HashiCorp Certified: Consul Associate Certification
Use Gossip Encryption
Objective 9 Section Recap
In this section, we reviewed Consul’s gossip encryption model, how to configure it for an existing data center, and the complete lifecycle of encryption keys.
Note
Gossip encryption protects only the internal communication between Consul agents. It does not encrypt ACL tokens, HTTP API traffic, or storage backends.
By the end of this section, you should be able to:
- Understand the Consul security threat model and the role of gossip encryption.
- Configure encryption for an existing Consul data center, even on a running cluster.
- Manage the complete lifecycle of gossip encryption keys:
Lifecycle Stage | Action |
---|---|
Generate | Use consul keygen to produce a new encryption key. |
Distribute | Propagate the key to every Consul agent’s encrypt setting. |
Activate | Reload or restart agents so they begin using the new key. |
Retire | Remove outdated keys from agent configurations once rotated out. |
Warning
Rotating or removing encryption keys without following a proper rollout plan can interrupt agent communication. Always validate connectivity after each step.
This completes our deep dive into gossip encryption. Thanks for following along, and stay tuned for the next section on Access Control Lists (ACLs) and advanced security features!
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