NATS

NATS is an open-source, high-performance messaging system for connecting microservices, cloud-native applications, edge, and IoT devices. Built for developers and platform teams, it provides publish/subscribe, request/reply, and persistent streaming (JetStream) with a lightweight, single-binary server. This offer delivers a pre-configured, security-hardened Ubuntu 26.04 LTS image running NATS 2.14.3 as a service, ready on first boot.

Who it's for

Developers, DevOps and platform engineers, and teams building distributed systems, microservices, or IoT solutions that need a fast, self-hosted messaging backbone they fully control.

Problems it solves

• Connecting many microservices and devices without brittle point-to-point links.
• Needing low-latency, high-throughput messaging for real-time systems.
• Standing up and configuring a self-hosted message broker from scratch.

Key benefits

• Exchange messages with publish/subscribe and request/reply patterns.
• Add persistent streaming and at-least-once delivery with JetStream.
• Scale to high throughput with low latency and a tiny footprint.
• Self-host your messaging backbone in your own Azure tenant.
• Full root access and a hardened base you can scale on the VM size you choose.

What's included

• Pre-configured NATS 2.14.3 on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, running as a service on first boot.
• Security-hardened base image, latest stable build, deployable in minutes.
• Category: Integration / Infrastructure Services

Usage instructions

NATS runs as a service and listens for clients on TCP port 4222 (no web UI); connect over SSH to check it, then connect a NATS client.
1. SSH to the VM.
2. Confirm the service is running: sudo systemctl status nats-server
3. Confirm the version: nats-server --version (expect nats-server: v2.14.3)

Free 24/7 support

Includes free 24/7 support plus ongoing maintenance and version updates, so your messaging system stays secure and current.

Disclaimer

NATS is open-source software distributed under the Apache License 2.0. NATS is a trademark of The Linux Foundation. This offer is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the NATS project, The Linux Foundation, or any third party. The software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind; you must review and comply with the applicable license terms. "Free 24/7 support" is provided by our team for this VM image, not the upstream project.

Deploy NATS on Azure in minutes.