1

MQTT
Héctor Emiliano González Martı́nez

Abstract—MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) is a lightweight messaging protocol optimized for resource-constrained
devices and networks with high latency or limited reliability. Widely adopted in Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems, MQTT facilitates
efficient and secure communication between devices.

Index Terms—MQTT, Internet of Things, IoT, Communication Protocols, Message Queuing, Telemetry Transport, Publish-Subscribe,
Network Security, TCP/IP, SSL/TLS, MQTT Broker, MQTT Client

W HAT IS MQTT C OMMUNICATION P ROTOCOL ? Security and Integration

Overview of MQTT Designed to support secure communication, MQTT inte-
grates seamlessly with existing network security protocols
MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) is renowned to ensure that data transmissions between devices and
for its lightweight framework and is extensively used in brokers are encrypted and that authentications are securely
the Internet of Things (IoT) for device-to-device commu- managed. This is vital for maintaining the integrity and
nication. Designed primarily for sensors and small device confidentiality of sensitive IoT data streams. The proto-
networks, MQTT operates on a publish-subscribe model, col’s adaptability to secure communications makes it a
efficiently facilitating messaging between devices over con- robust choice for IoT implementations where data security
strained networks[1]. is paramount[2].

Design Principles Impact on IoT Development

The adoption of MQTT in the field of IoT has simplified the
The protocol is designed to provide high throughput and
implementation of network communication for IoT devices
reliable message distribution with minimal code footprint,
while enhancing the reliability and efficiency of these com-
making it ideal for environments where network bandwidth
munications. Its ability to scale with the growing number of
is limited and devices have constrained system resources.
connected devices and maintain high levels of performance
MQTT’s architecture allows for various levels of Quality of
with low resource consumption underscores its significance
Service (QoS), which cater to different reliability require-
in the expanding IoT landscape.
ments—from fire-and-forget delivery to guaranteed deliv-
ery of messages[2].
W HAT IS THE I NFRASTRUCTURE R EQUIRED FOR
THE P ROTOCOL TO W ORK ?
Operational Mechanism
MQTT Broker
At the heart of MQTT is its lightweight message bro-
ker, which orchestrates all communication between MQTT The MQTT broker acts as the central node in any MQTT
clients. This centralized broker model simplifies the net- deployment, handling the dispatch of messages between all
work’s complexity and enhances its scalability by managing clients while managing network security and connectivity.
all state information necessary for reliable message delivery. As the primary message router, the broker is critical in
Clients connect to this broker, subscribe to specific topics, ensuring that data flows efficiently between devices without
and publish messages that the broker then relays to other direct connections. For enterprise and critical applications,
clients subscribed to those topics[3]. the availability and scalability of the broker are paramount.
Brokers must be capable of handling millions of messages
and thousands of connections per second, which necessi-
Applications in IoT tates robust, scalable server infrastructure[3]. Features such
as load balancing and failover are essential for maintaining
MQTT is widely adopted in various IoT scenarios, such broker availability and performance.
as smart home systems, industrial monitoring, and health-
care applications. It efficiently manages the sporadic and
asynchronous data communication typical in these environ- MQTT Clients
ments. For instance, a temperature sensor in a smart home Devices acting as MQTT clients range from simple sensors
may send data only when significant temperature changes and home appliances to sophisticated industrial controllers
occur, a task that MQTT handles with minimal network and computing systems. These clients are responsible for
overhead[4]. publishing data to the broker and subscribing to receive
 2

