RabbitMQ

RabbitMQ is an open-source message broker that implements AMQP and other messaging protocols. It routes messages between producers and consumers, decoupling the services in a distributed system. A built-in management plugin provides a web UI and HTTP API for monitoring queues, exchanges, and connections.

Software included

Component	Version
RabbitMQ	4.3.2
Ubuntu	24.04 LTS

Environment variables

Set these optionally when you deploy from the marketplace. Leave a field blank to have a secure value generated.

Variable	Description
`RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER`	Administrator username. Cannot be `guest`; on first boot, the image removes the default `guest` user and creates this administrator so a usable configured administrator remains
`RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS`	RabbitMQ default user password

Getting started

1. Connect to your VM

ssh ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>

2. Wait for first-boot configuration

On the first boot, a setup script enables the management plugin, creates the administrator, applies virtual-host permissions, and removes the default guest user. Track progress:

sudo journalctl -u rabbitmq-first-boot.service -f

The login message (MOTD) confirms when RabbitMQ is ready. You can also verify the broker directly:

systemctl status rabbitmq-server
sudo rabbitmq-diagnostics ping

3. Retrieve the administrator credentials

The generated credentials and connection details are stored in a root-only file:

sudo cat /etc/rabbitmq/credentials.txt

Field	Value
Username	Value of `RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_USER`, or generated securely on first boot
Password	Value of `RABBITMQ_DEFAULT_PASS`, or generated securely on first boot
Virtual host	`/`

4. Access RabbitMQ

Applications connect to the AMQP endpoint at:

<your-vm-ip>:5672

The management UI is available at:

http://<your-vm-ip>:15672

Managing RabbitMQ

# Check service status
systemctl status rabbitmq-server

# Restart
sudo systemctl restart rabbitmq-server

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u rabbitmq-server -f

Path	Purpose
`/etc/rabbitmq/`	RabbitMQ configuration and state files
`/var/lib/rabbitmq/`	Broker database and persistent state
`/var/log/rabbitmq/`	RabbitMQ log files
`/etc/rabbitmq/credentials.txt`	Generated credentials and endpoints

Security

RabbitMQ uses port 5672 for AMQP and port 15672 for the management UI. UFW is enabled and allows SSH (port 22) only by default. Both RabbitMQ ports remain blocked until you allow trusted sources.

To allow access from a specific IP:

sudo ufw allow from <trusted-ip> to any port 5672
sudo ufw allow from <trusted-ip> to any port 15672

To access the management UI without opening its port, use an SSH tunnel:

# Run this on your local machine
ssh -L 15672:localhost:15672 ubuntu@<your-vm-ip>

# Then open in your browser
http://localhost:15672

For production use, keep AMQP on a private network or configure RabbitMQ TLS. Place the management UI behind a reverse proxy so you can serve it over HTTPS with a trusted TLS certificate.