SAA-C03 - Design Resilient Architectures - Section 2.2

Design scalable application integration using Amazon API Gateway, load balancers and container orchestration.

Describe Amazon API Gateway as a managed entry point for REST, HTTP, and WebSocket APIs that handles throttling, authentication, and request transformation without managing servers. Distinguish when to place an Application Load Balancer in front of containerised Amazon ECS tasks versus using API Gateway, based on protocol, routing complexity, and the need for native AWS service integrations.

Amazon API GatewayApplication Load BalancerAmazon ECSMicroservices

Practice question for this objective

Free sampleDesign Resilient Architecturesmedium

A team is building a new public HTTP backend that only needs simple proxy routing to AWS Lambda functions, JWT authorisation against an existing OpenID Connect provider, and the lowest possible per-request cost and latency. It does not need request or response transformation, API keys with usage plans, or private VPC link integrations. Which Amazon API Gateway choice best fits these requirements?

  • ABuild a REST API and attach a Lambda authoriser that calls the OpenID Connect provider on every request to validate the incoming token.
  • BBuild a WebSocket API and validate the OpenID Connect token in the connect route before allowing the client to invoke any Lambda function.
  • CBuild an HTTP API with a built-in JWT authoriser pointing at the OpenID Connect provider and Lambda proxy integrations for the routes. Correct
  • DBuild a REST API as a private endpoint behind a VPC link and rely on the resource policy to restrict which callers may reach each method.
Choose API Gateway HTTP APIs for low-cost, low-latency proxy routing with native JWT authorisation and no advanced transformation needs. HTTP APIs are the leaner API Gateway type: they support Lambda proxy integrations and a built-in JWT authoriser that validates tokens from an OIDC or OAuth provider, while costing less and adding less latency per request than REST APIs, which carry features this workload does not use.

Why A is wrong: A REST API with a Lambda authoriser would work, but REST APIs cost more per request and add the authoriser invocation latency the simpler option avoids.

Why B is wrong: WebSocket APIs target persistent two-way messaging, not stateless request-response HTTP, so they add needless complexity for a simple proxy backend.

Why C is correct: HTTP APIs offer native JWT authorisers and Lambda proxy routes at lower cost and latency than REST APIs, matching every stated requirement directly.

Why D is wrong: A private REST API plus VPC link adds the private integration the team explicitly does not need and still carries the higher REST per-request price.

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