How to Install and Deploy Apache RocketMQ 5.1.4 on Ubuntu

System Environment

Java : openjdk version "1.8.0_392" Operating System : Tencent Cloud Ubuntu 20.04 image RocketMQ : rocketmq-5.1.4

Download RocketMQ

Official download page: https://rocketmq.apache.org/zh/docs/quickStart/01quickstart (see “Download and Install” section). GitHub release: https://github.com/apache/rocketmq/releases/tag/rocketmq-all-5.1.4 Ubuntu image download:

# Download release from the Apache mirror
$ wget https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/release/rocketmq/5.1.4/rocketmq-all-5.1.4-bin-release.zip

Deployment

Installation

Move the downloaded RocketMQ package to the working directory (here /opt) and unzip:

mv rocketmq-all-5.1.4-bin-release.zip /opt
cd /opt
unzip rocketmq-all-5.1.4-bin-release.zip

Component Description

RocketMQ 5.x includes three components: NameServer, Broker, and Proxy.

NameServer : registration center that maintains Broker registration info and provides address lookup for Producers and Consumers.

Broker : message server that stores, receives, and forwards messages.

Proxy : optional component that offers load balancing, traffic control, and rate limiting. Not required before version 5.x.

Deployment Modes

RocketMQ 5.x adds the Proxy component, allowing two deployment modes:

Local mode : Broker and Proxy run in the same process; only simple Proxy configuration is needed.

Cluster mode : Broker and Proxy are deployed independently, adding Proxy to an existing cluster.

Local Mode Deployment

Since Proxy is stateless, the cluster configuration remains based on the Broker.

Start NameServer

Enter the bin directory and run:

# Enter directory
cd /opt/rocketmq-all-5.1.4-bin-release/bin
# Start NameServer
nohup sh mqnamesrv &

Note: The default JVM memory for NameServer is 4 GB; adjust as needed.

Start Broker + Proxy

Configuration adjustment : If the server has both internal and public IPs, set brokerIP1 to the public IP in conf/broker.conf.

vim /opt/rocketmq-all-5.1.4-bin-release/conf/broker.conf
# modify brokerIP1 to public IP

The default Broker memory is 8 GB; modify as required.

Start the broker with Proxy enabled (replace localhost:9876 with the actual NameServer address):

# Enter directory
cd /opt/rocketmq-all-5.1.4-bin-release/bin
# Start Broker with Proxy
nohup sh bin/mqbroker -n localhost:9876 --enable-proxy &

Cluster Mode Deployment

NameServer: same steps as local mode.

Broker: same installation steps; start command example:

# On machine A, start the first Master (NameServer IP 192.168.1.1)
nohup sh bin/mqbroker -n 192.168.1.1:9876 &

Proxy: install on a separate server and start:

# Enter working directory
cd /opt/rocketmq-all-5.1.4-bin-release/bin
# Start Proxy (NameServer IP 192.168.1.1)
nohup sh bin/mqproxy -n 192.168.1.1:9876 &

Advanced Deployment Options

Beyond single‑node deployment, RocketMQ supports:

Multiple nodes, single replica : multiple Masters without Slaves.

Multiple nodes, multiple replicas – asynchronous replication : Masters with Slaves, async sync.

Multiple nodes, multiple replicas – synchronous replication : Masters with Slaves, sync sync.

Master‑slave automatic failover : automatic promotion of a Slave when the Master fails.

Refer to the official deployment documentation for details.

Visualization Client Tool

RocketMQ Dashboard – the official visual management tool.

Source code: https://github.com/apache/rocketmq-dashboard

Modify application.yml to set rocketmq.config.namesrvAddrs to the NameServer address, then run locally or package as a JAR for server deployment.