In MDC3, which capability is typically provided by an API gateway?

• A. Rate limiting
• B. Data encryption at rest
• C. Full-text search indexing
• D. File system management

Answer: (A)

APIs gateways sit at the front door of backend services, controlling and shaping traffic before it reaches downstream systems. Rate limiting is a common capability because the gateway enforces how many requests can be made in a given time window, by client or API key, helping protect services from overload, prevent abuse, and maintain performance guarantees. Data encryption at rest is typically handled by storage or database layers, and while gateways can terminate TLS for in-flight encryption, they don’t manage data stored on disk. Full-text search indexing is a function of search services or databases, not the gateway. File system management is the responsibility of the hosting environment and storage systems, not the gateway. So, the capability most typically provided by an API gateway is rate limiting.