With the NATS Server deployed we can start the service and connect to it from a client. As mentioned in the previous step, because the server is a text based protocol, a simple client such as telnet is enough.

Start Server

The command below will start the server using the first host in the background via nohup. By default, NATS listens on port 4222.

nohup ./gnatsd-v0.9.6-linux-amd64/gnatsd </dev/null &>/dev/null &

Start Client Host 1

To begin, connect to the running server from our first host.

telnet [[CLIENT_IP]] 4222

After connecting, the client receives a JSON block detailing information about the server.

Start Client Host 2

We'll then connect our second client to the same server.

telnet [[CLIENT_IP]] 4222

NATS Server has Sub/Pub features. By subscribing, you will receive all the messages other clients send to it.

Subscribe

On the first host, we'll subscribe to all messages of foo and we'll assign an ID of 1. SUB foo 1

Publish

One the second client we'll publish a message Hello World to foo with an ID of 11.

PUB foo 11 Hello World

On the first host, you'll see the message sent.