Explore the Tyk stack: Simplify your API management

FAQs

• How modular is the Tyk stack? Can we implement only the components we need?

  The Tyk stack is designed to be composable and flexible, allowing you to customize your API management approach based on your specific business goals. You can implement only the components you need, whether that’s just the Gateway for traffic management and security, or the full stack including the Dashboard, Developer Portal, and other tools for a comprehensive API management solution.

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• How does Tyk support Kubernetes-based API deployments?

  Tyk offers specialized components for Kubernetes environments, including Tyk Operator, which simplifies API configuration and management declaratively in Kubernetes, enabling you to manage definitions, security policies and other Tyk features. A native Kubernetes operator, Tyk Operator enables you to define and manage APIs as code, so you can deploy, update and secure them using the same declarative configuration approach Kubernetes uses for other application components. You can install Tyk Gateway in a Kubernetes cluster via Helm charts or via Kubernetes manifest files. Tyk supports efficient, declarative Kubernetes API management, making it easier to integrate API management into your cloud-native infrastructure.

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• Can Tyk handle distributed API gateways across multiple data centers or regions?

  Yes, Tyk’s Multi Data Center Bridge (MDCB) specifically addresses this need by managing and synchronizing logically or geographically distributed Tyk Gateway clusters.

  This allows you to maintain consistent API management policies and configurations across multiple environments while optimizing for regional performance and compliance requirements. You gain maximum flexibility with seamless oversight.

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• How does Tyk help us maintain consistent API configurations across development, testing, and production environments?

  Tyk Sync enables seamless synchronization across different environments, bringing superior version control to your API configurations. You can use it to export and import Tyk configurations directly from Git, keeping environments aligned without the need for manual configuration updates.

  This helps ensure that your API definitions, policies, and security settings remain consistent as you move from development to testing to production, reducing configuration errors and streamlining your deployment process.

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• What analytics and observability capabilities does Tyk provide?

  Tyk Gateway nodes capture traffic analytics and store them temporarily in Redis. Tyk Pump moves them from there to a persistent datastore (such asn MongoDB), so that you can analyze your traffic. Tyk Pump displays your analytics data via Tyk Dashboard, which provides granular analytics and visualization capabilities, helping you troubleshoot faster and make data-driven business decisions based on comprehensive insights into your API usage and performance.

  You can also use Tyk Pump to send your analytics data to external business intelligence tools. As Tyk works beautifully with open standards, you can also easily instrument OpenTelemetry for your observability.

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• How does Tyk support integration with our existing identity management systems?

  The Tyk Identity Broker is a built-in feature of Tyk Dashboard that makes it easy to connect third-party identity management systems to Tyk. It serves as a bridge between various Identity Management Systems – such as LDAP, Social OAuth (e.g. GPlus, Twitter, GitHub) or Basic Authentication providers – and Tyk.

  This allows you to leverage your existing authentication infrastructure while ensuring secure access to your APIs, simplifying user management and enhancing security through integration with your established identity providers.

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• Can Tyk help us combine multiple backend APIs into a unified interface?

  Yes, Tyk’s Universal Data Graph (UDG) component is specifically designed to combine multiple APIs into a universal interface that can be accessed with a single GraphQL query. This simplifies integration for API consumers, reduces the number of API calls needed, and provides a more efficient way to access data from multiple sources.

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• How does Tyk support asynchronous and event-driven APIs?

  Tyk Streams is dedicated to securely exposing, managing, and monetizing asynchronous streaming and events APIs. This component extends Tyk’s universal API management approach to handle real-time, event-driven architectures alongside traditional REST APIs and GraphQL, providing consistent security, governance, and observability across all API types.

  Through protocol mediation, broker proxying, policy enforcement, and message filtering and processing, it seamlessly solves your event-driven API management challenges.

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• What customization options does Tyk offer to meet our specific requirements?

  Tyk can be used out-of-the-box or extended with custom middleware written in the language of your choice. The platform is designed to be highly customizable, allowing you to adapt it to your specific needs while still benefiting from the simplification of API management that Tyk provides.

  This flexibility ensures that Tyk can accommodate unique business requirements without compromising functionality, security, or performance.

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• How does Tyk help us monetize our APIs more effectively?

  Tyk provides superior monetization capabilities by helping you understand API usage patterns, allocate resources efficiently, and identify opportunities for innovation.

  The platform’s comprehensive analytics and developer portal facilitate the creation of API products that can be easily discovered, accessed, and properly monetized, enabling you to generate more revenue from your API assets. The developer portal easily integrates with payment fulfillment tools for maximum efficiency.

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