Knowledgebase

RabbitMQ is a powerful, open-source message broker that enables efficient and scalable communication between distributed applications. It supports various protocols and is compatible with multiple languages, making it widely used for task queues, background processing, and data streaming. This tutorial will guide you through installing, configuring, and securing RabbitMQ on a VPS for a reliable messaging environment.

Step 1: Choose a VPS Provider and Set Up the Server

1. Select a VPS Provider

   • Look for VPS providers like DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, or AnonVM that offer good performance and scalability for RabbitMQ. A basic plan with 1GB RAM and 1 CPU is sufficient for small to medium applications.

2. Set Up the Operating System

   • For this tutorial, we’ll use Ubuntu 20.04 as the operating system since it’s stable and widely supported by RabbitMQ.

3. Update the System Packages

   • After accessing your VPS via SSH, ensure your packages are updated:
      

     sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Erlang (Prerequisite for RabbitMQ)

RabbitMQ depends on Erlang, a language designed for real-time, concurrent systems.

1. Add the Erlang Repository

   • Add the Erlang Solutions repository to get the latest version:
      

     echo "deb https://packages.erlang-solutions.com/ubuntu focal contrib" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/erlang.list
   • Import the repository’s GPG key:
      

     wget -O- https://packages.erlang-solutions.com/ubuntu/erlang_solutions.asc | sudo apt-key add -

2. Install Erlang

   • Update the package list and install Erlang:
      

     sudo apt update sudo apt install erlang -y

Step 3: Install RabbitMQ

1. Add the RabbitMQ Repository

   • Add RabbitMQ’s official repository:
      

     echo "deb https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/deb/ubuntu focal main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/rabbitmq.list
   • Import the repository’s GPG key:
      

     curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/gpg.key' | sudo apt-key add -

2. Install RabbitMQ

   • Update your package list again and install RabbitMQ:
      

     sudo apt update sudo apt install rabbitmq-server -y

3. Start and Enable RabbitMQ Service

   • Start RabbitMQ and set it to run at startup:
      

     sudo systemctl start rabbitmq-server sudo systemctl enable rabbitmq-server

4. Verify the Installation

   • Check RabbitMQ status to ensure it’s running:
      

     sudo systemctl status rabbitmq-server

Step 4: Enable RabbitMQ Management Console

RabbitMQ includes a web-based management console that simplifies configuration, monitoring, and control.

1. Enable the Management Plugin

   • Run the following command to enable the RabbitMQ management plugin:
      

     sudo rabbitmq-plugins enable rabbitmq_management

2. Access the Management Console

   • By default, the RabbitMQ console will be accessible on port 15672. Open your browser and go to:
     plaintext

      

     http://your-vps-ip:15672
   • The default login credentials are:
     • Username: guest
     • Password: guest
   • Note that RabbitMQ restricts remote login for the default user (guest). You’ll create a new user in the following steps for enhanced security.

Step 5: Create a New RabbitMQ User

1. Add a New User

   • Replace your_username and your_password with your preferred username and password:
      

     sudo rabbitmqctl add_user your_username your_password

2. Set User Permissions

   • Grant the user administrator permissions:
      

     sudo rabbitmqctl set_user_tags your_username administrator sudo rabbitmqctl set_permissions -p / your_username ".*" ".*" ".*"

3. Remove the Default Guest User (Optional)

   • For added security, you can delete the default guest user:
      

     sudo rabbitmqctl delete_user guest

Step 6: Configure Firewall Rules for RabbitMQ

1. Open Required Ports

   • To access RabbitMQ, open ports 5672 (for communication) and 15672 (for the management console):
      

     sudo ufw allow 5672 sudo ufw allow 15672

2. Enable the Firewall

   • Enable the firewall if it’s not already enabled:
      

     sudo ufw enable

3. Check the Firewall Status

   • Verify that the ports are open and the firewall is active:
      

     sudo ufw status

Step 7: Connect to RabbitMQ

To verify that your RabbitMQ server is configured correctly, you can try connecting to it from a local or remote client.

1. Python Client Example
   • RabbitMQ has several client libraries. Here’s an example using Python’s pika library. First, install pika:
      

     pip install pika
   • Here’s a sample Python script to connect to RabbitMQ:
     python

      

     import pika # Replace with your RabbitMQ server's IP address connection = pika.BlockingConnection( pika.ConnectionParameters('your-vps-ip') ) channel = connection.channel() # Declare a queue channel.queue_declare(queue='hello') # Send a message channel.basic_publish(exchange='', routing_key='hello', body='Hello RabbitMQ!') print(" [x] Sent 'Hello RabbitMQ!'") # Close the connection connection.close()
   • Replace 'your-vps-ip' with your server's IP address. This script will connect to your RabbitMQ instance and publish a test message.

Step 8: Automate RabbitMQ with Systemd (Optional)

1. Set Up Systemd Script

   • If RabbitMQ is not already configured to start automatically, you can create a systemd service to manage it:
      

     sudo systemctl enable rabbitmq-server

2. Verify RabbitMQ Starts on Boot

   • Reboot the VPS and check RabbitMQ’s status to confirm it starts automatically:
      

     sudo systemctl status rabbitmq-server

Step 9: Secure RabbitMQ (Optional but Recommended)

1. Enable SSL/TLS (Optional)

   • For secure communication, you can configure RabbitMQ to use SSL/TLS. This process requires generating SSL certificates and configuring RabbitMQ’s configuration files for encrypted communication.

2. Restrict Access (Optional)

   • If RabbitMQ will only be used by internal applications, consider binding RabbitMQ to the localhost interface. Modify the RabbitMQ configuration file (/etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.conf) to restrict access to the VPS’s local network.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you’ve successfully set up RabbitMQ on your VPS, created a secure user, configured the firewall, and connected a client. RabbitMQ is now ready to handle high-performance messaging between your applications, whether for background job processing, real-time data transfer, or microservices communication.

This configuration provides a solid foundation for RabbitMQ in a production environment. From here, you can expand by adding clustering, SSL encryption, and tuning RabbitMQ’s settings for better performance.