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Consul
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Consul Operator Area

Command: consul operator area

Enterprise

This feature requires Consul Enterprise(opens in new tab).

Consul Enterprise supports network areas, which are operator-defined relationships between servers in two different Consul datacenters. The operator area command is used to interact with Consul's network area subsystem.

Unlike Consul's WAN feature, network areas use just the server RPC port for communication, and relationships can be made between independent pairs of datacenters, so not all servers need to be fully connected. This allows for complex topologies among Consul datacenters like hub/spoke and more general trees.

See the Network Areas Guide for more details.

Usage: consul operator area <subcommand> [options]

The operator area command is used to interact with Consul's network area
subsystem. Network areas are used to link together Consul servers in different
Consul datacenters. With network areas, Consul datacenters can be linked
together in ways other than a fully-connected mesh, as is required for Consul's
WAN.

Subcommands:

    create     Create a new network area
    delete     Remove a network area
    join       Join Consul servers into an existing network area
    list       List network areas
    members    Display Consul server members present in network areas
    update     Update the configuration of a network area

If ACLs are enabled, the client will need to supply an ACL Token with operator read or write privileges to use these commands.

create

Corresponding HTTP API Endpoint: [POST] /v1/operator/area

This command creates a new network area.

The table below shows this command's required ACLs. Configuration of blocking queries and agent caching are not supported from commands, but may be from the corresponding HTTP endpoint.

ACL Required
operator:write

Usage: consul operator area create [options]

The following example output shows the ID of the newly-created network area:

Created area "d2872ec5-68ea-b862-b75d-0bee99aca100" with peer datacenter "other"!

The return code indicates success or failure.

Command Options

  • -peer-datacenter=<value> - Declares the peer Consul datacenter that will make up the other side of this network area. Network areas always involve a pair of datacenters: the datacenter where the area was created, and the peer datacenter. This is required.

  • -retry-join=<value> Specifies the address of a Consul server to join to, such as an IP or hostname with an optional port number. This is optional and can be specified multiple times.

  • -use-tls=<value> Specifies whether gossip over this area should be encrypted with TLS if possible. Must be either true or false.

API Options

  • -ca-file=<value> - Path to a CA file to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CACERT environment variable.

  • -ca-path=<value> - Path to a directory of CA certificates to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CAPATH environment variable.

  • -client-cert=<value> - Path to a client cert file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable.

  • -client-key=<value> - Path to a client key file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_KEY environment variable.

  • -http-addr=<addr> - Address of the Consul agent with the port. This can be an IP address or DNS address, but it must include the port. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR environment variable. In Consul 0.8 and later, the default value is http://127.0.0.1:8500, and https can optionally be used instead. The scheme can also be set to HTTPS by setting the environment variable CONSUL_HTTP_SSL=true. This may be a unix domain socket using unix:///path/to/socket if the agent is configured to listen that way.

  • -tls-server-name=<value> - The server name to use as the SNI host when connecting via TLS. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_TLS_SERVER_NAME environment variable.

  • -token=<value> - ACL token to use in the request. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. If unspecified, the query will default to the token of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -token-file=<value> - File containing the ACL token to use in the request instead of one specified via the -token argument or CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN_FILE environment variable.

  • -datacenter=<name> - Name of the datacenter to query. If unspecified, the query will default to the datacenter of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -stale - Permit any Consul server (non-leader) to respond to this request. This allows for lower latency and higher throughput, but can result in stale data. This option has no effect on non-read operations. The default value is false.

delete

Corresponding HTTP API Endpoint: [DELETE] /v1/operator/area/:uuid

This command deletes an existing network area.

The table below shows this command's required ACLs. Configuration of blocking queries and agent caching are not supported from commands, but may be from the corresponding HTTP endpoint.

ACL Required
operator:write

Usage: consul operator area delete [options]

The output looks like this:

Deleted area "154941b0-80e2-9d69-c560-ab2c02807332"!

