Overview
Apache APISIX is a cloud-native, high-performance API Gateway and AI Gateway providing dynamic routing, load balancing, authentication, rate limiting, and an extensible plugin system. Designed for cloud-native architectures, it offers scalability, observability, and strong protocol support suitable for microservices, Kubernetes, and serverless environments.
Key Features
- Dynamic routing and load balancing with health checks and service discovery.
- Plugin-based architecture with rich built-in plugins and support for custom extensions (Lua, Go, Wasm).
- Multi-protocol support including HTTP, gRPC, TCP, UDP, and WebSocket.
- Observability and management with Admin API, dashboard, Prometheus metrics, and logging integrations.
Use Cases
APISIX fits scenarios requiring unified ingress, traffic governance, and API management: public API gateways, microservices ingress, edge proxies, and AI gateway patterns where model inference services are routed and governed. It can be deployed via Helm/Operator on Kubernetes or in traditional container/VM setups.
Technical Notes
- Performance: built on Nginx/OpenResty and LuaJIT, with optional components in Go and Wasm for isolation and performance.
- Extensibility: hot-reloadable configuration and plugin system that simplifies runtime feature additions.
- Cloud-native friendly: Kubernetes integration, CRDs and operator support, and compatibility with service mesh solutions.
This summary highlights APISIX’s capabilities, technical traits, and typical applications to help users quickly understand the project’s value.