---
layout: docs
page_title: API Gateways Overview
description: API gateways are objects in Consul that enable ingress requests to services in your service mesh. Learn about API gateways for VMs in this overview.
---

# API gateway overview

API gateways enable external network clients to access applications and services
running in a Consul datacenter. This type of network traffic is commonly
called _north-south_ network traffic because it refers to the flow of
data into and out of a specific environment. API gateways can also forward
requests from clients to specific destinations based on path or request
protocol.

API gateways solve the following primary use cases:

- **Control access at the point of entry**: Set the protocols of external connection
  requests and secure inbound connections with TLS certificates from trusted
  providers, such as Verisign and Let's Encrypt.
- **Simplify traffic management**: Load balance requests across services and route
  traffic to the appropriate service by matching one or more criteria, such as
  hostname, path, header presence or value, and HTTP method.

Consul supports API
gateways for virtual machines and Kubernetes networks. Refer to the following documentation for next steps:
- [API Gateways on VMs](/consul/docs/connect/gateways/api-gateway/usage)
- [API Gateways for Kubernetes](/consul/docs/api-gateway).