Local
Aster Terminal
SSH, diagnostics, service administration, BIND, and nftables from the shell.
AN ENTERPRISE IT SIMULATION
Your company.
Your systems.
Real incidents.
Run systems, investigate incidents, manage users, troubleshoot networks, and build real IT experience inside a persistent simulated company.
In your browser. Inside your own company.
OPS-01 / NOVA SYSTEMSWorkstation
Aster Browser
desk.nova.cloud · Service Desk
Aster Terminal
OPS-01 · Aster Shell
Aster Workstation OS 8.1 · astsh
operator@acct-01:~$ nc -vz files-01.nova.internal 445
nc: connect to files-01.nova.internal (10.20.20.25) port 445 (tcp) failed: Operation timed out
Persistent company
Your work carries into the next shift.
Real command line
A Unix-style shell with stateful commands.
Stateful incidents
Fix the system. Then prove it works.
Users, servers, networks
One connected operating environment.
YOUR COMPANY ACTUALLY EXISTS
A place to work.
Systems to understand.
Start inside a simulated organization with its own people, departments, infrastructure, and work queue. An employee’s account belongs to a person. Their workstation sits on a network. The application they need runs on a server.
You work through that company’s problems, one verified change at a time.
Nova Systems
SaaS company blueprint- 5
- People
- 4
- Departments
- 12
- Managed devices
- 3
- Servers
- 3
- Network subnets
- 1
- Open requests
Aster Browser
directory.nova.internal · Directory
ONE INCIDENT. MULTIPLE SYSTEMS.
The ticket is the beginning.
Accounting cannot reach shared files. Is it DNS, a route, a firewall rule, or the server? Inspect the affected workstation and follow the evidence. In this incident, the service is healthy and the policy is blocking the connection.
Other families ask you to investigate stopped services, missing directory membership, or application entitlements. Each repair is checked against the underlying company state.
- 1Claim the request
- 2Find the failing layer
- 3Make a scoped change
- 4Verify and resolve
Aster Browser
desk.nova.cloud · Service Desk
Name resolution
DNS resolves correctly
$ dig files-01.nova.internal
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR ;; ANSWER SECTION: files-01.nova.internal. 60 IN A 10.20.20.25 ;; SERVER: 10.20.20.53#53(dns-01.nova.internal)
FW-01 · nftables
Policy blocks TCP/445
$ nft -a list ruleset
ip saddr 10.20.10.31/32 ip daddr 10.20.20.25/32 tcp dport 445 drop comment "Temporary containment rule blocking Accounting access to FILES-01." # handle 9
ip saddr 10.20.10.0/24 ip daddr 10.20.20.0/24 drop comment "User VLAN cannot otherwise initiate connections to servers." # handle 8FILES-01 · service state
SMB is still running
$ systemctl status smbd
● smbd.service - smbd service
Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/smbd.service; enabled)
Active: active (running)
Listen: 0.0.0.0:445Firewall output is an excerpt. Real work also checks routes, relevant logs, and identity policy when the symptoms require them.
THE WORKSTATION
A desktop for work.
A shell for systems.
Use Aster Browser for company applications. Open Aster Terminal for the command line. Connect over SSH to the host that owns the service, inspect its journal, and make the change there.
Familiar tools, modeled against company state
whoamiip addrpingdigsshsystemctljournalctlnftOPS-01 / ASTER WORKSTATION OS 8.1Nova Systems
Aster Browser
servers.nova.internal · Server Console
Each host has its own system state.
Local users. Installed packages. Network interfaces. Files and services. A command runs on the computer you’re connected to.
operator@files-01:~$
Aster Terminal
OPS-01 · Aster Shell
Aster Workstation OS 8.1 · astsh
operator@ops-01:~$ whoami
operator
operator@ops-01:~$ ip addr
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP> mtu 65536
inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
2: eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP> mtu 1500
inet 10.20.10.44/24 scope global eth0operator@ops-01:~$ ping 10.20.20.25
PING 10.20.20.25 (10.20.20.25) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from 10.20.20.25: icmp_seq=1 ttl=63 time=0.42 ms 64 bytes from 10.20.20.25: icmp_seq=2 ttl=63 time=0.39 ms 64 bytes from 10.20.20.25: icmp_seq=3 ttl=63 time=0.41 ms 3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss
operator@ops-01:~$ ssh files-01
Connected to files-01 (10.20.20.25). Aster Server OS 8.1 — files-01 Headless system. Manage local services with systemctl and journalctl.
