1---
2layout: docs
3page_title: Service Mesh
4description: |-
5  Consul Connect provides service-to-service connection authorization and
6  encryption using mutual TLS.
7---
8
9# Connect
10
11Consul Connect provides service-to-service connection authorization and
12encryption using mutual Transport Layer Security (TLS). Applications can use
13[sidecar proxies](/docs/connect/proxies) in a service mesh configuration to
14establish TLS connections for inbound and outbound connections without being aware
15of Connect at all. Applications may also [natively integrate with Connect](/docs/connect/native)
16for optimal performance and security. Connect can help you secure your services and provide data
17about service-to-service
18communications.
19
20Review the video below to learn more about Consul Connect from HashiCorp's co-founder Armon.
21
22<iframe
23  src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8T8t4-hQY74"
24  frameborder="0"
25  allowfullscreen="true"
26  width="560"
27  height="315"
28></iframe>
29
30## Application Security
31
32Connect enables secure deployment best-practices with automatic
33service-to-service encryption, and identity-based authorization.
34Connect uses the registered service identity (rather than IP addresses) to
35enforce access control with [intentions](/docs/connect/intentions). This
36makes it easier to reason about access control and enables services to be
37rescheduled by orchestrators including Kubernetes and Nomad. Intention
38enforcement is network agnostic, so Connect works with physical networks, cloud
39networks, software-defined networks, cross-cloud, and more.
40
41## Observability
42
43One of the key benefits of Consul Connect is the uniform and consistent view it can
44provide of all the services on your network, irrespective of their different
45programming languages and frameworks. When you configure Consul Connect to use
46sidecar proxies, those proxies "see" all service-to-service traffic and can
47collect data about it. Consul Connect can configure Envoy proxies to collect
48layer 7 metrics and export them to tools like Prometheus. Correctly instrumented
49applications can also send open tracing data through Envoy.
50
51## Getting Started With Connect
52
53There are several ways to try Connect in different environments.
54
55- The [Getting Started with Consul Service Mesh collection](https://learn.hashicorp.com/tutorials/consul/service-mesh?utm_source=WEBSITE&utm_medium=WEB_IO&utm_offer=ARTICLE_PAGE&utm_content=DOCS)
56  walks you through installing Consul as service mesh for Kubernetes using the Helm
57  chart, deploying services in the service mesh, and using intentions to secure service
58  communications.
59
60- The [Secure Service-to-Service Communication tutorial](https://learn.hashicorp.com/tutorials/consul/service-mesh-with-envoy-proxy?utm_source=WEBSITE&utm_medium=WEB_IO&utm_offer=ARTICLE_PAGE&utm_content=DOCS)
61  is a simple walk through of connecting two services on your local machine
62  using Consul Connect's built-in proxy and configuring your first intention. The guide also includes an introduction to
63  using Envoy as the Connect sidecar proxy.
64
65- The [Kubernetes tutorial](https://learn.hashicorp.com/tutorials/consul/kubernetes-minikube?utm_source=WEBSITE&utm_medium=WEB_IO&utm_offer=ARTICLE_PAGE&utm_content=DOCS)
66  walks you through configuring Consul Connect in Kubernetes using the Helm
67  chart, and using intentions. You can run the guide on Minikube or an existing
68  Kubernetes cluster.
69
70- The [observability tutorial](https://learn.hashicorp.com/tutorials/consul/kubernetes-layer7-observability?utm_source=WEBSITE&utm_medium=WEB_IO&utm_offer=ARTICLE_PAGE&utm_content=DOCS)
71  shows how to deploy a basic metrics collection and visualization pipeline on
72  a Minikube or Kubernetes cluster using the official Helm charts for Consul,
73  Prometheus, and Grafana.
74