How to Install RabbitMQ on Rocky Linux 9

Introduction

RabbitMQ is an open-source message broker that uses the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) to exchange messages between applications. RabbitMQ works as a distributed system that handles high-throughput workloads to efficiently improve applications' performance and stability.

In this article, you'll install RabbitMQ on Rocky Linux 9 and manage message queues on the server.

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

• Deploy a Rocky Linux 9 instance on Vultr.
• Create a new domain A record pointing to the instance's public IP address. For example, rabbitmq.example.com.
• Access the instance using SSH as a non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Update the instance.

Install RabbitMQ on Rocky Linux 9

RabbitMQ is not available in the default package repositories on Rocky Linux 9. Follow the steps below to install the RabbitMQ repository information and dependency packages.

1. Import the RabbitMQ primary signing keys.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo rpm --import 'https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/rabbitmq-release-signing-key.asc'

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

2. Import the Erlang signing keys.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo rpm --import 'https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/cloudsmith.rabbitmq-erlang.E495BB49CC4BBE5B.key'

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

3. Import the RabbitMQ server signing keys.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo rpm --import 'https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/cloudsmith.rabbitmq-server.9F4587F226208342.key'

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

4. Create a new /etc/yum.repos.d/rabbitmq.repo RabbitMQ repository file using a text editor like nano.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo nano /etc/yum.repos.d/rabbitmq.repo

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

5. Add the following contents to the file.

   INI

   Copy

   # In /etc/yum.repos.d/rabbitmq.repo
   
   ##
   ## Zero dependency Erlang RPM
   ##
   
   [modern-erlang]
   name=modern-erlang-el9
   # Use a set of mirrors maintained by the RabbitMQ core team.
   # The mirrors have significantly higher bandwidth quotas.
   baseurl=https://yum1.rabbitmq.com/erlang/el/9/$basearch
           https://yum2.rabbitmq.com/erlang/el/9/$basearch
   repo_gpgcheck=1
   enabled=1
   gpgkey=https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/cloudsmith.rabbitmq-erlang.E495BB49CC4BBE5B.key
   gpgcheck=1
   sslverify=1
   sslcacert=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt
   metadata_expire=300
   pkg_gpgcheck=1
   autorefresh=1
   type=rpm-md
   
   [modern-erlang-noarch]
   name=modern-erlang-el9-noarch
   # Use a set of mirrors maintained by the RabbitMQ core team.
   # The mirrors have significantly higher bandwidth quotas.
   baseurl=https://yum1.rabbitmq.com/erlang/el/9/noarch
           https://yum2.rabbitmq.com/erlang/el/9/noarch
   repo_gpgcheck=1
   enabled=1
   gpgkey=https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/cloudsmith.rabbitmq-erlang.E495BB49CC4BBE5B.key
          https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/rabbitmq-release-signing-key.asc
   gpgcheck=1
   sslverify=1
   sslcacert=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt
   metadata_expire=300
   pkg_gpgcheck=1
   autorefresh=1
   type=rpm-md
   
   [modern-erlang-source]
   name=modern-erlang-el9-source
   # Use a set of mirrors maintained by the RabbitMQ core team.
   # The mirrors have significantly higher bandwidth quotas.
   baseurl=https://yum1.rabbitmq.com/erlang/el/9/SRPMS
           https://yum2.rabbitmq.com/erlang/el/9/SRPMS
   repo_gpgcheck=1
   enabled=1
   gpgkey=https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/cloudsmith.rabbitmq-erlang.E495BB49CC4BBE5B.key
          https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/rabbitmq-release-signing-key.asc
   gpgcheck=1
   sslverify=1
   sslcacert=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt
   metadata_expire=300
   pkg_gpgcheck=1
   autorefresh=1
   
   
   ##
   ## RabbitMQ Server
   ##
   
   [rabbitmq-el9]
   name=rabbitmq-el9
   baseurl=https://yum2.rabbitmq.com/rabbitmq/el/9/$basearch
           https://yum1.rabbitmq.com/rabbitmq/el/9/$basearch
   repo_gpgcheck=1
   enabled=1
   # Cloudsmith's repository key and RabbitMQ package signing key
   gpgkey=https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/cloudsmith.rabbitmq-server.9F4587F226208342.key
          https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/rabbitmq-release-signing-key.asc
   gpgcheck=1
   sslverify=1
   sslcacert=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt
   metadata_expire=300
   pkg_gpgcheck=1
   autorefresh=1
   type=rpm-md
   
