MQTT
Also known as: Message Queuing Telemetry Transport
MQTT is a lightweight messaging protocol in which sensors and devices publish their data to a central broker instead of being polled one by one.
MQTT is a device-to-device protocol built on the publish/subscribe pattern: a sensor publishes its readings under a topic at a central broker, and every system that needs those readings subscribes to the topic. Sender and receiver never know each other — they only know the broker.
The advantage over classic polling is twofold: a reading arrives the moment it occurs rather than at the next polling interval, and the payload stays small enough for devices with little processing power, a radio link or battery power. That is exactly what the protocol was designed for.
The most common mistakes are not in the protocol but around it: a broker without encryption and without authentication, reachable from the entire company network; topic structures nobody documented that nobody understands after the second construction phase; and IoT devices in the same network segment as workstations and servers, where one compromised sensor becomes the way in.
What it means in practice
MQTT turns up regularly in building and plant technology — usually set up by the equipment vendor with no regard for the rest of the network. NDVDL connects such systems, separates them from the office network through segmentation and makes sure the data paths are documented; at Smartenic that is part of the ongoing cooperation.
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