Beginner’s Guide: How to Deploy OpenMCP Server on AWS [2025 Edition]

Introduction

OpenMCP Server is a key foundation for enabling secure integration between generative AI and external data sources or systems. This article provides a beginner-friendly, step-by-step guide to setting up an OpenMCP Server on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

This guide is especially useful for IT teams, AI engineers, and newly appointed cloud administrators.

Overview of the Architecture

Here’s the basic architecture for running OpenMCP Server on AWS:

• VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) for network isolation
• Subnet to host the EC2 instance
• Internet Gateway for external access
• Security Group as a firewall
• EC2 Instance as the runtime environment for OpenMCP Server

Step 1: Create VPC and Subnet

1. Log in to the AWS Management Console and open the VPC dashboard.
2. Click “Create VPC” and configure as follows:
   • Name tag: openmcp-vpc
   • CIDR block: 10.0.0.0/16
3. Create a public subnet:
   • Name tag: openmcp-public-subnet
   • CIDR block: 10.0.1.0/24
4. Create an Internet Gateway and attach it to the VPC.
5. Create a new route table and add a default route (0.0.0.0/0) pointing to the Internet Gateway.
6. Associate the route table with your subnet.

Step 2: Create a Security Group

Security groups act as virtual firewalls.

1. From the EC2 dashboard, create a new security group.
2. Name: openmcp-sg
3. Inbound rules:
   • SSH (Port 22): Allow from your IP only
   • HTTP (Port 80), HTTPS (Port 443): Allow from anywhere
   • Custom port for MCP Server (e.g., Port 5000): Allow as needed

Step 3: Launch an EC2 Instance

1. Go to the EC2 dashboard and click “Launch Instance.”
2. Choose Amazon Linux 2 AMI.
3. Select a free tier instance type like t2.micro.
4. Under Network settings, choose the previously created VPC and public subnet.
5. Set “Auto-assign Public IP” to “Enable.”
6. Select the openmcp-sg security group.
7. Create a new key pair and download the private key (.pem file).
8. Launch the instance.

Step 4: Install OpenMCP Server

1. Use your terminal to connect via SSH:

   ssh -i "your-key.pem" ec2-user@<public-ip>
   

2. Install required packages:

   sudo yum update -y
   sudo yum install -y git nodejs python3
   

3. Clone the OpenMCP Server repository:

   git clone https://github.com/openai/openmcp-server-example.git
   cd openmcp-server-example
   

4. Modify configuration files to define endpoints and methods according to your needs.

5. Start the MCP Server:

   node index.js
   

Optional: Use Docker for Deployment

If you prefer Docker-based deployment:

1. Install Docker and Docker Compose.

2. Prepare your Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml.

3. Start the MCP Server as a container:

   docker-compose up -d
   

Tips for Operation and Security

• Ensure the MCP Server’s port is open in the security group.
• Assign an Elastic IP for stable access.
• Use a custom domain and SSL certificate for secure HTTPS communication.
• Enable logging and monitoring with CloudWatch.

Conclusion

Deploying OpenMCP Server on AWS enables secure integration between generative AI and internal systems or external APIs. By following this guide, even beginners can successfully complete the setup.

We hope this tutorial helps IT administrators, AI practitioners, and aspiring cloud engineers take a confident first step toward secure AI infrastructure.