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The fastest repeatable way to run EMQX on your own VPS is the official Docker image on a supported Linux host. Give the node a permanent name such as [email protected], persist /opt/emqx/data and /opt/emqx/log, expose only the listeners your clients need, and complete authentication, ACL, and TLS configuration before accepting Internet traffic.
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This guide covers a single-node deployment, the ports and firewall rules it needs, first login, hardening, backups, and checks to run before production use.
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Choose Docker or package installation
Docker is the shortest documented path
Docker makes the deployment reproducible: the broker version is explicit, upgrades can be rolled back to an earlier image, and the container can be replaced without losing state when its data and log directories are mounted on the VPS. The example in this guide uses the official emqx/emqx-enterprise:6.3.1 image. Image tags are time-sensitive, so check the current EMQX release and deliberately pin the version you intend to operate rather than silently tracking a moving tag.
Package installation is also supported
EMQX provides packages for a computer or virtual machine running Ubuntu, Debian, Rocky Linux/RHEL, or Amazon Linux. This route integrates the broker with the host’s service manager and filesystem, but it requires you to manage package repositories, upgrades, service limits, and configuration directly on the operating system. Use it when your organization standardizes on native packages or does not permit Docker; otherwise, Docker is usually easier to reproduce on a fresh VPS.
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Plan the VPS before installing EMQX
Use a supported Linux host with a stable name
Choose a Linux VPS on which you control the firewall, DNS, storage, and backups. Create a DNS record such as broker.example.com and make sure it resolves to the VPS address before starting the node. EMQX’s node name should follow the form emqx@<host>, using a stable fully qualified domain name or IP address. Treat that name as part of the node’s identity: changing it later can cause data loss.
Resolve the hostname from the VPS and from an administrative workstation before deployment. If the name resolves differently inside and outside your network, select one stable identity and correct DNS or use the VPS address consistently. Do not rename a running node casually during a migration.
Size storage and compute from workload, not a universal number
There is no single official VPS size that fits every EMQX deployment. CPU, memory, disk capacity, and connection limits depend on client count, message rate, payload size, retained messages, rules, integrations, and logging. Estimate those variables, leave headroom, and monitor the host after representative traffic is connected.
- Use a disk with enough capacity for EMQX state, retained data, logs, crash dumps, and backup staging.
- Use a UTF-8 locale on the Linux host.
- Check that every listener port you plan to use is free before launching the container.
- Set file-descriptor and service limits appropriate to the expected number of connections; a default VPS limit may be too low for a large fleet.
Decide which listeners clients actually need
Do not publish every EMQX listener by default. Native MQTT clients commonly need encrypted MQTT on 8883. Browser applications need secure WebSocket on 8084. Plain MQTT on 1883 and unencrypted WebSocket on 8083 should be limited to internal or transitional networks. The Dashboard and REST API on 18083 should be reachable only by administrators, preferably through a VPN or an allowlisted management network.
| Port | Protocol and purpose | Internet exposure |
|---|---|---|
| 1883/TCP | MQTT over unencrypted TCP | Keep internal or transitional; do not use for untrusted networks. |
| 8883/TCP | MQTT over SSL/TLS | Preferred native MQTT listener for untrusted networks. |
| 8083/TCP | MQTT over unencrypted WebSocket | Use only where the network is trusted or during a controlled transition. |
| 8084/TCP | MQTT over secure WebSocket | Preferred browser/WebSocket listener on untrusted networks. |
| 18083/TCP | EMQX Dashboard and REST API over HTTP | Restrict to an administrator network or VPN. |
| 4370/TCP | Erlang distribution | Internal control traffic; never open publicly. |
| 5370/TCP and offset ports | Cluster RPC | Internal cluster traffic; never open publicly. |
Prepare the VPS
Create persistent directories
Make host directories before starting the container so replacing the container does not remove broker state or crash evidence:
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sudo mkdir -p /opt/emqx/data /opt/emqx/log
sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /opt/emqx/data /opt/emqx/logThe container runs as the emqx user with UID 1000. The log directory must be writable by that UID; otherwise EMQX may start with missing file logs or fail when it writes a crash dump. Keep the data and log paths on persistent VPS storage rather than an ephemeral container layer.