updates, thus enabling a flexible, modular network of de- Topics

vices with varied capabilities. The lightweight nature of
Topics in MQTT are used to categorize and filter mes-
MQTT allows these clients to operate on limited power and
sages within the network. They are structured hierarchically,
processing resources, which is crucial for the scalability of
similar to a filesystem path, which allows for a granu-
IoT solutions[1]. Client implementations must be optimized
lar approach to message distribution. For example, top-
to maintain persistent connections and manage message
ics can be segmented like ‘home/kitchen/temperature‘ or
queuing effectively to support reliable communication un-
‘factory/machine1/status‘. This hierarchical structuring en-
der varying network conditions.
ables subscribers to register for messages that match specific
patterns or levels of interest, enhancing the flexibility and
Network Requirements scalability of message delivery. Topics thus play a critical
role in routing messages within the MQTT network and
The foundation of MQTT’s effectiveness is its ability to ensure that information is organized and accessible[4].
operate over any TCP/IP network, making reliable net-
work connectivity a crucial requirement. Configurations for
secure communications using TLS/SSL are mandatory to Publish
ensure data integrity and confidentiality across potentially
insecure networks. Furthermore, the network infrastructure Publishing in MQTT involves sending messages to the bro-
must be designed to support high availability and scalability ker under a specified topic. Any client configured within the
of MQTT brokers. This involves deploying MQTT brokers MQTT system can publish information, ranging from sensor
across distributed geographical locations to reduce latency data to control commands. The publishing client does not
and handle regional traffic effectively[2]. Network manage- need to know the identities or the number of subscribers; it
ment tools are also necessary to monitor traffic flow, detect merely sends the message to the broker, which then handles
bottlenecks, and manage network performance to ensure the task of distributing that message to relevant subscribers.
consistent QoS levels. This model simplifies client design and enhances system
robustness by minimizing the dependencies between the
message producers and consumers[4].
Additional Considerations
Beyond the basic components, the MQTT infrastructure may
also include integration with other IT systems and cloud Subscribe
services. This integration supports advanced IoT applica- Subscribing in MQTT involves clients expressing their in-
tions that require data analytics, storage, and processing terest in one or more topics to the broker. When a message
beyond simple message routing. For instance, brokers might is published to a topic that clients have subscribed to, the
integrate with big data platforms or cloud analytics services broker automatically delivers these messages to the sub-
to enable real-time data processing and decision-making[4]. scribers. This mechanism ensures that subscribers receive
Additionally, redundancy mechanisms, such as clustering all messages pertinent to their registered topics, without
and database replication, are crucial for ensuring data per- requiring any direct communication or connectivity with the
sistence and system resilience in case of hardware failures publishers. Subscription can be dynamic, allowing clients to
or network disruptions. subscribe or unsubscribe to topics at runtime, which pro-
Each component of the MQTT infrastructure plays a vital vides flexibility in receiving only relevant data as needed[1].
role in ensuring the overall efficiency and reliability of the This model of publish/subscribe offers several advan-
communication network. Proper planning and deployment tages including low latency message delivery, reduced net-
of these components are essential for leveraging the full work traffic, and improved scalability by efficiently dis-
potential of MQTT in diverse application scenarios. tributing the data load across multiple clients and brokers. It
perfectly suits environments where message producers and
consumers vary dynamically over time.
D ESCRIBE THE C ONCEPTS OF B ROKER , TOPIC ,
P UBLISH , S UBSCRIBE
MQTT Broker M ENTION THE S ERVICES OF MQTT B ROKERS
The MQTT broker serves as the central node that facili- C OMMONLY E MPLOYED
tates communication between different clients within the
Message Routing
network. It is responsible for managing connections, ses-
sion states, and the dissemination of messages across the MQTT brokers are adept at routing messages based on
network. The broker ensures that messages are delivered topic subscriptions. This essential service allows for efficient
from publishers to subscribers based on topic subscriptions. message delivery across potentially large and disparate net-
In essence, the broker acts as a post office, deciding which works of publishers and subscribers. By filtering messages
messages are sent to which clients based on their subscrip- according to their designated topics, the broker ensures that
tions, thereby decoupling the production and consumption data flows to the right destinations without unnecessary
of messages[3]. This architecture enables high scalability traffic or delay, thereby optimizing network efficiency and
and robust communication in distributed systems. responsiveness[3].
 3

