notes=true href=/v1.11/blog/2020/new-deployment-model/single-cluster.svg title="Single cluster Istio mesh"><img class=element-to-stretch src=/v1.11/blog/2020/new-deployment-model/single-cluster.svg alt="Istio mesh in a single cluster"></a></div><figcaption>Istio mesh in a single cluster</figcaption></figure><p>With the new deployment model in Istio 1.7, it&rsquo;s possible to run Istiod on an external cluster, separate from the mesh services as shown in the diagram below. The external control plane cluster 