operator@files-01:~$ systemctl status smbd
● smbd.service - smbd service
Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/smbd.service; enabled)
Active: active (running)
Listen: 0.0.0.0:445operator@files-01:~$ journalctl -u smbd
smbd[287]: file service initialized smbd[287]: listening on tcp/445
WHAT YOU WILL PRACTICE
Build the habit of investigating.
Move from the reported symptom to evidence, a safe change, and an observed result. Practice the skills together, in the environment where they belong.
Ticket triage
Read the request, identify the affected resource, and take ownership.
Linux-style systems
Work with host-specific files, packages, and system commands.
Networking
Compare addresses, interfaces, routes, and connectivity.
DNS
Diagnose name resolution and update records on DNS-01.
Firewalls
Read ordered policy and repair narrowly scoped connectivity.
Identity and permissions
Trace directory groups through application entitlements.
Remote access
Connect to the owning server over an approved SSH path.
Logs
Inspect the host’s journal for evidence of service state.
Service management
Check listeners and restore stopped server services.
Physical security
Revoke a lost badge and verify that entry is denied.
User management
Inspect accounts and manage their status and membership.
Device management
Read inventory, ownership, deployment, and compliance records.
YOUR TOOLS
One environment. The tools to operate it.
Company applications live in Aster Browser. Native tools belong to your workstation. They all see the same company state.
DNS and firewall administration use BIND and nftables on their owning hosts. Graphical remote desktop and company messaging are still in development.
Browser
Service Desk
Your queue, requesters, work notes, objectives, and shift progress.
Browser
Directory & IAM
Workforce accounts, security groups, application roles, and effective access.
Browser
Network Center
Company topology, device addresses, network paths, and firewall policy.
Browser
Server Console
Inventory, service status, and the context for remote administration.
Browser
Access Control
Issued credentials, door policies, badge changes, and access decisions.
Browser
Asset Manager
Device ownership, deployment, compliance, and asset lifecycle records.
Local
Aster Files
The workstation’s filesystem, with files belonging to their own host.
Browser
Knowledge Base
Internal runbooks, network standards, and troubleshooting guidance.
THE COMPANY REMEMBERS
Your shift ends.
Your work stays.
Files you create, service changes, DNS records, firewall rules, directory membership, and application assignments are saved with your company.
End the shift and review what you resolved. The next day brings a fresh seeded queue alongside noncritical carryover, without resetting your infrastructure or completed work.
Saved with your company
Systems
Host files, configuration, and service state
People
Directory status, groups, roles, and credentials
Work
Tickets, verified repairs, and shift summaries
Resume a saved company from My Companies. Window positions and browser layout are not yet persisted.
SCENARIO EXAMPLES
Realistic requests. Observable causes.
Five generated incident families, eight root-cause variants, and a fresh queue each shift. Requests draw from your company’s people and resources.
DNS resolution
The internal portal points to the wrong server.
Compare the lookup with inventory, correct the A record, and verify access by hostname.
DNS · Workstation · Web server
File connectivity
Accounting cannot reach shared files.
Reproduce the failure, inspect the firewall, and restore only the required TCP/445 path.
Workstation · Firewall · File server
Service recovery
A server service is no longer listening.
Inspect the service and its journal, restore it, and retest from the affected client.
SSH · Service state · Logs
Application access
An employee’s group entitlement is missing.
Inspect the account and application policy. Restore group-based access rather than an individual exception.
Directory · IAM · Effective roles
Directory membership
A user lost access after a group change.
Find the missing approved membership and verify the resulting application role.
Account · Security group · Application
Lost credential
An employee reports a missing badge.
Disable that credential, keep the employee’s account active, and test denial at the reader.
Credential · Person · Door policy
The best way to learn systems
is to operate them.
Create your company, enter your workstation, and start investigating your first incident.