How to create an AWS SQS queue?

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Create an AWS SQS Queue: A Step-by-Step Guide

Creating an Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS) queue is a fundamental step in setting up a scalable and reliable messaging system in AWS. SQS is a fully managed message queuing service that enables you to decouple and scale microservices, distributed systems, and serverless applications. This guide will walk you through the process of creating an SQS queue using the AWS Management Console, the AWS CLI, and AWS SDKs.

Prerequisites:

1. AWS Account: You need an active AWS account. If you don't have one, you can create an AWS account for free.

A Step-by-Step Guide for Creating an AWS Account. Click here

2. IAM User Permissions: Ensure your IAM user has the necessary permissions to create and manage SQS queues. The AmazonSQSFullAccess policy will suffice for this tutorial.

Creating an SQS Queue Using the AWS Management Console

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console:

Navigate to the AWS Management Console and sign in with your AWS credentials.

2. Open the SQS Dashboard

In the AWS Management Console, navigate to the SQS service by typing "SQS" in the search bar and selecting it from the drop-down menu.

3. Create a New Queue:

  • Click on the "Create queue" button.

  • Choose the type of queue you want to create. SQS offers two types of queues:
    • Standard Queue: Offers maximum throughput, best-effort ordering, and at-least-once delivery.
    • FIFO Queue: Ensures that messages are processed exactly once, in the order that they are sent.
  • For this example, we will create a Standard Queue.

4. Configure Queue Details:

  • Name: Enter a name for your queue. Queue names must be unique within an AWS account and region.
  • Standard Queue: Select this option if it's not already selected.

5. Configure Queue Settings:

  • Visibility Timeout: Set the visibility timeout, which is the amount of time that a message received from a queue will be invisible to other receiving components. The default is 30 seconds.
  • Message Retention Period: Choose how long you want to retain messages in the queue. The default is 4 days.
  • Maximum Message Size: Specify the maximum size of each message. The default is 256 KB.
  • Delivery Delay: Set a delay for message delivery. The default is 0 seconds.
  • Receive Message Wait Time: Set the time for long polling. The default is 0 seconds.

6. Advanced Settings:

  • Dead-letter Queue: Configure a dead-letter queue to handle messages that can't be processed successfully.
  • Encryption: Choose whether to use server-side encryption (SSE) to encrypt messages in the queue.

7. Create the Queue:

  • Review your settings and click on the "Create Queue" button.

Your SQS queue is now created and ready to use. You can send and receive messages using the SQS dashboard, AWS CLI, or AWS SDKs.

Creating an SQS Queue Using the AWS CLI

1. Install AWS CLI: Ensure that the AWS CLI is installed and configured on your machine. You can download and install the AWS CLI from the official AWS documentation.

2. Create a Standard Queue: Open your terminal and run the following command:

aws sqs create-queue --queue-name MyStandardQueue

3. Create a FIFO Queue: To create a FIFO queue, you need to include the .fifo suffix in the queue name and set the FifoQueue attribute to true:

aws sqs create-queue --queue-name MyFifoQueue.fifo --attributes FifoQueue=true

Creating an SQS Queue Using AWS SDK (Python Example)

Install Boto3: If you are using Python, install the Boto3 library, which is the AWS SDK for Python:

pip install boto3

1. Create a Queue: Use the following Python script to create a new SQS queue:

import boto3

# Create SQS client
sqs = boto3.client('sqs')

# Create a new standard queue
response = sqs.create_queue(
    QueueName='MyStandardQueue'
)

print(response['QueueUrl'])

# Create a new FIFO queue
response = sqs.create_queue(
    QueueName='MyFifoQueue.fifo',
    Attributes={
        'FifoQueue': 'true',
        'ContentBasedDeduplication': 'true'
    }
)

print(response['QueueUrl'])

Conclusion:

Creating an SQS queue in AWS is straightforward whether you use the AWS Management Console, the AWS CLI, or AWS SDKs. By following this guide, you can set up an SQS queue tailored to your application's requirements, enabling you to build scalable and resilient systems. SQS is a powerful tool for decoupling microservices and handling asynchronous processing, and mastering its setup and usage can significantly enhance your ability to manage distributed applications.