In a scenario where an application's APIs are experiencing heavy traffic, how can an API Gateway be configured to ensure smooth operation and performance?

To ensure smooth operation and performance in the face of heavy traffic, an API Gateway can be configured with rate limiting and caching strategies. These strategies can help manage traffic spikes, prevent overloading the backend services, and improve response times. Increasing the number of instances can help with load distribution. Disabling caching may not be a good strategy for performance. Removing the API Gateway is not a recommended approach.