# Overview
This chapter will walk you through the basic installation steps for EMQX, the minimum hardware specification, and the file and directory locations to facilitate future configuration and maintenance jobs.
# Download
EMQX will release the installation packages for different operating systems or platforms in each release. You may click the line below to download.
- EMQX website: https://www.emqx.io/zh/downloads (opens new window)
- GitHub Release: https://github.com/emqx/emqx/releases (opens new window)
You can also download the alpha, beta, or rc versions from our Github pages. {% endemqxce %}
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Besides the above deployment methods, you are also welcome to try our EMQX Cloud (opens new window), a fully managed MQTT service for IoT. You will only need to register for an account (opens new window) before starting your MQTT services and connecting your IoT devices to any cloud with zero need for infrastructure maintenance.
# Supported operating systems
The table below lists the operating systems and versions that EMQX supports.
| Operating system | Versions supported | x86_64/amd64 | arm64 (Apple Silicon) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu | Ubuntu18.04, Ubuntu20.04 | Yes | Yes |
| Debian | Debian10, Debian11 | Yes | Yes |
| CentOS/RHEL | CentOS 7, CentOS 8 | Yes | Yes |
| Amazon Linux | - | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | macOS11, macOS12 | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Windows Server 2019 | Yes | No |
# Hardware specification
Depending on the number of client connections, message rate, message size, and enabled features, the minimum hardware specification for EMQX varies.
Here we list the minimum hardware specification for running a simple EMQX function verification, with 100,000 client connections and 100,000 message throughput per second.
| Item | Mininum configuration | Recommended configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Node | 1 | 2 |
| CPU | 1 core | 16 core |
| Memory | 512 MB | 32 GB |
| Disk space | 1 GB | 50 GB |
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Note: In production environments, you may use our Server Estimate (opens new window) calculator to calculate the recommended hardware specification under various maximum connections and message throughputs.
# Files and directories
After installation, EMQX will create some directories to store running and configuration files, data, and logs. The table below lists the directories created and their file path under different installation methods:
| Directory | Description | Installed with tar.gz | Installed with RPM/DEB |
|---|---|---|---|
etc | Config files | ./etc | /etc/emqx/etc |
data | Database and files | ./data | /var/lib/emqx/data |
log | Log files | ./log | /var/log/emqx |
releases | Boot instructions | ./releases | /usr/lib/emqx/releases |
bin | Executables | ./bin | /usr/lib/emqx/bin |
lib | Erlang code | ./lib | /usr/lib/emqx/lib |
erts-* | Erlang runtime | ./erts-* | /usr/lib/emqx/erts-* |
plugins | Plugins | ./plugins | /usr/lib/emqx/plugins |
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- When installed with the compressed package, the directory is relative to the directory where the software is installed;
- When installed with Docker container, EMQX will be installed in the
/opt/emqxdirectory; - The
data,log, andpluginsdirectories are configurable via the configuration files. Mounting thedatadirectory to a high-performance disk is recommended for better performance.
Below will introduce the files and subfolders of some directories.
# bin directory
bin is the directory where all executables are stored, including:
emqxandemqx.cmd: Executables of EMQX. For details, see basic commands.emqx_ctlandemqx_ctl.cmd: Executables of EMQX administration commands. For details, see administration CLI commands.
# etc directory
etc is the directory that holds all the configuration files, including:
emqx.conf: Main configuration file for EMQX, contains all the commonly-used configuration items.emqx-example-en.conf: Demo configuration files of EMQX, contains all the configurable items;acl.conf: Default ACl rules.vm.args: Operating parameters of the Erlang virtual machine.certs/: X.509 keys and certificate files for EMQX SSL listeners, may also be used in the SSL/TLS connection when integrating with external systems.
# data directory
data is where EMQX stores its operating data, please ensure EMQX has read/write permissions for all files in this directory. This directory includes:
authz: Stores file authorization rules uploaded by REST API or Dashboard.certs: Stores certificate files uploaded by REST API or Dashboard.configs: Stores generated config file at boot, or config overrides when changed from API or CLI.mnesia: the built-in database, one subdirectory will be generated for every node and will be named after this node, e.g.,emqx@127.0.0.1. Note: If you need to rename a node, please delete the subdirectory named with the last name or remove it from the directory.patches: Stores the.beamfiles for EMQX to load as a hot patch. Can be used for a quick fix.trace: Online tracing log files.
In production, you should periodically backup the data directory (excluding the trace folder ) for data safety. Below are some key subdirectories and files within the data directory.
# mnesia
mnesia is a distributed database management system (DBMS) in Erlang for storing various data structures of Erlang. In EMQX documents, it is often referred to as the built-in database.
EMQX uses Mnesia to store its operating data,including alarm records, authentication/authorization data of the cients, Dashboard user information, etc. If the directory is deleted, all these operating data will be lost.
You can query the EMQX system information from mnesia through the emqx_ctl mnesia command. For details, please see Management Command CLI (opens new window).
# configs/app.*.config
EMQX reads the configuration in etc/emqx.conf and etc/plugins/*.conf, converts it to the Erlang native configuration file format, and reads the configuration at runtime.
The configuration items of EMQX are stored in etc/emqx.conf, data/configs/cluster-override.conf， and data/configs/local-override.conf. EMQX will read the configurations and convert them to Erlang native format so the system can apply them at runtime.
The main difference between the data/configs and the etc directory is that the etc directory stores read-only configuration files, while configuration updates from the Dashboard or REST API are saved in the data/configs directory to support hot configuration reloads at runtime.
# trace
trace stores the output from the Log Trace feature for debugging and troubleshooting. For details, see Log Trace.
# log directory
This directory stores the operating logs of EMQX, including
- ``emqx.log.*`: Operation logs of EMQX, for more information, see logs.
erlang.log.*: Copy file of the console log when EMQX is started in the background withemqx start