   [rabbitmq-el9-noarch]
   name=rabbitmq-el9-noarch
   baseurl=https://yum2.rabbitmq.com/rabbitmq/el/9/noarch
           https://yum1.rabbitmq.com/rabbitmq/el/9/noarch
   repo_gpgcheck=1
   enabled=1
   # Cloudsmith's repository key and RabbitMQ package signing key
   gpgkey=https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/cloudsmith.rabbitmq-server.9F4587F226208342.key
          https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/rabbitmq-release-signing-key.asc
   gpgcheck=1
   sslverify=1
   sslcacert=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt
   metadata_expire=300
   pkg_gpgcheck=1
   autorefresh=1
   type=rpm-md
   
   [rabbitmq-el9-source]
   name=rabbitmq-el9-source
   baseurl=https://yum2.rabbitmq.com/rabbitmq/el/9/SRPMS
           https://yum1.rabbitmq.com/rabbitmq/el/9/SRPMS
   repo_gpgcheck=1
   enabled=1
   gpgkey=https://github.com/rabbitmq/signing-keys/releases/download/3.0/cloudsmith.rabbitmq-server.9F4587F226208342.key
   gpgcheck=0
   sslverify=1
   sslcacert=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt
   metadata_expire=300
   pkg_gpgcheck=1
   autorefresh=1
   type=rpm-md

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Save and close the file.

   The above configuration enables access to the RabbitMQ and Erlang repositories for Rocky Linux 9.

6. Update the server's package information index to apply the new repository.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo dnf update -y

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

7. Install the socat and logrotate RabbitMQ dependency packages.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo dnf install -y socat logrotate

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

8. Install RabbitMQ and Erlang.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo dnf install -y erlang rabbitmq-server

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

9. Enable the RabbitMQ service to automatically start at boot.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo systemctl enable rabbitmq-server

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

10. Start the RabbitMQ service.

    CONSOLE

    Copy

    $ sudo systemctl start rabbitmq-server

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

11. View the RabbitMQ service status and verify it's running.

    CONSOLE

    Copy

    $ sudo systemctl status rabbitmq-server

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

    Output:

    ● rabbitmq-server.service - RabbitMQ broker
         Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/rabbitmq-server.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
         Active: active (running) since Wed 2024-08-14 17:57:40 IST; 1 day 20h ago
       Main PID: 995 (beam.smp)
          Tasks: 32 (limit: 48585)
         Memory: 178.0M
            CPU: 37.462s
         CGroup: /system.slice/rabbitmq-server.service
             ├─ 995 /usr/lib64/erlang/erts-14.2.5/bin/beam.smp -W w -MBas ageffcbf -MHas ageffcbf -MBlmbcs 512 -MHlmbcs 512 -MMmcs 30>
             ├─1048 erl_child_setup 32768
             ├─1366 sh -s disksup
             ├─1368 /usr/lib64/erlang/lib/os_mon-2.9.1/priv/bin/memsup
             ├─1369 /usr/lib64/erlang/lib/os_mon-2.9.1/priv/bin/cpu_sup
             ├─1669 /usr/lib64/erlang/erts-14.2.5/bin/inet_gethost 4
             ├─1671 /usr/lib64/erlang/erts-14.2.5/bin/inet_gethost 4
             ├─1687 /usr/lib64/erlang/erts-14.2.5/bin/epmd -daemon
             └─2043 /bin/sh -s rabbit_disk_monitor

    The RabbitMQ service is active and running on your server based on the active (running) message in the above output.

Configure RabbitMQ

RabbitMQ uses a web console to manage application processes on the server. Follow the steps below to create a new RabbitMQ user, install rabbitmqadmin, and run the web console on the default port 15672.

1. Get the latest RabbitMQ server version and assign the value to a new LATEST_VERSION variable.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ LATEST_VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/releases/latest | grep -Po '"tag_name": "\K.*?(?=")')

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

2. Download the latest rabbitmqadmin version from the RabbitMQ GitHub repository.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-server/${LATEST_VERSION}/deps/rabbitmq_management/bin/rabbitmqadmin

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

3. Set the execute permissions on the rabbitmqadmin binary.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ chmod +x rabbitmqadmin

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

4. Move the rabbitmqadmin binary to the /usr/local/bin directory to enable system-wide access to the tool.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo mv rabbitmqadmin /usr/local/bin/

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

5. Enable the RabbitMQ management plugin.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo rabbitmq-plugins enable rabbitmq_management

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

6. Create a new RabbitMQ user and set a strong password for the user. Replace exampleuser and strong_password with your desired user details.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo rabbitmqctl add_user exampleuser strong_password

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

7. Grant the user access privileges to the RabbitMQ console.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo rabbitmqctl set_permissions -p / exampleuser ".*" ".*" ".*"

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

8. Assign the user to a specific role, such as administrator.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo rabbitmqctl set_user_tags exampleuser administrator

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

Secure RabbitMQ

By default, RabbitMQ creates a guest user with full administrative privileges. Disable the user and enable secure access to the RabbitMQ console using valid SSL certificates to enable encrypted HTTPS connections. Follow the steps below to configure Nginx as a reverse proxy for RabbitMQ, disable the default guest user, and generate trusted Let's Encrypt SSL certificates to secure the RabbitMQ console.