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Open only required firewall paths
Use both the VPS provider’s security group and the Linux host firewall. Start with no public broker ports, then add only the listeners required by your client population. For example, an administrator allowlist can be expressed with a host firewall rule like:
sudo ufw allow from <admin-cidr> to any port 18083 proto tcp
sudo ufw allow 8883/tcp
sudo ufw allow 8084/tcpReplace <admin-cidr> with the real management range. Omit 1883 or 8083 unless a defined internal or transitional use requires them. Never add 4370 or 5370 to public rules; cluster and Erlang control traffic belongs on a private network between nodes.
Start a single EMQX node with Docker
Run a pinned image with a permanent node name
After installing Docker Engine on the supported Linux VPS, create the container with persistent mounts and only the ports you selected. This representative command publishes all five client and management listeners so you can remove any that you do not need:
sudo docker run -d
--name emqx
--restart unless-stopped
-e [email protected]
-p 1883:1883
-p 8883:8883
-p 8083:8083
-p 8084:8084
-p 18083:18083
-v /opt/emqx/data:/opt/emqx/data
-v /opt/emqx/log:/opt/emqx/log
emqx/emqx-enterprise:6.3.1Replace broker.example.com with the name that resolves to this VPS. Keep the node name unchanged for the life of the node. If you need only encrypted MQTT and secure WebSocket, remove the 1883 and 8083 mappings before starting. Publishing a port does not by itself configure certificates or make a listener secure; TLS must be configured inside EMQX.
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Confirm that the container and mounts are healthy
- Check that Docker reports the container as running with
sudo docker ps. - Inspect startup output with
sudo docker logs emqxand verify there is no permission or listener-bind error. - Confirm that files appear under
/opt/emqx/dataand/opt/emqx/log. - From an intended client network, test only the ports you chose to expose. A connection failure on an intentionally unpublished port is expected.
Complete the first Dashboard login
The quick-start Dashboard is available at http://<host>:18083/. The getting-started example uses username admin and password public. These credentials are for initial access only.
- Open the Dashboard from the administrator network or VPN, not from the public Internet.
- Sign in with the quick-start credentials.
- Change the administrator password immediately and store it in your organization’s password manager.
- Restrict port 18083 at the provider firewall and host firewall after confirming access from the approved management network.
- Verify that the listener and authentication settings you intend to use are active before connecting real devices.
Secure EMQX before exposing MQTT publicly
Enable authentication and authorization
EMQX allows all clients to connect when authentication is not enabled. Configure an authentication source—such as the identity system appropriate to your deployment—and define authorization or ACL rules before opening a listener to the Internet. Authentication answers “who may connect”; authorization determines which topics that identity may publish or subscribe to. Test both separately with an allowed client and an intentionally unauthorized client.
Design topic permissions narrowly. A device should normally publish and subscribe only to the topics it needs, rather than receiving a wildcard grant across the entire namespace. Keep administrative identities separate from device identities and remove credentials that are no longer assigned.
Configure TLS on 8883 and 8084
Use TLS whenever traffic crosses an untrusted network. Install a certificate issued by a trusted certificate authority or by your controlled internal PKI, configure the matching private key, and present the correct server name to clients. Disable legacy protocol versions and weak ciphers according to your organization’s security baseline, and rotate certificates before they expire.
Clients must validate the certificate chain and hostname rather than silently accepting any certificate. A certificate for broker.example.com will not validate when a client connects to an unrelated IP address unless that address is also covered by the certificate.
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Use mutual TLS when certificates identify clients
Mutual TLS (mTLS) is appropriate when each client should prove its identity with a certificate. Configure peer verification and provide EMQX with a trusted CA bundle. Certificate-to-username or certificate-to-client-ID mapping depends on that verified certificate identity; merely enabling server-side TLS does not establish client identity.
