The Apollo Router is a replacement for the Gateway, providing higher performance with lower resource consumption. It leverages the experience and knowledge of Apollo to provide a performant, scalable GraphQL Federation experience while still offering customization to users. Migrating from gateway to router requires a mindset shift, as the router is a product that provides standard configuration-driven execution environment. The team upgraded their fleet of Apollo Gateway instances to the Apollo Router with positive results, including substantial operational cost-saving reductions in CPU and memory consumption. The router provides higher performance, lower resource consumption, and improved responsiveness compared to the gateway. The team also leveraged Kubernetes features such as Helm, pod disruption budgets, affinities, and autoscaling to manage deployments and optimize resources. Overall, the Apollo Router offers a scalable, customizable, and performant GraphQL Federation experience for users.