A method and apparatus for configuring an overlay network are provided. In the method and apparatus, a first application is caused to be deployed for execution on the first computer system, with the application being member of an application group. First information is provided to the first computer system, with the first information being usable for securing communication between at least the first application and a second application deployed to a second computer system. Second information usable for establishing a routing entity for the first computer system is provided to the first computer system, with the routing entity established to route data from or to the first application.