How to Deploy RabbitMQ – Message Broker System

RabbitMQ is a lightweight message broker that enables applications to communicate asynchronously by sending messages through queues instead of interacting directly. This architecture improves reliability, scalability, and performance across distributed systems.

This article explains how to deploy RabbitMQ using Docker Compose, configure persistent storage for queue data, and secure the RabbitMQ Management UI using Traefik with HTTPS routing.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• Access to an Ubuntu 24.04-based server as a non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Installed Docker and Docker Compose.
• Created a DNS A record pointing to your server’s IP address (for example, rabbitmq.example.com).

Set Up the Directory Structure and Environment Variables

In this section, you create a project directory for RabbitMQ and define environment variables in a .env file that Docker Compose loads automatically.

1. Create the project directory.

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   $ mkdir -p ~/rabbitmq-stack

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2. Navigate in to the project directory.

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   $ cd ~/rabbitmq-stack

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3. Create a .env file to store the environment variables.

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   $ nano .env

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   Add the following variables:

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   DOMAIN=rabbitmq.example.com
   LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL=admin@example.com
   
   RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER=admin
   RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS=STRONG_PASSWORD

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   Replace:

   • rabbitmq.example.com with your domain.
   • admin@example.com with your email.
   • STRONG_PASSWORD with a secure alphanumeric password.

   Save and close the file.

Deploy with Docker Compose

In this section, you create the Docker Compose manifest that deploys RabbitMQ and Traefik. Docker Compose uses the .env file to inject variables for domain routing, certificate generation, and default RabbitMQ credentials.

1. Create the Docker Compose manifest.

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   $ nano docker-compose.yaml

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   Add the following content:

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   services:
     traefik:
       image: traefik:v3.6
       container_name: traefik
       command:
         - "--providers.docker=true"
         - "--providers.docker.exposedbydefault=false"
         - "--entrypoints.web.address=:80"
         - "--entrypoints.websecure.address=:443"
         - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.to=websecure"
         - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.scheme=https"
         - "--certificatesresolvers.letsencrypt.acme.httpchallenge=true"
         - "--certificatesresolvers.letsencrypt.acme.httpchallenge.entrypoint=web"
         - "--certificatesresolvers.letsencrypt.acme.email=${LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL}"
         - "--certificatesresolvers.letsencrypt.acme.storage=/letsencrypt/acme.json"
       ports:
         - "80:80"
         - "443:443"
       volumes:
         - "letsencrypt:/letsencrypt"
         - "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro"
       restart: unless-stopped
   
     rabbitmq:
       image: rabbitmq:4.2-management
       container_name: rabbitmq
       hostname: rabbitmq
       environment:
         - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER=${RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER}
         - RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS=${RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS}
       ports:
         - "5672:5672"
       expose:
         - "15672"
       volumes:
         - "rabbitmq-lib:/var/lib/rabbitmq"
         - "rabbitmq-log:/var/log/rabbitmq"
       labels:
         - "traefik.enable=true"
         - "traefik.http.routers.rabbitmq.rule=Host(`${DOMAIN}`)"
         - "traefik.http.routers.rabbitmq.entrypoints=websecure"
         - "traefik.http.routers.rabbitmq.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt"
         - "traefik.http.services.rabbitmq.loadbalancer.server.port=15672"
       restart: unless-stopped
   
   volumes:
     letsencrypt:
     rabbitmq-lib:
     rabbitmq-log:

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   Save and close the file.

   In this manifest:

   • services: Defines the containers managed by Docker Compose:
     • traefik: Acts as the reverse proxy, handles HTTPS termination, manages routing, and automatically generates Let's Encrypt certificates.
     • rabbitmq: Runs the RabbitMQ server and exposes the Management UI.
   • image: Specifies the container image used for each service.
   • container_name: Assigns a fixed container name to simplify logging and container management.
   • command (Traefik): Configures Traefik with Docker service discovery, HTTP/HTTPS entry points, automatic HTTP→HTTPS redirection, and ACME (Let’s Encrypt) certificate generation.
   • ports (Traefik): Publishes ports 80 and 443 on the host so Traefik can receive and route all incoming traffic.
   • ports (RabbitMQ): Maps port 5672, the primary AMQP messaging port, to the host.
   • expose (RabbitMQ): Exposes port 15672 (RabbitMQ Management UI) to Traefik internally without exposing it directly to the host machine.
   • volumes:
     • rabbitmq-lib stores RabbitMQ’s persistent message/queue data.
     • rabbitmq-log stores RabbitMQ log files.
     • letsencrypt stores TLS certificates generated by Traefik.
     • /var/run/docker.sock allows Traefik to detect running Docker services automatically.
   • labels (RabbitMQ): Enables Traefik for the container, defines the domain-based routing rule, selects the HTTPS entry point, and specifies the internal port (15672) Traefik should forward requests to.
   • restart: unless-stopped: Ensures the service automatically restarts unless manually stopped.

2. Start the services.

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   $ docker compose up -d

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3. Verify that both services are running.

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   $ docker compose ps

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   Output:

   NAME       IMAGE                     COMMAND                  SERVICE    CREATED       STATUS       PORTS
   rabbitmq   rabbitmq:4.2-management   "docker-entrypoint.s…"   rabbitmq   2 hours ago   Up 2 hours   4369/tcp, 5671/tcp, ...
   traefik    traefik:v3.6              "/entrypoint.sh --pr…"   traefik    2 hours ago   Up 2 hours   0.0.0.0:80->80/tcp, 0.0.0.0:443->443/tcp, ...

   The above output confirms that both services are running successfully.

4. View the logs for the services.

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   $ docker compose logs

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   For more information on managing a Docker Compose stack, see the How To Use Docker Compose article.

Access the RabbitMQ Management Dashboard

In this section, you open the RabbitMQ Management UI using the domain you configured and verify that the dashboard loads correctly.

1. Open the RabbitMQ Management Dashboard in your browser.

   https://rabbitmq.example.com

2. Log in using the credentials you configured in your .env file.

3. After successful authentication, the RabbitMQ Management Dashboard appears.

   

Conclusion

You have successfully deployed RabbitMQ with the Management UI using Docker Compose and Traefik. Traefik handled HTTPS and routing for the management dashboard, and RabbitMQ stored data and logs on persistent host volumes. You can now create admin users, manage queues via the dashboard, and connect applications to RabbitMQ on port 5672.