What's Actually Happening
ActiveMQ message broker is down or not accepting connections.
The Error You'll See
```bash $ ./activemq status
ActiveMQ Broker is not running ```
Why This Happens
- 1.OOM crash - Memory limit exceeded
- 2.Store corruption - KahaDB corrupted
- 3.Port conflict - Port already in use
- 4.Config error - Invalid configuration
Step 1: Check Logs
```bash # Check broker logs: tail -f data/activemq.log
# Look for errors: grep -i error data/activemq.log ```
Step 2: Check Memory
```bash # Check system memory: free -m
# Check Java heap: # In activemq.conf: ACTIVEMQ_OPTS_MEMORY="-Xms1G -Xmx2G" ```
Step 3: Fix Store Corruption
```bash # Check KahaDB: ls -la data/kahadb/
# If corrupted, delete and restart: rm -rf data/kahadb/* ./activemq start ```
Step 4: Start Broker
```bash # Start: ./activemq start
# Check status: ./activemq status
# Test connection: telnet localhost 61616 ```
ActiveMQ Broker Checklist
| Check | Command | Expected |
|---|---|---|
| Process running | activemq status | Running |
| Memory | free -m | Available |
| Logs | tail | No errors |
Verify the Fix
./activemq status
# Output: ActiveMQ Broker is runningRelated Issues
- [Fix ActiveMQ Slow Consumer](/articles/fix-activemq-slow-consumer)
- [Fix ActiveMQ Destination Full](/articles/fix-activemq-destination-full)