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MQTT- A Machine-to-Machine Protocol

Introduction

Message Queuing Telemetry Transport was successfully launched by IBM in the late 1990s. The software’s original purpose was to link satellites with sensors on oil pipelines. It is an asynchronous connection protocol for messages between parties. MQTT Protocol uses two types of network entities: a message broker and different users. A server acting as a MQTT broker accepts each message the user submits and passes the messages to the proper users. A Server module runs on any device, from a modest controller to a full-fledged server, that connects to a Message broker across a network. A Server user is a device like that. It must function via a transport protocol, typically TCP/IP, that offers arranged, lossless, bidirectional connections. It is both a recommended ISO (ISO/IEC 20922) and an open OASIS standard.  

What is MQTT?  

Message Queuing Telemetry Transport is known as MQTT. It is a lightweight messaging protocol for usage in scenarios where clients need a minimal code footprint and are connected to unstable or bandwidth-constrained networks. MQTT is mostly used for Internet of Things connections or machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. 

Benefits 

  • MQTT is a machine-to-machine protocol, allowing for inter-device communication. 
  • It does not require that both the user and the server set up a link at an equal time. 
  • MQTT provides quick service just as Messaging app and offers quicker data transmission. 
  • Effective data sharing is possible.
  • It can increase scalability. 
  • MQTTis very useful for remote sensing and control. 
  • It may have light overhead. 
  • MQTT is secure by permission-based security.

Drawbacks 

  • Compared to HTTP, it is not as simple to implement. 
  • It does not support features like flow control. 
  • When compared to Constrained Application Protocol, it has slower send cycles (CoAP). 
  • CoAP uses a based on the management discovery approach, while MQTT’s resource discovery relies on flexible topic subscription. 
  • The thing is not secure. For security encryption, it uses TLS/SSL (Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer). 

Major new MQTT v5.0 Features

  • Reason codes: There is now support for return codes in acknowledgements, which give a reason for a failure. 
  • Shared Subscriptions: Allowing client load balancing will reduce the risk of load problems. 
  • Message expiry: If a message is not delivered before its expiration date, it is deleted. 
  • Topic Alias: The names of the topics themselves can grow so long that they restrict the protocol’s small footprint. When using the same subjects again, topic strings can now be swapped out for a single number. 
  • Response Topic: Enables a request-response use that is more like how the internet’s IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4) and IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) network is used. 

 Conclusion 

It is lightweight and useful for remote monitoring, especially in machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. It is a good choice for wireless networks that often experience delay issues because of bandwidth limitations or irregular connections. For IoT applications, an asynchronous messaging protocol is far more acceptable. The network can find the best path and time for delivery to its target devices and services using the readings that the sensors can send in.