Sessions

A session is a time-bound training event where participants receive access to isolated environments. Sessions can exist within a seminar or as standalone events.

What is a Session?

Sessions are the core unit of training delivery in Teabar:

Time-bound: Has a defined start and end time
Environment provisioning: Creates environments for participants
Automatic cleanup: Resources are released when the session ends
Activity tracking: Monitor what participants do during the session

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Session: "K8s Basics"                     │
│                  June 15, 09:00 - 13:00                      │
│                                                              │
│  Blueprint: kubernetes-training                              │
│  Isolation: namespace                                        │
│                                                              │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │              Participant Environments                │    │
│  │                                                      │    │
│  │  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐  ┌─────────┐            │    │
│  │  │  Alice  │  │   Bob   │  │ Charlie │   ...      │    │
│  │  │  ns-001 │  │  ns-002 │  │  ns-003 │            │    │
│  │  └─────────┘  └─────────┘  └─────────┘            │    │
│  │                                                      │    │
│  │         Shared Kubernetes Cluster                   │    │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Session Types

Within a Seminar

Sessions that are part of a larger training program:

# Create session in a seminar
teactl session create 
  --seminar kubernetes-101 
  --name "day1-basics" 
  --blueprint k8s-basic 
  --start "2024-06-15 09:00" 
  --duration 4h

Standalone Sessions

One-off workshops or labs without a parent seminar:

# Create standalone session
teactl session create 
  --name "docker-workshop" 
  --blueprint docker-training 
  --start "2024-06-20 14:00" 
  --duration 3h 
  --org acme-training

Creating Sessions

Basic Creation

# Create with required options
teactl session create 
  --name "kubernetes-workshop" 
  --blueprint kubernetes-training 
  --start "2024-06-15 09:00" 
  --duration 4h

# Create with participant limit
teactl session create 
  --name "kubernetes-workshop" 
  --blueprint kubernetes-training 
  --start "2024-06-15 09:00" 
  --duration 4h 
  --max-participants 25

Participant Isolation Modes

Configure how participants are isolated within a session:

# Namespace isolation (shared cluster, isolated namespaces)
teactl session create 
  --name "k8s-workshop" 
  --blueprint k8s-basic 
  --isolation namespace 
  --start "2024-06-15 09:00" 
  --duration 4h

# Cluster isolation (dedicated cluster per participant)
teactl session create 
  --name "k8s-advanced" 
  --blueprint k8s-full 
  --isolation cluster 
  --start "2024-06-15 09:00" 
  --duration 4h

# VM isolation (dedicated VM per participant)
teactl session create 
  --name "linux-admin" 
  --blueprint linux-vm 
  --isolation vm 
  --start "2024-06-15 09:00" 
  --duration 4h

Isolation Mode	Description	Best For
`namespace`	Shared infrastructure, K8s namespace per participant	Cost-effective, basic K8s training
`cluster`	Dedicated cluster per participant	Advanced K8s, cluster-admin exercises
`vm`	Dedicated VM per participant	OS-level training, full root access

Note

Isolation mode affects both cost and provisioning time. Namespace isolation is fastest and cheapest, while cluster/VM isolation provides complete separation but takes longer to provision.

Session Lifecycle

Sessions progress through these states:

State	Description
`scheduled`	Session created, waiting for start time
`provisioning`	Start time reached, environments being created
`active`	All environments ready, session in progress
`extending`	Duration being extended
`ending`	Session ending, cleanup in progress
`completed`	Session finished, environments destroyed
`cancelled`	Session cancelled before starting

# View session status
teactl session status kubernetes-workshop

# Output:
# Session: kubernetes-workshop
# State: active
# Started: 2024-06-15 09:00 UTC
# Ends: 2024-06-15 13:00 UTC
# Time remaining: 2h 34m
#
# Participants: 18/25
# Environments:
#   ready: 18
#   creating: 0
#   failed: 0

Adding Participants

Direct Addition

# Add by email
teactl session participant add kubernetes-workshop 
  --email [email protected]

# Add multiple
teactl session participant add kubernetes-workshop 
  --emails [email protected],[email protected],[email protected]

# Import from file
teactl session participant import kubernetes-workshop 
  --file participants.csv

Self-Registration

# Generate registration link
teactl session register-link kubernetes-workshop

# Output:
# Registration URL: https://teabar.dev/join/abc123xyz
# Valid until: 2024-06-15 09:00 UTC
# Slots remaining: 25

Participant Access Methods

Participants can access their environments through multiple methods:

