O OzServer How it works

In active development · built for the VATPAC Division

One server, every VATPAC controller in sync.

OzServer is a central authority server that every controller's vatSys client connects to, keeping sector ownership and tag data consistent across the whole network — instead of every client deciding for itself.

Sector ownership

Exactly one controller owns a sector at a time. Opening a position locks the sectors it covers, and ownership transfers cleanly through a request-and-approve flow.

Tag data authority

The controller holding an aircraft's tag is the only one who can update it. Every other controller sees the same data in real time, read-only, until it changes hands.

How it works

  1. 1

    Claim a sector. Controllers pick sectors from a "Manage Airspace Ownership" panel. Unclaimed sectors lock to them immediately.

  2. 2

    Request already-owned sectors. If a sector is claimed, the current owner gets a request. If they approve it, ownership — and every tag tied to it — moves over.

  3. 3

    Split airspace between adjacent centers. OzServer recalculates sector infill and tag ownership for every affected aircraft automatically.

  4. 4

    Stay in sync. The owning controller writes tag data; everyone else on the network receives it live, read-only.

Live network

Pulled straight from the API that backs the live map.

Controllers connected

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Aircraft tags tracked

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A few things OzServer quietly handles

Small details controllers benefit from without ever having to think about them.

ATIS carries over between controllers

An airport's ATIS is remembered centrally, not by whoever last typed it. When one controller hands off to another — or logs back in — the current broadcast is just there, instead of needing to be rebuilt from scratch.

A dropped connection doesn't cost you your sectors

Crash, or a rough network patch? Reconnecting to the same position within a short grace window hands your sectors and aircraft tags straight back, exactly as you left them.

Logging in on a position always wins

If someone's covering your airspace while you're away, logging in under your own position's callsign takes it straight back — no request, no waiting for approval.

Splitting airspace re-sorts everything for you

Combine or split adjacent sectors and every aircraft inside them is reassigned to the right controller automatically — nobody has to hand tags across one by one.

For developers

OzServer is open source — browse the code or follow progress on GitHub.

Backend

A Laravel application. The vatSys plugin talks to it over a token-authenticated REST API — polling for sector ownership state and pushing flight data record (tag) updates as controllers work traffic.

Real-time map

The /ops map streams sector, aircraft and ATIS changes over Server-Sent Events, falling back to a 15-second poll for anything that can't hold a long-lived connection.

Identity

Controllers are identified by VATSIM CID. Sector ownership and tag authority are both tied to that identity rather than to a client session.

Client plugin

The vatSys client plugin lives in a separate repository and isn't public yet — this repo covers the server and the website you're on.