4 ms·

Wow, I had no idea there was even demand for this kinda thing. I guess I assumed all setups were like my MQTT server that takes events from a few Zigbee devices

by pkulak 3y ago

Wow, I had no idea there was even demand for this kinda thing. I guess I assumed all setups were like my MQTT server that takes events from a few Zigbee devices every few minutes.

auspiv 3y ago
SCADA networks historically have very low available bandwidth (often due to being on the other end of a 10 mile radio link over 915 MHz with the radio & RTU powered by solar panels) and rely on a poll/response methodology. Even if nothing has changed, the poll happens, and the response sends the same exact data every poll. MQTT can be a far more efficient protocol if you only send updates. Multiply this situation by 1000x RTUs (now imagine you have a slightly better radio link from office to a remote tower, but that remote tower is communicating with 10x RTUs). You can see the need for efficient communication. Now - realize this is how natural gas pipelines are monitored/controlled in the mountains. You want that kind of communication to be reliable and scalable right?
- talldrinkofwhat 3y ago
  Does MQTT offer anything novel to the call/response problem if it's not just updates (e.g. battery controlled nodes that need to know when to wake up and act)? I started developing a system ~a decade ago and ended up writing my own messaging protocols/queue systems. It's been an uphill battle, and if there's something a little more modern in the wings I'm all ears (I'm porting over to more modern uC's so it makes sense to re-evaluate the stack I suppose...)
mannyv 3y ago
MQTT is heavily used in the IoT space because it's lightweight and doesn't require good connectivity.
- joezydeco 3y ago
  I've taken to using MQTT as an interprocess communication bus for embedded systems. When you run the broker on the same device as your clients you can do some really nice things, like take messages out of the device and into your development machine. Or inject them.
  - mannyv 3y ago
    I've been wanting to use mqtt as a mq, and been getting resistance from the other devs because it's alien technology...which is funny, since it's more scalable than a lot of webby things. Domain expertise can be a liability as well as an advantage.

by pkulak 3y ago

Wow, I had no idea there was even demand for this kinda thing. I guess I assumed all setups were like my MQTT server that takes events from a few Zigbee devices every few minutes.

auspiv 3y ago

SCADA networks historically have very low available bandwidth (often due to being on the other end of a 10 mile radio link over 915 MHz with the radio & RTU powered by solar panels) and rely on a poll/response methodology. Even if nothing has changed, the poll happens, and the response sends the same exact data every poll. MQTT can be a far more efficient protocol if you only send updates. Multiply this situation by 1000x RTUs (now imagine you have a slightly better radio link from office to a remote tower, but that remote tower is communicating with 10x RTUs). You can see the need for efficient communication. Now - realize this is how natural gas pipelines are monitored/controlled in the mountains. You want that kind of communication to be reliable and scalable right?

talldrinkofwhat 3y ago
Does MQTT offer anything novel to the call/response problem if it's not just updates (e.g. battery controlled nodes that need to know when to wake up and act)? I started developing a system ~a decade ago and ended up writing my own messaging protocols/queue systems. It's been an uphill battle, and if there's something a little more modern in the wings I'm all ears (I'm porting over to more modern uC's so it makes sense to re-evaluate the stack I suppose...)

mannyv 3y ago

MQTT is heavily used in the IoT space because it's lightweight and doesn't require good connectivity.

joezydeco 3y ago
I've taken to using MQTT as an interprocess communication bus for embedded systems. When you run the broker on the same device as your clients you can do some really nice things, like take messages out of the device and into your development machine. Or inject them.
- mannyv 3y ago
  I've been wanting to use mqtt as a mq, and been getting resistance from the other devs because it's alien technology...which is funny, since it's more scalable than a lot of webby things. Domain expertise can be a liability as well as an advantage.