As part of Industry 4.0 and connected manufacturing, the MQTT protocol is becoming increasingly important. MQTT enables efficient, lightweight, and reliable machine-to-machine communication between machines, sensors, and IT systems.
Especially in industrial production, MQTT is used as the backbone for real-time data transmission and automated processes. manubes also utilizes MQTT – our platform can be deployed as a subscriber to capture, record, and transparently provide MQTT data to users.
This creates traceable and analyzable data foundations directly from the production floor.
But which commercial MQTT broker is best suited for which industrial scenarios? This article presents leading providers from Europe and the USA and compares them in terms of architecture, MQTT versions, industry focus and special features.
Requirements for industrial MQTT Brokers
Industrial brokers must deliver more than just basic connection mediation.
In addition to scalability and high availability, they are required to meet security standards such as TLS encryption and role-based authentication.
Support for MQTT 5.0 is essential for many modern use cases. In manufacturing, the Sparkplug B standard is gaining importance to ensure seamless integration of OT systems (e.g. SCADA, PLC)
Leading providers in Europe
- HiveMQ (Germany) offers a scalable platform for industrial and automotive applications, centered around the HiveMQ broker. The MQTT broker is designed to support millions of clients, is fully MQTT 5.0 compatible, and provides a range of enterprise features, including Sparkplug support.
- Cedalo (Germany) develops the commercial edition of Eclipse Mosquitto. The Pro version offers clustering capabilities, a web UI, and Sparkplug support, making it ideal for edge installations and embedded systems in manufacturing environments.
Leading providers in the USA
- AWS IoT Core is a fully managed MQTT broker from the AWS cloud. It offers scalable performance, security and validation features, as well as integrations with numerous AWS services. When combined with AWS Greengrass, it is also suitable for hybrid scenarios.
- Azure IoT Hub by Microsoft enables secure MQTT communication within the Azure cloud. The service offers comprehensive features for device management, digital twins, and scalability.
- IBM Watson IoT Platform – Message Gateway is targeted at enterprises with existing IBM infrastructures. The broker supports MQTT 5.0 and offers deep integration with traditional enterprise systems.
- EMQX (EMQ Technologies) is a globally deployed MQTT broker with an open-source core and an enterprise edition. With high scalability (up to 100 million connections) and over 40 integrations, EMQX is especially popular in large industrial installations.
- Cirrus Link (Chariot MQTT Server) focuses on industrial OT applications. With native Sparkplug support, the broker is specifically designed for SCADA and manufacturing environments.
- Solace PubSub+ offers a powerful event broker that supports MQTT alongside other protocols. It is particularly well-suited for enterprises looking to implement event mesh architectures across multiple locations.
Comparison table of MQTT Brokers
Conclusion
For industrial users, the market offers a wide range of powerful MQTT brokers. Choosing the right provider depends on individual requirements such as scalability, security level, cloud strategy and OT integration.
While HiveMQ and Cedalo represent strong options for manufacturing companies in Europe, AWS, Azure, and Cirrus Link offer proven MQTT solutions for cloud and hybrid architectures. Sparkplug support is playing an increasingly central role in integrating with existing SCADA and manufacturing systems.
Production data management with manubes
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