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Consul Documentation

Consul is a multi-networking tool that offers a fully-featured service mesh solution that solves the networking and security challenges of operating microservices and cloud infrastructure (multi-cloud and hybrid cloud). This documentation covers the main concepts of Consul, what problems it can solve, and contains a quick start for using Consul.

Use Cases

Service Mesh

Consul Service Mesh provides service-to-service connection authorization and encryption using mutual Transport Layer Security (TLS).

  • Register mesh services
    Use configuration files to define and register services with Consul and associate services with health checks.
  • Configure mesh behavior
    The exported services configuration entry enables you to export services from a single file.
  • Manage mesh traffic
    Gateways provide connectivity into, out of, and between Consul service meshes.
  • Setup API Gateway
    Using Consul API gateway functionality.

Kubernetes

Consul has many integrations with Kubernetes. You can deploy Consul to Kubernetes using the Helm chart or Consul K8s CLI, sync services between Consul and Kubernetes, run Consul Service Mesh, and more.

  • Install Consul on Kubernetes
    Consul can run directly on Kubernetes, both in server or client mode. For pure Kubernetes workloads, this enables Consul to also exist purely within Kubernetes. For heterogeneous workloads, Consul agents can join a server running inside or outside of Kubernetes.
  • Consul Service Mesh on Kubernetes
    Consul service mesh enables automatic service to service authorization and connection encryption across your Consul services. Use Consul to secure pod communication with other services.
  • Multi-Cluster
    Install and federate Consul on multiple Kubernetes clusters.
  • Syncing Kubernetes and Consul Services
    Automatically sync your Kubernetes and Consul services to seamlessly secure communications between your Kubernetes and Consul services.

Network Infrastructure Automation

Consul-Terraform-Sync (CTS) enables dynamic updates to network infrastructure devices triggered by service changes.

  • Install and Configure CTS
    Install the CTS binary.
  • Define Dynamic Updates
    Configure CTS Tasks to automatically update network infrastructure when your Consul services change.
  • Create a Terraform Module
    Automatically execute Terraform modules for network infrastructure automation with CTS.

Platforms

Consul can be integrated with several other platforms and products. Learn more about Consul integrations and how to enable them.

  • Nomad
    Use Consul service mesh with Nomad to provide secure service to service communication between Nomad jobs.
  • Vault
    Use Consul with Vault to manage and sign certificates. The Vault CA provider uses the Vault PKI secrets engine to generate and sign certificates.
  • AWS ECS
    Deploy Consul service mesh on AWS ECS (Elastic Container Service).
  • AWS Lambda
    Integrate AWS Lambda with Consul services by registering Lambda functions as Consul services and invoking them from your service mesh.

Developers

  • Envoy Integration
  • HTTP API Structure
  • Download Consul Tools
  • GitHub Samples