Web Terminal

# Get web access URL
teactl session participant kubernetes-workshop [email protected]

# Output includes:
# Web Terminal: https://teabar.dev/terminal/env-abc123

Unique Access Links

Each participant receives a unique URL to access their environment:

# Send access links to all participants
teactl session notify kubernetes-workshop --send-access-links

# Get specific participant's link
teactl session access-link kubernetes-workshop --participant [email protected]

Kubeconfig Download

For Kubernetes environments:

# Participant downloads their kubeconfig
teactl env kubeconfig kubernetes-workshop-alice-001 > ~/.kube/config

# Or use directly
export KUBECONFIG=$(teactl env kubeconfig kubernetes-workshop-alice-001)
kubectl get pods

SSH Access

For VM-based environments:

# Get SSH connection info
teactl session ssh kubernetes-workshop --participant [email protected]

# Direct SSH
teactl env ssh kubernetes-workshop-alice-001

Activity Tracking

Monitor what participants do during the session:

# View activity summary
teactl session activity kubernetes-workshop

# View specific participant's activity
teactl session activity kubernetes-workshop --participant [email protected]

# Real-time activity stream
teactl session activity kubernetes-workshop --follow

Tracked Activities

Activity Type	Description
`git.*`	Git operations (push, pull, clone, commit)
`kubectl.*`	Kubernetes API calls
`shell.*`	Terminal commands
`pipeline.*`	CI/CD pipeline runs
`milestone.*`	Custom checkpoint events

# Filter by activity type
teactl session activity kubernetes-workshop --type kubectl

# Export activity log
teactl session activity kubernetes-workshop --export json > activity.json

Checkpoints

Save and restore environment state during sessions:

# Create checkpoint for participant
teactl session checkpoint create kubernetes-workshop 
  --participant [email protected] 
  --name "after-deployment"

# Restore to checkpoint
teactl session checkpoint restore kubernetes-workshop 
  --participant [email protected] 
  --name "after-deployment"

# Create checkpoint for all participants
teactl session checkpoint create kubernetes-workshop 
  --all 
  --name "starting-point"

Tip

Create a checkpoint at the start of exercises. If participants get stuck, they can restore to a known-good state instead of starting over.

Session Management

Extending Duration

# Extend for all participants
teactl session extend kubernetes-workshop --duration 1h

# Extend for specific participant
teactl session extend kubernetes-workshop 
  --participant [email protected] 
  --duration 30m

Resetting Environments

# Reset single participant's environment
teactl session reset kubernetes-workshop 
  --participant [email protected]

# Reset all failed environments
teactl session reset kubernetes-workshop --failed

# Reset to specific checkpoint
teactl session reset kubernetes-workshop 
  --participant [email protected] 
  --checkpoint "starting-point"

Monitoring

# Open live dashboard
teactl session dashboard kubernetes-workshop --open

# View resource utilization
teactl session resources kubernetes-workshop

# Check for issues
teactl session health kubernetes-workshop

Notifications

Configure automated notifications:

# Set up session notifications
teactl session notify kubernetes-workshop 
  --on-ready "Your environment is ready at {access_url}" 
  --on-warning "30 minutes remaining" 
  --on-ending "Session ending in 5 minutes"

# Send custom message
teactl session message kubernetes-workshop 
  --subject "Break time!" 
  --body "We'll resume in 15 minutes"

Concurrent Sessions

Multiple sessions can run simultaneously:

# Within same seminar
teactl session create --seminar k8s-101 --name "morning-cohort" ...
teactl session create --seminar k8s-101 --name "afternoon-cohort" ...

# List active sessions
teactl session list --state active

Session Cleanup

Sessions clean up automatically when they end:

# View cleanup status
teactl session status kubernetes-workshop --cleanup

# Force early cleanup
teactl session end kubernetes-workshop

# End but keep environments
teactl session end kubernetes-workshop --keep-environments

# Cancel scheduled session
teactl session cancel kubernetes-workshop

Costs

Track session costs in real-time:

# View current costs
teactl session cost kubernetes-workshop

# Output:
# Session: kubernetes-workshop
# Duration: 4 hours
# Participants: 18
#
# Current costs:
#   Compute: $32.40
#   Storage: $1.80
#   Network: $0.90
#   Platform: $5.40
#   Total: $40.50
#
# Projected final: $54.00
# Per participant: $3.00

Best Practices

Start provisioning early: Use --pre-provision to create environments before the session start time
Set realistic durations: Add 30-60 minute buffer for late starters
Test your blueprint: Run a single-participant test session first
Enable monitoring: Watch the dashboard during the session
Create starting checkpoints: Allow easy recovery if participants break things
Configure notifications: Keep participants informed about time remaining