Keep plaintext and management surfaces private
Leave 1883 and 8083 on private networks or remove their published mappings. Keep 18083 restricted to administrators and avoid forwarding it through a general-purpose public reverse proxy unless the proxy and access policy are deliberately managed. The cluster-control ports 4370 and 5370, including their offsets, should remain on private node-to-node networks.
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Use a non-production client to validate the complete path: DNS, certificate trust, authentication, authorization, publish, and subscribe. For native MQTT, connect to the DNS name on 8883 with certificate verification enabled. For browser clients, use secure WebSocket on 8084 and the same trust and identity checks. Do not treat a successful TCP connection as proof that policy is correct; an authenticated client must also be able to perform only the topic operations granted by its ACL.
- Resolve the broker name from the client network and confirm it matches the certificate name.
- Connect with an identity that should be allowed and verify the broker accepts it.
- Publish a test message to a dedicated test topic and subscribe with a second authorized client.
- Attempt the same operation with a credential or topic that should be denied and verify rejection.
- Inspect Dashboard status and container logs for connection, TLS, or authorization errors.
Back up data and operate the node
Back up the data directory
For production safety, make periodic backups of /opt/emqx/data and exclude the trace folder. Store backups outside the VPS and protect them as sensitive operational data. Document which image version, node name, certificates, authentication source, and ACL configuration belong to each backup.
Run a restore exercise on a staging VPS before you need one in production. A backup that has never been restored is an assumption, not a recovery plan. The supplied installation guidance recommends the backup practice but does not establish a tested restore result for your environment.
Monitor logs, limits, and disk growth
Review the file logs under /opt/emqx/log and Docker’s container output for repeated authentication failures, listener errors, crashes, or resource exhaustion. Watch disk use for retained messages, rule or integration data, and log growth. Revisit file-descriptor and service limits as the connection count increases.
Plan upgrades deliberately
Because the container command pins an image tag, an upgrade is an explicit change rather than an accidental pull of a newer build. Read the release documentation for the target version, back up the data directory, stage the change on a test VPS, and retain the previous image tag so you have a defined rollback option. Keep the node name and persistent mount paths unchanged during the replacement.
Troubleshoot common deployment failures
The container exits or cannot write logs
Check ownership of both mounted directories. The container’s EMQX user is UID 1000, so a root-owned or read-only /opt/emqx/log commonly causes startup or crash-dump failures. Correct ownership, restart the container, and inspect the logs again.
A port will not bind
Another process may already occupy the host port, or the provider firewall may reserve it. Check host listeners before starting EMQX and either stop the conflicting service or choose a different host mapping. Remember that changing a host port changes the address clients use; it does not change the EMQX listener inside the container.
Clients connect but are rejected
Separate transport from policy. A TLS or WebSocket handshake failure points to certificate, hostname, protocol, or listener configuration. A successful handshake followed by a rejected CONNECT, publish, or subscribe points to authentication or ACL policy. Inspect EMQX logs and verify the client is using the intended listener and credentials.
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Confirm that 18083 is published, the container is running, and the provider and host firewalls allow the administrator’s source network. If the port is intentionally limited to a VPN or CIDR range, test from that network rather than from a random public connection.
A renamed node loses state
Do not change the node name as a troubleshooting shortcut. EMQX documents that changing a stable node name can cause data loss. Restore the original name and investigate DNS, certificate, or connectivity problems independently.
Quick Recap
Pre-production checklist
- The VPS hostname resolves consistently and matches the deliberate
emqx@<host>node name. - The image tag is intentionally pinned, and the upgrade path is documented.
/opt/emqx/dataand/opt/emqx/logare persistent, writable by UID 1000, and included in operations documentation.- Only required listeners are published; 4370 and 5370 remain private.
- Plaintext listeners are internal or removed, while public MQTT uses 8883 or 8084 with certificate validation.
- Authentication and ACL rules are active, and an unauthorized test operation is rejected.
- The default Dashboard password has been replaced and port 18083 is restricted.
- Certificates, trusted CA material, protocol settings, and renewal ownership are documented.
- Data backups exclude
trace, are stored off-host, and have a staging restore procedure. - Logs, disk usage, file descriptors, and service limits are monitored against the expected workload.
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