The return code indicates success or failure.

Command Options

  • -id=<value> - Specifies the ID of a network area to operate on. Use this option as an alternative to -peer-datacenter.

  • -peer-datacenter=<value> - Specifies the peer datacenter of a network area to operate on. Use this option as an alternative to -id.

API Options

  • -ca-file=<value> - Path to a CA file to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CACERT environment variable.

  • -ca-path=<value> - Path to a directory of CA certificates to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CAPATH environment variable.

  • -client-cert=<value> - Path to a client cert file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable.

  • -client-key=<value> - Path to a client key file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_KEY environment variable.

  • -http-addr=<addr> - Address of the Consul agent with the port. This can be an IP address or DNS address, but it must include the port. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR environment variable. In Consul 0.8 and later, the default value is http://127.0.0.1:8500, and https can optionally be used instead. The scheme can also be set to HTTPS by setting the environment variable CONSUL_HTTP_SSL=true. This may be a unix domain socket using unix:///path/to/socket if the agent is configured to listen that way.

  • -tls-server-name=<value> - The server name to use as the SNI host when connecting via TLS. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_TLS_SERVER_NAME environment variable.

  • -token=<value> - ACL token to use in the request. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. If unspecified, the query will default to the token of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -token-file=<value> - File containing the ACL token to use in the request instead of one specified via the -token argument or CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN_FILE environment variable.

  • -datacenter=<name> - Name of the datacenter to query. If unspecified, the query will default to the datacenter of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -stale - Permit any Consul server (non-leader) to respond to this request. This allows for lower latency and higher throughput, but can result in stale data. This option has no effect on non-read operations. The default value is false.

join

Corresponding HTTP API Endpoint: [PUT] /v1/operator/area/:uuid/join

This command joins Consul servers into an existing network area by address, such as an IP or hostname with an optional port. Multiple addresses may be given.

The table below shows this command's required ACLs. Configuration of blocking queries and agent caching are not supported from commands, but may be from the corresponding HTTP endpoint.

ACL Required
operator:write

Usage: consul operator area join [options] ADDRESSES

The output looks like this:

Address   Joined  Error
10.1.2.3  false   failed to connect to "10.1.2.3:8300": dial tcp 10.1.2.3:8300: i/o timeout
10.1.2.4  true    (none)
10.1.2.5  true    (none)

The Error field will have a human-readable error message if Consul was unable to join the given address.

The return code indicates success or failure.

Command Options

  • -id=<value> - Specifies the ID of a network area to operate on. Use this option as an alternative to -peer-datacenter.

  • -peer-datacenter=<value> - Specifies the peer datacenter of a network area to operate on. Use this option as an alternative to -id.

API Options

  • -ca-file=<value> - Path to a CA file to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CACERT environment variable.

  • -ca-path=<value> - Path to a directory of CA certificates to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CAPATH environment variable.

  • -client-cert=<value> - Path to a client cert file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable.

  • -client-key=<value> - Path to a client key file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_KEY environment variable.

  • -http-addr=<addr> - Address of the Consul agent with the port. This can be an IP address or DNS address, but it must include the port. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR environment variable. In Consul 0.8 and later, the default value is http://127.0.0.1:8500, and https can optionally be used instead. The scheme can also be set to HTTPS by setting the environment variable CONSUL_HTTP_SSL=true. This may be a unix domain socket using unix:///path/to/socket if the agent is configured to listen that way.

  • -tls-server-name=<value> - The server name to use as the SNI host when connecting via TLS. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_TLS_SERVER_NAME environment variable.

  • -token=<value> - ACL token to use in the request. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. If unspecified, the query will default to the token of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -token-file=<value> - File containing the ACL token to use in the request instead of one specified via the -token argument or CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN_FILE environment variable.

