQtxYyu] ☕ *Support the channel:* *Buy me a Coffee* [https://ko-fi.com/csmadeez] *Buy me a Chai (Indian Audience 🇮🇳)* [https://buymeachai.ezee.li/CsMadeEz] 📈 *Search-friendly topics covered:* Reverse Proxy tutorial Load Balancer explained API Gateway tutorial Reverse Proxy vs Load Balancer vs API Gateway Gateway Layer explained Backend architecture tutorial System design concepts for interviews How scalable backend systems work Scalable systems backend devel 👍 Like, share & subscribe for more *Backend Engineering, System Design & Software Architecture* content. #SystemDesign #BackendDevelopment #ReverseProxy #LoadBalancer #APIGateway #Microservices #DistributedSystems #SoftwareEngineering #Nginx #BackendArchitecture #Programming #PrincipalEngineer #CSMadeEasy
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Perfect timing. I got e-commerse finals tomorrow and was literally studying this topic when this came up on my algorithm lol. Thanks :3
Amazing video.. thanks.
The real-world typical distribution of components was really good. Did have to resist urge to grind my teeth when you conflated authentication & authorisation, though - it's another common confusion, best avoided in a video about disambiguation! It leaves a question unanswered: how to decide whether the API gateway must perform both AuthN and Authz, versus simply providing AuthN & handing off AuthZ to the respective service. In a scenario where development is highly distributed AND the product is heavily regulated, it may make sense that each service's owners implement AuthZ "locally" (to their service) as opposed to allowing shared development of the API gateway across all devs. Overall the video got me thinking, which is the key takeaway!
Outstanding!
Thanks!
Very useful, thanks a lot for the clear explanation!
Insightful
Great help for understanding. Please add "Service Mesh" video.
But isn't an api gateway becoming a bottleneck if every request that needs to interact with server all go through a common node What if that breaks
I've created a Saas which provides 4 major features 1) Back end observability 2) An Uptime monitor for health check 3) a rate limiter as a service custom conditions set via simple 3 clicks in a dashboard 4) env drift detector looks for a missing or extra env variable in multiple environments All are simple plug and play models install the npm package and use it directly with an API key which uh can easily get from signing up in dashboard. Is the product worth it? Deploying on a large scale? Btw loved the video amazing knowledge
Hmm.. i think proxy roles sometimes can be merge to reduce network latency instead adding more proxy nodes for a specific job.
Thanks You for your Efforts, Keep Going
Explained nicely. Please do a video on Service Oriented Architecture vs Microservices
Wow, this is an amazing explanation. Thank you!
... Uh that isn't how my website works uh but I have no problems 😂 also right now it is off why well for maintenance I would say but naw more because I have to give it a break since well rec room shut down I haven't given the Apache part a break so ya anyone who wants to go to my site right now well it is shut down at the moment for well maintenance I can say but ya not maintenance in the traditional sense
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perfect... Great explanation.
Thank you! I am getting into design and building, and this was very clear. You have a gift. Looking forward to more of your content.
Can you make a video on databases please. Sharding, Partitioning, Connection Pooling, Indexing, Data replication… A lot of devs overlook that part of systems and there are any videos explaining the whole section