1. Disable the RabbitMQ guest user.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo rabbitmqctl delete_user guest

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

2. Start the default firewalld utility.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo systemctl start firewalld

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

3. Allow network connections to the HTTP port 80 through the firewall to enable Let's Encrypt validations.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-port=80/tcp

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

4. Allow network connections to the HTTPS port 443 through the firewall.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-port=443/tcp

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

5. Reload firewalld to apply the configuration changes.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo firewall-cmd --reload

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

6. Install Nginx.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo dnf install nginx -y

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

7. Create a new virtual host for RabbitMQ. For example, rabbitmq.conf.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/rabbitmq.conf

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

8. Add the following contents to the file. Replace rabbitmq.example.com with your domain name.

   NGINX

   Copy

   server {
          listen 80;
          listen [::]:80;
   
          server_name rabbitmq.example.com;
   
          location / {
          proxy_pass http://localhost:15672;
          proxy_set_header Host $host;
          proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
          proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
          proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
     }
   
     location /mqtt {
         proxy_pass http://localhost:15675;
         proxy_http_version 1.1;
         proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
         proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
         proxy_set_header Host $host;
         proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
         proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
         proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
     }
   }

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Save and close the file.

   The above Nginx configuration creates a new reverse proxy connection to the RabbitMQ port 15672 and serves the web console using the rabbitmq.example.com domain on the HTTP port 80.

9. Test the Nginx configuration for errors.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo nginx -t

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

10. Enable Nginx to connect to localhost ports through the default SELinux configuration.

    CONSOLE

    Copy

    $ sudo setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect 1

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

11. Restart Nginx to apply the new changes.

    CONSOLE

    Copy

    $ sudo systemctl restart nginx

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

12. Install the Certbot Let's Encrypt client tool and plugin for Nginx.

    CONSOLE

    Copy

    $ sudo dnf install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

13. Generate a new SSL certificate for your virtual host domain. Replace rabbitmq.example.com with your domain and hello@example.com with your active email address.

    CONSOLE

    Copy

    $ sudo certbot --nginx -d rabbitmq.example.com -m hello@example.com --agree-tos

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

14. Test the Certbot automatic SSL certificate renewal process.

    CONSOLE

    Copy

    $ sudo certbot renew --dry-run

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

15. Restart RabbitMQ to apply the new changes.

    CONSOLE

    Copy

    $ sudo systemctl restart rabbitmq-server

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

Access RabbitMQ

Follow the steps below to test access to the RabbitMQ CLI and web console on your server.

1. Create a new queue in RabbitMQ to store and manage messages.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ rabbitmqadmin -u exampleuser -p strong_password declare queue name=testqueue durable=true

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

2. Publish a new message to the queue.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ rabbitmqadmin -u exampleuser -p strong_password publish routing_key=testqueue payload="Greetings from Vultr"

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

3. Retrieve and view a message from the queue.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ rabbitmqadmin -u exampleuser -p strong_password get queue=testqueue

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Output:

   +-------------+----------+---------------+----------------+---------------+------------------+------------+-------------+
   | routing_key | exchange | message_count |    payload     | payload_bytes | payload_encoding | properties | redelivered |
   +-------------+----------+---------------+----------------+---------------+------------------+------------+-------------+
   | testqueue   |          | 0             | Greetings from Vultr | 14            | string     |            | False       |
   +-------------+----------+---------------+----------------+---------------+------------------+------------+-------------+

4. Access your domain using a web browser such as Chrome to manage queues using the RabbitMQ web console.

   https://app.example.com

   Enter the administrative user's details you created earlier and click Login to acccess the web console.

   

5. Expand the Nodes group to view your RabbitMQ node information.

   

6. Navigate to the Queues and Streams tab to manage RabbitMQ queues.

   

Conclusion

You have installed RabbitMQ on a Rocky Linux 9 and enabled access to the web console. RabbitMQ securely handles message exchanges between microservices. For more information and advanced configuration options, visit the RabbitMQ Documentation.