TL;DRThis blog compares popular MQTT brokers, evaluating scalability, reliability, security, deployment options, and operational complexity. It helps you understand how different MQTT brokers fit specific IoT application requirements and decision criteria.
Who is this blog for: IoT Architects, MQTT Implementers, Technical Decision-Makers
MQTT brokers help implement the publish-subscribe communication model between devices and applications. The MQTT broker also helps implement rules and filters that help make the communications efficient and secure.
Where are MQTT Brokers Used?
The most common use cases for MQTT and MQTT brokers are in IoT applications. In fact, MQTT is the de facto standard for IoT use cases. It’s deployed in bandwidth and resource-challenged environments where the clients have to be lightweight.
Thanks to the efficient nature of the protocol, MQTT is deployed across a variety of verticals and use cases. For example, it helps car-sharing app ShareNow to give its users instant access to their cars, it helps Munich’s public transportation system with real-time passenger information, and it helps Matternet monitor autonomous drones delivering medical samples.
Types of MQTT Broker
The MQTT specification lays out the functionality expected from an MQTT-based deployment, and that offers a common definition that communities and businesses can then use for building their applications.
Currently, an MQTT broker is available in the following variants:
How to Choose the Best MQTT Broker?
An effective way to evaluate software technology is through Architectural Requirements (a.k.a. Non-Functional Requirements). An MQTT broker comparison based on these architectural requirements should give you insight into how to find the best MQTT broker for your needs.Note: This is a category related view and HiveMQ’s Enterprise MQTT Broker is not the focus of this table.
Common Challenges by Variants
These NFRs should form the foundation of an MQTT broker comparison and it will help to have deeper understanding of each of the architectural requirements:
Scalability of An MQTT Broker
MQTT Broker Security
Resilience of An MQTT Broker
Agility of An MQTT Broker
Observability of An MQTT Broker
Availability of An MQTT Broker
Usability of An MQTT Broker
Extensibility of An MQTT Broker
Final Thoughts on Choosing the Best MQTT Broker
From an architectural perspective, it’s clear that enterprises should choose an MQTT broker that scales without compromising on the security and resilience of the application. The ability to tweak the parameters of the broker and integrate with enterprise systems like Kafka can be very powerful for a business.
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While resilience, security, flexibility, and scalability are key, it’s important that the MQTT broker you choose is easy to use and manage - manually and programmatically.
HiveMQ Enterprise MQTT Broker has brought innovative features to mature businesses for their mission-critical applications. HiveMQ has 100% compliance to the MQTT 3.1.1 and 5 standards while offering highly-specialized professional services and 24x7 support to 150+ IoT customers across the globe.
See how HiveMQ Enterprise MQTT Broker stacks up against your enterprise criteria for deployment. Contact us today.
