Kong

Kong is used as a central API gateway and traffic control layer, managing how requests enter, move through, and are governed within a microservices-based platform.

It provides a clear separation between application logic and cross-cutting concerns such as authentication, rate limiting, and observability.

Key Capabilities

• API Routing & Traffic Management
  Controls request routing, load balancing, and traffic shaping across services.

• Authentication & Policy Enforcement
  Enforces authentication, authorization, and rate limits at the gateway level.

• Extensible Plugin Architecture
  Enables platform-wide capabilities through reusable plugins without modifying services.

• Observability & Traffic Insight
  Exposes metrics and logs for understanding API usage and behavior.

• Platform-Agnostic Deployment
  Operates consistently across cloud and Kubernetes environments.

Experience & Platform Contribution

Designed and deployed Kong as part of a shared platform to standardize API access and governance across microservices.

Key contributions included:

• Defining gateway-level policies for authentication and rate limiting
• Integrating Kong with identity providers for secure API access
• Centralizing cross-cutting concerns to simplify service implementations
• Improving operational visibility into API traffic and usage patterns
• Advising teams on API design, gateway responsibilities, and traffic control strategies

Kong functioned as a critical enforcement and control point within the platform, enabling scalable and secure service communication without burdening individual services.