RethinkConn Edge Workshop

Hands-on NATS labs focused on hub/leaf topologies, subject interest propagation, permissions, system account visibility, and JetStream edge patterns.

Each runnable lab keeps its own NATS server configs. The workshop.sh helper starts the same nats-server -c <config> commands shown in the lab READMEs.

Requirements

• NATS server 2.12+ for most labs; 2.14+ is recommended.
• NATS CLI.
• jq for the inspection commands used in several labs.
• Go (for some labs)
• Bash, for the local process helper.

NATS CLI Contexts

Most labs use these contexts:

nats context add hub --server a:x@:4222
nats context add l1 --server e:x@:4232
nats context add l2 --server e:x@:4242
nats context add l3 --server e:x@:4252
nats context add syshub --server s:x@:4222
nats context add sysl1 --server s:x@:4232
nats context add sysl2 --server s:x@:4242
nats context add sysl3 --server s:x@:4252

See Lab 00 - Setup for the original setup notes.

Lab Directory Map

Directory	Lab
Lab 00 - Setup	General setup
Lab 01 - Same Cluster Name	Leafs using same cluster name
Lab 02 - Different Cluster Names	Leafs using different cluster names
Lab 03 - Interest Propagation	Subject interest propagation side lab
Lab 04 - Isolate	Isolate east-west traffic
Lab 05 - Isolate and Request Isolation	More on isolate and request_isolation
Lab 06 - Remote Leaf Isolation (Reverse Hub)	Reverse leaf connections with remote isolation
Lab 07 - Block Subjects	Block subjects north-south
Lab 08 - SYS Account	SYS account leaf connection
Lab 09 - SYS Account Limits	SYS account leaf connection with restrictions
Lab 10 - JetStream Subject Leak	JetStream captured-subject leak
Lab 11 - JetStream Domain Lottery	JetStream domain lottery
Lab 12 - Locked Down Leafs	Locked down leafs
Lab 13 - Reserved	Reserved
Lab 14 - Remote Leaf Streams	Hub remote access to leaf streams
Lab 15 - Stream Sources	Hub sources and merges leaf streams
Lab 16 - Explicit Consumers	Hub sources and merges leaf streams with explicit consumers
Lab 17 - Device Target Republish	Target devices individually with stream republish
Lab 18 - Leaf Connect Disconnect	Hot reload leaf connection changes
Lab 19 - JWT Default User	Decentralized auth default user behavior
Lab 20 - Muxed Request Responders	Use one wildcard subscription to mux request handlers
Lab 21 - Device Target Core NATS	Target devices individually (core nats)

Run With Local NATS Servers

Use the bash helper from the repository root:

./workshop.sh start 1
./workshop.sh logs
./workshop.sh status 1
./workshop.sh stop 1

The helper runs nats-server -c <config> in the lab directory, so relative JetStream stores such as ./js/l1 behave the same as when you run the commands by hand.

The direct equivalent, from a lab directory, is to run each server in its own terminal:

nats-server -c hub.conf
nats-server -c l1.conf
nats-server -c l2.conf
nats-server -c l3.conf

Runtime pid files and logs are written under the repository .workshop/ directory. ./workshop.sh logs follows the current running lab's logs and prints the lab name at the top of the output.

Observe Monitoring Endpoints

The monitor gives a watch-like view of /varz and /leafz?subs=1

scripts/monitor.sh
scripts/monitor.sh --once
scripts/monitor.sh --interval 5

Shared Tools

• subscription-load: creates many unique subscriptions and holds them open.

• responders: hosts simulated request responders with and without muxing.

Cleanup

For local processes:

./workshop.sh clean 1

JetStream labs write stores under each lab's js/ directory. The local helper's clean command removes that store for the selected lab.