If you are new to edge computing, MQTT Server, or Ignition, you may feel somewhat overwhelmed. Cirrus Link Solutions has made it easy to implement an enterprise-wide system by creating a how-to video series.

Here is what is available to view:

In What is MQTT: Implementing MQTT in Ignition: Video 1, President and CTO Arlen Nipper, BSEE discusses the invention of MQTT and how it became the publish/subscribe messaging protocol we use in edge computing today. In How MQTT Works: Implementing MQTT in Ignition: Video 2, Arlen goes over the definitions and components you need to understand about MQTT architectures.

In MQTT Sparkplug Specification: Implementing MQTT in Ignition: Video 3 Arlen Nipper walks through what Sparkplug can do for you in terms of operational data, advancing from legacy register/value information to a single source of truth at the edge. MQTT & Ignition: Implementing MQTT in Ignition: Video 4 is a discussion of Ignition in digital transformation in which Arlen covers legacy approaches, poll/response protocols, MQTT modules, middleware, and Sparkplug benefits for edge computing.

In MQTT Distributor Module: Implementing MQTT in Ignition: Video 5, Travis Cox of Inductive Automation downloads, installs, and configures the MQTT Distributor Module for Ignition. The module enables MQTT clients and applications to securely connect, publish, and subscribe to data, supplying data to both applications throughout the enterprise. Travis installs and configures the MQTT Transmission Module for Ignition in MQTT Transmission Module: Implementing MQTT in Ignition: Video 6. 

In Using The MQTT Transmission Module to Publish Data: Implementing MQTT in Ignition: Video 7, Travis takes a deeper dive into the MQTT Transmission Module, covering the different ways you can publish data to a single MQTT server or to multiple MQTT servers in parallel. Travis also explains how to configure service sets and transmitters inside a transmission to accomplish different tasks.

In MQTT Engine Module: Implementing MQTT in Ignition: Video 8, Travis installs and configures the MQTT Engine Module for Ignition. The module allows us to connect to an MQTT server and subscribe to data.  It will automatically discover all the data that’s there and turn that data into usable tags in Ignition that you can add configuration to. In Allow Outbound Tag Writes: Implementing MQTT in Ignition: Video 9, Travis shows how to allow outbound tag writes using the MQTT Engine Module so you can write down to a tag in the PLC on the other side.

In Primary Host ID Setting: Implementing MQTT in Ignition: Video 10, Travis Cox discusses the primary host ID setting for the MQTT Engine and MQTT Transmission Module. Travis then demonstrates how to set up Transport Layer Security (TLS) in the MQTT Distributor, Engine, and Transmission Modules in How to Setup Transport Layer Security: Implementing MQTT in Ignition: Video 11. 

Travis shows how to set up the store-and-forward system in both the MQTT Engine Module and the MQTT Transmission Module in Setup Store-and-Forward System: Implementing MQTT in Ignition Video 12. Store-and-forward is critical to applications because if you lose connection to either side, you would otherwise lose data.

Sending Data to the Cloud explains the use of Cirrus Link Injector modules, and UDTs with MQTT is a how-to guide for creating and managing UDT’s in an Ignition Edge MQTT infrastructure. Finally, we have provided an Ignition MQTT AmazonEC2 Demo, showing the installation and configuration of Ignition and the MQTT Modules within AWS on EC2 instances.

Cirrus Link Solutions is your edge computing expert with over 30 years of experience. To learn more, contact us at 844-924-7787 or email sales@cirrus-link.com with any questions.