The Root

zenastra is the inherited digital domain of a Canadian photonics startup, now repurposed as the substrate for a household.

From optical networks to home networks — the name kept its meaning: light, routed.

Origin

Zenastra Photonics Inc. (Ottawa, 1999–2001) developed integrated optical components for fiber-optic networks. It raised ~$40M, shipped products, and went bankrupt when it couldn't secure a third funding round.

The domain zenastra.ca was inherited from this chapter — a father's legacy in photonics, now the root of a personal infrastructure that runs a home, health, finance, music, and family.

What Lives Here

HomeOps Docs     → ops.zenastra.ca
Home Assistant   → ha.zenastra.ca
Automation       → automate.zenastra.ca
Passwords        → vault.zenastra.ca
Finance          → finance.zenastra.ca
Vehicle          → tesla.zenastra.ca
Metrics          → grafana.zenastra.ca
Git              → forgejo.zenastra.ca
Notify           → ntfy.zenastra.ca
Chat             → chat.zenastra.ca
      

Naming

stlawrence (origin — implicit)
  └── zenastra.ca (inherited domain)
        ├── threepines (home)
        ├── summit (Unraid)
        ├── etherpine (OCI cloud)
        ├── cardinal (iPhone)
        ├── bluejay (Tesla)
        └── reckon (finance)
      

Lowercase. One word. No spaces. Personal meaning over descriptive labels.

Brand

Zenastra is celestial and technical — cool, precise, light-oriented. Distinct from:

• SoleVail (warm, emotional, creative — music)
• ThreePines (earthy, family, home)

Light, routed.