  • -datacenter=<name> - Name of the datacenter to query. If unspecified, the query will default to the datacenter of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -stale - Permit any Consul server (non-leader) to respond to this request. This allows for lower latency and higher throughput, but can result in stale data. This option has no effect on non-read operations. The default value is false.

list

Corresponding HTTP API Endpoint: [GET] /v1/operator/area

This command lists all network areas.

The table below shows this command's required ACLs. Configuration of blocking queries and agent caching are not supported from commands, but may be from the corresponding HTTP endpoint.

ACL Required
operator:read

Usage: consul operator area list [options]

The output looks like this:

Area                                  PeerDC  RetryJoin
6a52a0af-62e2-dad4-da60-e66acc37096c  dc2     10.1.2.3,10.1.2.4,10.1.2.5
96e33424-f5ce-9fcd-ecab-27974e36678f  other   (none)

Area is the ID of the network area.

PeerDC is the peer datacenter for the area.

RetryJoin is the list of servers to join, defined when the area was created.

The return code indicates success or failure.

API Options

  • -ca-file=<value> - Path to a CA file to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CACERT environment variable.

  • -ca-path=<value> - Path to a directory of CA certificates to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CAPATH environment variable.

  • -client-cert=<value> - Path to a client cert file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable.

  • -client-key=<value> - Path to a client key file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_KEY environment variable.

  • -http-addr=<addr> - Address of the Consul agent with the port. This can be an IP address or DNS address, but it must include the port. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR environment variable. In Consul 0.8 and later, the default value is http://127.0.0.1:8500, and https can optionally be used instead. The scheme can also be set to HTTPS by setting the environment variable CONSUL_HTTP_SSL=true. This may be a unix domain socket using unix:///path/to/socket if the agent is configured to listen that way.

  • -tls-server-name=<value> - The server name to use as the SNI host when connecting via TLS. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_TLS_SERVER_NAME environment variable.

  • -token=<value> - ACL token to use in the request. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. If unspecified, the query will default to the token of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -token-file=<value> - File containing the ACL token to use in the request instead of one specified via the -token argument or CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN_FILE environment variable.

  • -datacenter=<name> - Name of the datacenter to query. If unspecified, the query will default to the datacenter of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -stale - Permit any Consul server (non-leader) to respond to this request. This allows for lower latency and higher throughput, but can result in stale data. This option has no effect on non-read operations. The default value is false.

members

Corresponding HTTP API Endpoint: [GET] /v1/operator/area/:uuid/members

This command displays Consul server nodes present in a network area, or all areas if no area is specified.

The table below shows this command's required ACLs. Configuration of blocking queries and agent caching are not supported from commands, but may be from the corresponding HTTP endpoint.

ACL Required
operator:read

Usage: consul operator area members [options]

The output looks like this:

Area                                  Node        Address         Status  Build  Protocol  DC   RTT
6a52a0af-62e2-dad4-da60-e66acc37096c  node-1.dc1  127.0.0.1:8300  alive   0.8.0  2         dc1  0s
6a52a0af-62e2-dad4-da60-e66acc37096c  node-2.dc1  127.0.0.2:8300  alive   0.8.0  2         dc1  594.191µs
96e33424-f5ce-9fcd-ecab-27974e36678f  node-1.dc1  127.0.0.1:8300  alive   0.8.0  2         dc1  0s
96e33424-f5ce-9fcd-ecab-27974e36678f  node-2.dc1  127.0.0.2:8300  alive   0.8.0  2         dc1  634.109µs

Area is the ID of the network area.

Node is the name of the node.

Address is the IP and server RPC port for the node.

Status is the current health status of the node, as determined by the network area distributed failure detector. This will be "alive", "leaving", "left", or "failed". A "failed" status means that other servers are not able to probe this server over its server RPC interface.

Build has the Consul version running on the node.

Protocol is the protocol version being spoken by the node.

DC is the node's Consul datacenter.

RTT is an estimated network round trip time from the server answering the query to the given server, in a human-readable format. This is computed using network coordinates.

The return code indicates success or failure.

