Customize MQTT Broker Domain Name on HiveMQ Cloud Starter

We're thrilled to announce a new feature in HiveMQ Cloud Starter: Custom Domain Name functionality. This addition enables you to customize your MQTT broker’s domain name, ensuring scalability and flexibility. You can expand your services seamlessly without altering the endpoint to which clients connect. The Custom Domain Name feature also simplifies migration to the Cloud Starter cluster for those with existing deployments. Moreover, it strengthens brand association with your MQTT broker and makes recalling the address more straightforward when required.

Custom Domain Name for MQTT Broker

A Custom Domain Name refers to using a personalized domain name to resolve specific IP addresses. In our case, this custom domain is used to direct traffic to the HiveMQ Cloud MQTT broker.

Think of Domain Name System (DNS) as an internet phonebook. Normally, when you want to visit a website or connect to an online service, you type a domain name (like hivemq.com) into your browser or client. The DNS translates this human-friendly domain name into the machine-friendly IP address (like 15.197.167.90) that computers use to locate each other on the internet. A custom domain name simplifies a DNS address for your HiveMQ Cloud broker even further into a personalized and easy-to-understand name.

What Are the Benefits to Our Users?

Using a Custom Domain Name has the following advantages: 

• Brand Recognition: A custom domain name helps establish a unique brand identity. Clients will connect to a domain that is associated with your brand rather than a generic IP address, enhancing the professional appearance.

• Ease of Recall: A domain name is generally easier to remember than an IP or a generic DNS address. This can reduce errors when clients configure their MQTT connections.

• Ease of Migration and Flexibility: With a custom domain name, you can move your MQTT broker to a different server or cloud provider without requiring clients to update their settings. This provides flexibility to migrate to another MQTT broker without a significant effort. So now, you can easily migrate to the Cloud Starter cluster if you have an existing deployment.

How Do I Use This Feature?

You can access the Custom Domain Name feature in the OVERVIEW section of your Cloud Starter Cluster after the cluster creation. 

You can create your custom domain name in 4 easy steps. 

Step 1: Enter Your Custom DNS Name

Enter the custom DNS name that you wish to set for your MQTT cluster. 

In our case, we set it to mycustomhivemq.com. 

Step 2: Update Your CNAME DNS Records 

Establishing your domain requires the creation of two distinct CNAME records, i.e. ACME Challenge CNAME Record and Actual Alias CNAME Record.

• ACME Challenge CNAME Record: provides necessary authorization to oversee the security certificates for your domain

• Actual Alias CNAME Record: serves as the principal identifier for your domain 

Think of these records similarly to assigning two labels to your residence: one for verification by the postman to confirm its authenticity, and another for guests or visitors.

Step 3: Domain Verification

Once you have updated your CNAME DNS record, we will update our infrastructure to support it. The verification is swift and usually takes minutes to complete. In some special cases and depending on the DNS provider, changes to DNS configuration (CNAME records) could take up to an hour to apply. You can also leverage any publicly available service to check if CNAME was applied. 

Step 4: Apply Changes

Once your domain is verified, we apply a specialized certificate exclusively for your domain. With this certificate, your clients can securely connect with your cluster. While applying your custom domain, there's a small chance your clients may experience a disconnect.

Click on Apply my custom domain to make changes and get ready to use your custom domain name for your HiveMQ Cloud MQTT broker.

Summary 

The Custom Domain Name feature in HiveMQ Cloud Starter offers you an easy and straightforward way to have a personalized name for your MQTT Broker. A custom domain name helps establish a unique brand identity and is easier to recall than a generic address. It also facilitates migration to Cloud Starter with an existing deployment without changing the endpoint that clients connect to while also providing flexibility in the process.