[[working-remote-clusters]]
== Remote Clusters

Use *Remote Clusters* to establish a unidirectional
connection from your cluster to other clusters. This functionality is
required for {ref}/xpack-ccr.html[cross-cluster replication] and
{ref}/modules-cross-cluster-search.html[cross-cluster search].

To get started, go to *Management > Remote Clusters*.

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/remote-clusters-list-view.png[Remote Clusters list view, including Add a remote cluster button]

[float]
[[managing-remote-clusters]]
=== Add a remote cluster

A {ref}/modules-remote-clusters.html[remote cluster] connection works by configuring a remote cluster and
connecting to a limited number of nodes, called {ref}/modules-remote-clusters.html#sniff-mode[seed nodes],
in that cluster.
Alternatively, you can define a single proxy address for the remote cluster.

By default, a cross-cluster request, such as a cross-cluster search or
replication request, fails if any cluster in the request is unavailable.
To skip a cluster when its unavailable,
set *Skip if unavailable* to true.

Once you add a remote cluster, you can configure <<managing-cross-cluster-replication, cross-cluster replication>>
to reproduce indices in the remote cluster on a local cluster.

[role="screenshot"]
image::images/add_remote_cluster.png[][UI for adding a remote cluster]

[float]
[[manage-remote-clusters]]
=== Manage remote clusters

From the *Remote Clusters* list view, you can drill down into each cluster and
view its status. You can also edit and delete a cluster.