---
layout: commands
page_title: 'Commands: Operator Area'
description: >
The operator area command is used to interact with Consul's network area
subsystem.
---
# Consul Operator Area
Command: `consul operator area`
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](https://learn.hashicorp.com/consul/day-2-operations/advanced-federation) for more details.
```text
Usage: consul operator area [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
This command creates a new network area.
Usage: `consul operator area create [options]`
#### API Options
@include 'http_api_options_client.mdx'
@include 'http_api_options_server.mdx'
#### Command Options
- `-peer-datacenter=` - 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=` 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=` Specifies whether gossip over this area should be encrypted with
TLS if possible. Must be either `true` or `false`.
The output looks like this, displaying the ID of the newly-created network area:
```text
Created area "d2872ec5-68ea-b862-b75d-0bee99aca100" with peer datacenter "other"!
```
The return code will indicate success or failure.
## delete
This command deletes an existing network area.
Usage: `consul operator area delete [options]`
#### API Options
@include 'http_api_options_client.mdx'
@include 'http_api_options_server.mdx'
#### Command Options
- `-id=` - Looks up the area to operate on by its ID. This can be given
instead of a peer datacenter.
- `-peer-datacenter=` - Looks up the area to operate on by its peer
datacenter. This can be given instead of an ID.
The output looks like this:
```text
Deleted area "154941b0-80e2-9d69-c560-ab2c02807332"!
```
The return code will indicate success or failure.
## 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.
Usage: `consul operator area join [options] ADDRESSES`
#### API Options
@include 'http_api_options_client.mdx'
@include 'http_api_options_server.mdx'
#### Command Options
- `-id=` - Looks up the area to operate on by its ID. This can be given
instead of a peer datacenter.
- `-peer-datacenter=` - Looks up the area to operate on by its peer
datacenter. This can be given instead of an ID.
The output looks like this:
```text
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 will indicate success or failure.
## list
This command lists all network areas.
Usage: `consul operator area list [options]`
#### API Options
@include 'http_api_options_client.mdx'
@include 'http_api_options_server.mdx'
The output looks like this:
```text
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 will indicate success or failure.
## members
This command displays Consul server nodes present in a network area, or all
areas if no area is specified.
Usage: `consul operator area members [options]`
#### API Options
@include 'http_api_options_client.mdx'
@include 'http_api_options_server.mdx'
#### Command Options
- `-id=` - Looks up the area to operate on by its ID. This can be given
instead of a peer datacenter.
- `-peer-datacenter=` - Looks up the area to operate on by its peer
datacenter. This can be given instead of an ID.
The output looks like this:
```text
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](/docs/upgrading#protocol-versions) 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](/docs/internals/coordinates).
The return code will indicate success or failure.
## update
This command updates the configuration of network area.
Usage: `consul operator area update [options]`
#### API Options
@include 'http_api_options_client.mdx'
@include 'http_api_options_server.mdx'
#### Command Options
- `-id=` - Looks up the area to operate on by its ID. This can be given
instead of a peer datacenter.
- `-peer-datacenter=` - 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.
- `-use-tls=` Specifies whether gossip over this area should be encrypted with
TLS if possible. Must be either `true` or `false`.
The output looks like this:
```text
Updated area "d2872ec5-68ea-b862-b75d-0bee99aca100"
```
The return code will indicate success or failure.