There are many configuration options exposed for Consul service mesh. The only option
that must be set is the "connect.enabled" option on Consul Servers to enable Consul service mesh.
that must be set is the `connect.enabled` option on Consul servers to enable Consul service mesh.
All other configurations are optional and have reasonable defaults.
As a reminder, Consul Connect is used interchangeably
with the name Consul Service Mesh and is what this document will use to refer to for Service Mesh functionality within Consul.
Consul Connect is the component shipped with Consul that enables service mesh functionality. The terms _Consul Connect_ and _Consul service mesh_ are used interchangeably throughout this documentation.
-> **Tip:** Service mesh is enabled by default when running Consul in
dev mode with `consul agent -dev`.
## Agent Configuration
The first step to use service mesh is to enable Connect for your Consul
Begin by enabling Connect for your Consul
cluster. By default, Connect is disabled. Enabling Connect requires changing
the configuration of only your Consul _servers_ (not client agents). To enable
This page details the inner workings of some of Consul sevice mehs's core features.
Understanding how these features work isn't a prerequisite for using Consul service mesh,
but will help you build a mental model of what's going on under the hood, which
may help you reason about service mesh's behavior in more complex deployment
scenarios.
As a reminder, Consul Connect is used interchangeably
with the name Consul Service Mesh and is what this document will use to refer to for Service Mesh functionality within Consul.
This topic describes how many of the core features of Consul's service mesh functionality works.
It is not a prerequisite,
but this information will help you understand how Consul service mesh behaves in more complex scenarios.
Consul Connect is the component shipped with Consul that enables service mesh functionality. The terms _Consul Connect_ and _Consul service mesh_ are used interchangeably throughout this documentation.
To try service mesh locally, complete the [Getting Started with Consul service