Popular gateways (Kong, AWS API Gateway, Nginx) in Microservices - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ service_behavior

intermediate

How does AWS API Gateway handle throttling by default?

AWS API Gateway limits the number of requests a client can make. What is the default behavior when the limit is exceeded?

A It queues the requests until the limit resets, then processes them.

B It silently drops the requests without any response.

C It returns a 429 Too Many Requests error immediately.

D It automatically scales the backend to handle the extra load.

💡 Hint

Think about how APIs usually inform clients about rate limits.

AWS API Gateway returns a 429 error to inform clients they have exceeded the allowed request rate, so clients can retry later.

❓ Architecture

intermediate

Which gateway is best suited for on-premises microservices with high customization?

You have microservices running on your own servers and need a gateway that supports plugins and custom logic. Which gateway fits best?

A Kong Gateway

B AWS API Gateway

C Cloudflare Gateway

D Azure API Management

💡 Hint

Consider which gateway is open-source and supports plugins.

Kong Gateway is open-source, supports plugins, and can run on-premises, making it ideal for customizable microservices environments.

❓ Configuration

advanced

What Nginx configuration snippet correctly enables reverse proxy to a backend service on port 8080?

Choose the correct Nginx config to forward incoming requests to a backend service running on localhost port 8080.

Microservices

server {
    listen 80;
    location / {
        # Your config here
    }
}

A proxy_forward http://localhost:8080/;

B proxy_pass https://localhost:8080/;

C proxy_redirect http://localhost:8080/;

D proxy_pass http://localhost:8080/;

💡 Hint

Look for the directive that forwards requests to another server.

The proxy_pass directive forwards requests to the backend. Using http://localhost:8080/ is correct for a local backend on port 8080.

❓ security

advanced

Which feature does Kong Gateway provide to secure APIs with minimal configuration?

To protect your APIs from unauthorized access, which Kong feature can you enable quickly without coding?

A Rate Limiting plugin

B OAuth 2.0 plugin

C Load Balancer plugin

D Caching plugin

💡 Hint

Think about standard authorization protocols supported by API gateways.

Kong Gateway offers an OAuth 2.0 plugin that can be enabled to secure APIs with token-based authorization without custom code.

✅ Best Practice

expert

What is the recommended approach to deploy AWS API Gateway for a multi-region microservices architecture?

You want low latency and high availability for your microservices across multiple AWS regions. How should you deploy AWS API Gateway?

A Deploy API Gateway in each region and use Route 53 latency-based routing.

B Deploy a single API Gateway in one region and route all traffic there.

C Deploy API Gateway only in the region with the most users and use CloudFront for others.

D Use a third-party gateway to handle multi-region routing and keep API Gateway in one region.

💡 Hint

Consider AWS services that help route users to the nearest region.

Deploying API Gateway in each region combined with Route 53 latency-based routing ensures users connect to the closest API Gateway, reducing latency and improving availability.