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What is the difference between edge optimized, regional, and private API Gateway endpoints?

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Answer

An edge optimized endpoint routes requests through Amazon CloudFront to reduce latency for geographically distributed clients, a regional endpoint keeps traffic within a single AWS region which is ideal when clients are located near that region, and a private endpoint is only accessible from within your own Amazon VPC through an interface endpoint, keeping the API completely isolated from the public internet.
aws apigateway create-rest-api --name 'InternalAPI' --endpoint-configuration types=PRIVATE
Real-world example A healthcare company builds an internal API that must never be exposed to the public internet, so it deploys a private API Gateway endpoint accessible only from its own VPC, satisfying strict compliance requirements.

Common follow-ups: How do you restrict access to a private API Gateway endpoint?;When should you choose regional over edge optimized endpoints?