Smart routing has become the backbone of modern infrastructure, enabling organizations to optimize traffic flow, reduce costs, and improve reliability. Whether you're managing network infrastructure, API gateways, or LLM requests, implementing intelligent routing strategies can transform your system's performance.
In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore seven powerful smart-routing strategies complete with practical YAML and JSON examples. These strategies apply across various domains - from traditional networking to modern AI infrastructure, including LLM routing where Requesty's smart routing automatically selects the best model for each task, saving up to 80% on costs.
1. Declarative Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Routing
Gone are the days of manual routing configurations. Declarative IaC routing lets you define your entire routing infrastructure as code, making it versionable, testable, and repeatable.
Why It Matters
Declarative routing configurations enable:
Version control for all routing changes
Automated testing before deployment
Easy rollback capabilities
Consistent environments across development and production
YAML Example
```yaml apic: tenants:
name: Dev
managed: false vrfs:
name: VRF1
name: VRF2
```
This approach mirrors how Requesty handles LLM routing - you declare your routing preferences, and the system automatically implements them across 160+ models.
Best Practices
Store configurations in Git for version control
Use CI/CD pipelines for automated deployment
Implement pre-change validation
Keep configurations modular and reusable
2. Policy-Based Routing
Policy-based routing takes decision-making to the next level by routing traffic based on specific attributes and business rules rather than just destinations.
Key Benefits
Route based on source, destination, or application type
Implement business logic directly in routing
Dynamically adapt to changing requirements
Fine-grained control over traffic flow
JSON Example
```json { "systemName": "MySAPSystem", "communicationArrangement": { "communicationArrangementName": "MyCommArr", "scenarioId": "SAP_COM_1234", "inboundAuthentication": "OAuth2SAMLBearerAssertion", "outboundServices": [ { "id": "Service1", "name": "OutboundService", "isServiceActive": true } ] } } ```
This concept is particularly powerful in LLM routing. Requesty's routing optimizations use policies to automatically implement failover, load balancing, and reliability measures across multiple AI models.
3. Separation of Data and Logic
One of the most important principles in smart routing is keeping your routing data separate from your routing logic. This separation enables independent updates and easier maintenance.
Implementation Strategy
Store routing parameters separately from templates:
```yaml
data.yaml
tenants:
name: PROD
vrfs:
name: PROD
logic.yaml (template)
{% for tenant in tenants %} create_tenant: name: {{ tenant.name }} {% for vrf in tenant.vrfs %} add_vrf: {{ vrf.name }} {% endfor %} {% endfor %} ```
Why This Works
Teams can update data without touching logic
Reduces risk of breaking changes
Enables A/B testing of routing configurations
Simplifies multi-environment management
This separation principle is crucial for enterprise deployments. Requesty's enterprise features leverage this approach to provide user budgets, SSO integration, and governance controls without affecting core routing logic.
4. Automated Validation and Testing
Never deploy a routing configuration without validation. Automated testing catches errors before they impact production.
Validation Layers
Implement multiple validation layers:
Schema validation for structure
Semantic checks for business rules
Compliance analysis for security
Performance impact assessment
YAML Schema Example
```yaml tenant: name: regex('^[a-zA-Z0-9_.:-]{1,64}$') vrfs:
name: regex('^[a-zA-Z0-9_.:-]{1,64}$')
```
Testing Tools
Use `iac-validate` for YAML structure checks
Implement Robot Framework for post-deployment tests
Create custom validators for business rules
Set up continuous monitoring
Requesty's security features include built-in validation and guardrails that automatically check requests before routing them to LLMs, preventing prompt injection and ensuring compliance.
5. Dynamic and Modular Routing via Templates
Templates and modules are the building blocks of scalable routing infrastructure. They enable rapid deployment while maintaining consistency.
Template Benefits
Reusable across projects
Consistent implementation
Reduced duplication
Easier updates and maintenance
YAML Template Example
```yaml apic: interface_policies: nodes:
id: 101
interfaces:
port: 1
description: Linux Server 1 policy_group: linux-servers ```
Modular Design Principles
Create templates for common patterns
Use variables for environment-specific values
Version your templates
Document template parameters
This modular approach is essential for managing complex routing scenarios. With Requesty's prompt library, you can manage system prompts and routing configurations in one centralized location.
