<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nGoogle API Gateway supports REST \u2192 gRPC transcoding out of the box.<\/strong>
AWS API Gateway does NOT provide equivalent REST \u2192 gRPC transcoding out of the box.<\/strong>
On AWS, you must add a translation layer (Envoy or grpc-gateway) to achieve the same behavior.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s the core conclusion of the spike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhat \u201cout of the box\u201d really means (important)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Google Cloud API Gateway<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
GCP API Gateway:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- Accepts REST\/JSON<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Reads proto descriptors<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Applies HTTP mapping rules<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Converts JSON \u2192 Protobuf<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Sends gRPC over HTTP\/2<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Returns HTTP responses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udc49 You do not deploy or manage a gateway service.<\/strong>
The transcoder is managed by Google<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s exactly what your Terraform is doing today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- Upload proto descriptors<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Define
http_mapping_rules<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n- Point to
grpcs:\/\/...a.run.app<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nNo extra pods. No custom gateway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nAWS API Gateway<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
AWS API Gateway:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- Is primarily a REST \/ HTTP API gateway<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Can proxy HTTP<\/strong> and integrate with Lambda<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Can proxy<\/em> gRPC in limited scenarios<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Does not read proto descriptors<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Does not transcode JSON \u2192 Protobuf<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Does not map REST paths to gRPC methods<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udc49 There is no native feature<\/strong> in AWS API Gateway equivalent to GCP\u2019s gRPC transcoding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So if a browser sends:<\/p>\n\n\n
DELETE \/v1\/user\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\nAWS API Gateway has no idea<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- which gRPC method to call<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- how to encode the request<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- how to produce Protobuf<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhat you must do in AWS instead<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Because ALB and AWS API Gateway don\u2019t do transcoding, you add one explicit translation layer<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n
REST client\n \u2193\nALB or AWS API Gateway\n \u2193\nEnvoy OR grpc-gateway \u2190 this<\/span> replaces GCP API Gateway\u2019s transcoder\n \u2193\ngRPC service\n<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\nEnvoy \/ grpc-gateway:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- reads the proto<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- converts REST \u2192 Protobuf<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- sends a proper gRPC request<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhy AWS designed it this way (context)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This is not a \u201cmissing feature\u201d by accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- AWS tends to keep infrastructure layers simpler<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Advanced protocol translation is expected to live in:\n
\n
- Envoy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- application gateways<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- service mesh (App Mesh)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
GCP chose to productize gRPC transcoding<\/strong> inside API Gateway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Different philosophies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nOne sentence you can safely say in the workshop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cIn GCP, REST-to-gRPC transcoding is a managed feature of API Gateway.
In AWS, there is no equivalent managed feature, so we need to run a translator such as Envoy or grpc-gateway in front of our gRPC services.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nThat statement is technically correct<\/strong> and defensible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPractical recommendation (final)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
- For AWS + EKS + ALB<\/strong>, the closest equivalent to GCP API Gateway is:\n
\n
- Envoy with gRPC-JSON transcoder<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- grpc-gateway is a valid alternative when you prefer code-generated gateways.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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