Scalability and does not guarantee delivery. It is the fastest

Scalability is a cornerstone of MQTT broker functionality. and least reliable mode where no acknowledgment
High-performance brokers like EMQX are engineered to is required from the receiver. This level is used for
manage millions of concurrent connections and messages massive throughput of data where it is acceptable
without significant drops in service quality. This capabil- to lose some messages, such as in environmental
ity is crucial for supporting the vast number of devices monitoring or logging non-critical data[2].
involved in modern IoT ecosystems, from smart homes to 2) QoS 1 - At least once: This level guarantees that
industrial IoT applications. Such scalability ensures that the messages are delivered at least once to the receiver.
system can grow in response to increasing loads and more It requires acknowledgments from the receiver and
connected devices without the need for substantial changes retransmission of messages from the sender if an
to the core architecture[1]. acknowledgment is not received within a certain
timeframe. It is suitable for scenarios where message
delivery is crucial but some duplication of messages
Security
is acceptable, such as in order processing systems[3].
Security within MQTT involves several layers to protect 3) QoS 2 - Exactly once: This is the highest level
the integrity and confidentiality of data transmissions. Con- of service, ensuring that each message is received
nection encryption using SSL/TLS is standard, ensuring only once by the counterpart. It involves a four-way
that data passed between clients and brokers is resistant to handshake process between the sender and the re-
eavesdropping and tampering. Furthermore, MQTT brokers ceiver to guarantee exactly once delivery—thereby
support client authentication mechanisms such as user- preventing message duplication. This level is used
name/password credentials, certificates, and sometimes for all applications requiring strict message integrity
even more advanced methods like OAuth, providing a and no loss or duplication, such as in financial trans-
robust defense against unauthorized access[2]. actions or critical command and control systems[4].

Integration
Integration capabilities of MQTT brokers extend the utility Importance of QoS
of MQTT networks by allowing them to interact seamlessly The choice of QoS level significantly impacts the perfor-
with different technologies and platforms. This interop- mance and reliability of MQTT applications. Lower QoS
erability is crucial for creating a versatile IoT ecosystem levels are faster and consume less bandwidth but at the
where MQTT systems can connect with databases, analytics cost of reliability, while higher levels offer greater reliability
platforms, and other enterprise management systems. Such at the expense of speed and increased bandwidth usage.
integration facilitates more complex operations like real- Balancing these factors is crucial for system designers and
time analytics, machine learning driven by IoT data, and network engineers who need to optimize the performance
direct storage of IoT data into enterprise databases for and reliability of their MQTT applications across various
further processing[4]. industries[2].

Session Management
Configuring QoS
Effective session management is another critical service
provided by MQTT brokers. Brokers maintain state infor- Configuring the appropriate level of QoS for each type
mation for each client, including subscriptions and missed of message transmission requires a deep understanding of
messages. This service ensures that messages are not lost, both the network’s capabilities and the application’s needs.
even if a client temporarily disconnects and reconnects For instance, life-critical medical applications might require
later. Session persistence supports robust communication QoS 2 to ensure that all command and control messages are
patterns and ensures data continuity across device restarts delivered exactly once, while a system collecting tempera-
and network interruptions, which is essential for main- ture data every minute might use QoS 0 or 1 to optimize
taining the reliability of communications in dynamic IoT network traffic[3].
environments[3]. This nuanced approach to QoS ensures that MQTT can
be effectively tailored to meet diverse application require-
ments, from IoT devices scattered across a large geographi-
D ESCRIBE THE Q O S
cal area to high-stakes financial systems where data integrity
Quality of Service (QoS) in MQTT is paramount.
Quality of Service (QoS) in MQTT is a critical feature
that ensures message delivery under varying conditions
of network traffic and load. MQTT defines three levels of R EFERENCES
QoS to accommodate different requirements for message
delivery guarantees, each suitable for different types of [1] EMQX, “What Is the MQTT Protocol: A Beginner’s Guide,” March
5, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.emqx.com/en/blog/
applications based on their need for reliability and data the-easiest-guide-to-getting-started-with-mqtt. [Accessed: April
traffic efficiency[1]. 10, 2024].
[2] Fortinet, “What Is Quality of Service (QoS) in Networking,”
1) QoS 0 - At most once: Also known as ”Fire and 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.fortinet.com/resources/
Forget,” this level delivers messages at most once cyberglossary/qos-quality-of-service. [Accessed: April 10, 2024].
 4

[3] EMQX, “MQTT Broker: How It Works, Popular

Options, and Quickstart,” February 1, 2024. [On-
line]. Available: https://www.emqx.com/en/blog/
the-ultimate-guide-to-mqtt-broker-comparison. [Accessed: April
10, 2024].
[4] Ably, “What is Pub/Sub? The Publish/Subscribe Model Ex-
plained,” May 3, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://ably.com/
topic/pub-sub. [Accessed: April 10, 2024].