HashiCorp has released Consul 1.9, a public beta version of its multi-cloud service networking platform, which adds features such as application-aware intentions, visualization enhancements, and custom resource definitions for Kubernetes. The new release focuses on providing more granular control for service mesh users, improving observability into services within the service mesh, and delivering tighter integrations with runtime platforms in a way that is more Kubernetes-native. Consul 1.9 includes features such as application-aware intentions, which allow operators to construct policies based on HTTP request headers and URL paths; service mesh visualization, which provides a new topology tab in the Consul UI with topology diagrams and key metrics; custom resource definitions for Kubernetes, which enable practitioners to easily configure Consul via Kubernetes-style objects. The release also includes features such as active health checks for Consul on Kubernetes, streaming, and improved deployment options for OpenShift.