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---
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layout: docs
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page_title: Consul Enterprise Network Segments
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sidebar_title: 'Network Segments'
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sidebar_current: docs-enterprise-network-segments
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description: |-
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Consul Enterprise enables you create separate LAN gossip pools within one
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cluster to segment network groups.
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---
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2020-03-24 20:06:20 +00:00
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# Network Segments
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Consul Network Segments enables operators to create separate LAN gossip segments
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in one Consul cluster. Agents in a segment are only able to join and communicate
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with other agents in it's network segment. This functionality is useful for
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clusters that have multiple tenants that should not be able to communicate
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with each other.
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To get started with network segments you can review the guide on HashiCorp Learn for
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[Network Segments](https://learn.hashicorp.com/consul/day-2-operations/network-segments).
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~> **Note:** Due to limitations in [Serf](/docs/internals/gossip), a Consul agent configured with too many network segments may not be able to start
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# Consul Networking Models
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To help set context for this feature, it is useful to understand the various
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Consul networking models and their capabilities.
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**Cluster:** A set of Consul servers forming a Raft quorum along with a
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collection of Consul clients, all set to the same
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[datacenter](/docs/agent/options#_datacenter), and joined together to form
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what we will call a "local cluster". Consul clients discover the Consul servers
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in their local cluster through the gossip mechanism and make RPC requests to
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them. LAN Gossip (OSS) is an open intra-cluster networking model, and Network
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Segments (Enterprise) creates multiple segments within one cluster.
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**Federated Cluster:** A cluster of clusters with a Consul server group per
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cluster each set per "datacenter". These Consul servers are federated together
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over the WAN. Consul clients make use of resources in federated clusters by
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forwarding RPCs through the Consul servers in their local cluster, but they
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never interact with remote Consul servers directly. There are currently two
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inter-cluster network models which can be viewed on HashiCorp Learn:
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[WAN gossip (OSS)](https://learn.hashicorp.com/consul/security-networking/datacenters)
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and [Network Areas (Enterprise)](https://learn.hashicorp.com/consul/day-2-operations/advanced-federation).
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**LAN Gossip Pool**: A set of Consul agents that have full mesh connectivity
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among themselves, and use Serf to maintain a shared view of the members of the
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pool for different purposes, like finding a Consul server in a local cluster,
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or finding servers in a remote cluster. A **segmented** LAN Gossip Pool limits a
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group of agents to only connect with the agents in its segment.
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