Command Options

  • -id=<value> - Specifies the ID of a network area to operate on. Use this option as an alternative to -peer-datacenter.

  • -peer-datacenter=<value> - Specifies the peer datacenter of a network area to operate on. Use this option as an alternative to -id.

API Options

  • -ca-file=<value> - Path to a CA file to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CACERT environment variable.

  • -ca-path=<value> - Path to a directory of CA certificates to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CAPATH environment variable.

  • -client-cert=<value> - Path to a client cert file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable.

  • -client-key=<value> - Path to a client key file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_KEY environment variable.

  • -http-addr=<addr> - Address of the Consul agent with the port. This can be an IP address or DNS address, but it must include the port. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR environment variable. In Consul 0.8 and later, the default value is http://127.0.0.1:8500, and https can optionally be used instead. The scheme can also be set to HTTPS by setting the environment variable CONSUL_HTTP_SSL=true. This may be a unix domain socket using unix:///path/to/socket if the agent is configured to listen that way.

  • -tls-server-name=<value> - The server name to use as the SNI host when connecting via TLS. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_TLS_SERVER_NAME environment variable.

  • -token=<value> - ACL token to use in the request. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. If unspecified, the query will default to the token of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -token-file=<value> - File containing the ACL token to use in the request instead of one specified via the -token argument or CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN_FILE environment variable.

  • -datacenter=<name> - Name of the datacenter to query. If unspecified, the query will default to the datacenter of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -stale - Permit any Consul server (non-leader) to respond to this request. This allows for lower latency and higher throughput, but can result in stale data. This option has no effect on non-read operations. The default value is false.

update

Corresponding HTTP API Endpoint: [PUT] /v1/operator/area/:uuid

This command updates the configuration of network area.

The table below shows this command's required ACLs. Configuration of blocking queries and agent caching are not supported from commands, but may be from the corresponding HTTP endpoint.

ACL Required
operator:write

Usage: consul operator area update [options]

The output looks like this:

Updated area "d2872ec5-68ea-b862-b75d-0bee99aca100"

The return code indicates success or failure.

Command Options

  • -id=<value> - Specifies the ID of a network area to operate on. Use this option as an alternative to -peer-datacenter.

  • -peer-datacenter=<value> - Specifies the peer datacenter of a network area to operate on. Use this option as an alternative to -id.

  • -use-tls=<value> Specifies whether gossip over this area should be encrypted with TLS if possible. Must be either true or false.

API Options

  • -ca-file=<value> - Path to a CA file to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CACERT environment variable.

  • -ca-path=<value> - Path to a directory of CA certificates to use for TLS when communicating with Consul. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CAPATH environment variable.

  • -client-cert=<value> - Path to a client cert file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable.

  • -client-key=<value> - Path to a client key file to use for TLS when verify_incoming is enabled. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_CLIENT_KEY environment variable.

  • -http-addr=<addr> - Address of the Consul agent with the port. This can be an IP address or DNS address, but it must include the port. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR environment variable. In Consul 0.8 and later, the default value is http://127.0.0.1:8500, and https can optionally be used instead. The scheme can also be set to HTTPS by setting the environment variable CONSUL_HTTP_SSL=true. This may be a unix domain socket using unix:///path/to/socket if the agent is configured to listen that way.

  • -tls-server-name=<value> - The server name to use as the SNI host when connecting via TLS. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_TLS_SERVER_NAME environment variable.

  • -token=<value> - ACL token to use in the request. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. If unspecified, the query will default to the token of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -token-file=<value> - File containing the ACL token to use in the request instead of one specified via the -token argument or CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. This can also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN_FILE environment variable.

  • -datacenter=<name> - Name of the datacenter to query. If unspecified, the query will default to the datacenter of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.

  • -stale - Permit any Consul server (non-leader) to respond to this request. This allows for lower latency and higher throughput, but can result in stale data. This option has no effect on non-read operations. The default value is false.

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