6. Embedding and Interoperability Between YAML and JSON
Real-world systems often require mixing YAML and JSON. Understanding how to embed one format within another is crucial for integration.
Embedding Techniques
Use block scalars for clean embedding:
```yaml portslist: > [{"name":"ob1","port_num":0,"port_type":"network"}, {"name":"ob2","port_num":1,"port_type":"network"}] ```
Interoperability Tips
Remember YAML is a superset of JSON
Use quotes for special characters
Leverage block scalars for readability
Validate both formats independently
Mixed Format Example
```yaml routing_config: yaml_section:
name: primary_route
type: loadbalanced json_embedded: | { "fallback_routes": [ {"model": "gpt-4", "priority": 1}, {"model": "claude-3", "priority": 2} ] } ```
This flexibility is particularly useful when integrating with different systems. Requesty's integrations support both YAML and JSON configurations, making it easy to connect with your existing tools.
7. Smart Routing for Multi-Environment and Multi-Tenant Deployments
Managing routing across multiple environments and tenants requires sophisticated strategies to ensure isolation, scalability, and security.
Multi-Environment Strategy
Implement environment-aware routing:
```yaml ndo: sites:
name: PARIS
id: 1 apic_urls: ["https://apic-paris:443"] tenants:
name: NET
name: LONDON
id: 2 apic_urls: ["https://apic-london:443"] tenants:
name: NET
```
Key Considerations
Workspace isolation for parallel changes
Environment-specific configurations
Tenant-level security boundaries
Scalable state management
Best Practices for Multi-Tenant Routing
Use separate configuration files per environment
Implement strict access controls
Monitor cross-tenant traffic
Automate tenant provisioning
Requesty's API spend limits and user management features make it easy to implement multi-tenant routing strategies while maintaining cost control and security boundaries.
Putting It All Together
Smart routing isn't just about moving traffic efficiently - it's about building resilient, scalable, and maintainable infrastructure. By implementing these seven strategies, you can:
Reduce manual errors through automation
Improve system reliability with validation
Scale efficiently with modular designs
Maintain flexibility with declarative configurations
YAML/JSON Best Practices Summary
When implementing these strategies, follow these formatting guidelines:
Use 2 spaces for indentation (never tabs)
Maintain consistent formatting throughout
Use meaningful, descriptive keys
Quote special characters and complex strings
Leverage block scalars for multi-line content
Validate all configurations before deployment
Real-World Applications
These smart-routing strategies apply across various domains:
Network Infrastructure: Managing VLANs, VRFs, and network policies
API Gateways: Routing requests based on headers, paths, or payloads
Microservices: Implementing service mesh routing policies
LLM Routing: Optimizing AI model selection and fallback strategies
Speaking of LLM routing, Requesty implements all these strategies to provide intelligent routing across 160+ AI models. With features like automatic failover, smart caching, and cost optimization, Requesty demonstrates how proper routing strategies can reduce costs by up to 80% while improving reliability.
Getting Started with Smart Routing
Ready to implement these strategies? Here's your action plan:
1. Start with IaC: Convert your existing routing configurations to YAML/JSON 2. Add Validation: Implement schema validation for all configurations 3. Modularize: Extract common patterns into reusable templates 4. Automate: Set up CI/CD pipelines for configuration deployment 5. Monitor: Track routing performance and optimize based on data
For LLM-specific routing needs, get started with Requesty's quickstart guide to implement these strategies immediately. With OpenAI-compatible SDKs and comprehensive documentation, you can have intelligent routing up and running in minutes.
Conclusion
Smart routing strategies powered by YAML and JSON configurations are transforming how we build and manage modern infrastructure. From declarative IaC approaches to sophisticated multi-tenant deployments, these strategies provide the foundation for scalable, reliable systems.
The key to success lies in choosing the right combination of strategies for your use case. Whether you're managing traditional network infrastructure or routing requests to AI models, the principles remain the same: automate where possible, validate everything, and build for scalability.
As you implement these strategies, consider how a purpose-built routing solution like Requesty can accelerate your journey. With built-in support for all seven strategies, plus additional features like guardrails, caching, and cost optimization, Requesty shows what's possible when smart routing is done right.
Start small, validate your approach, and scale confidently. The future of infrastructure is declarative, automated, and intelligently routed - and with these strategies, you're ready to build it.