Simplify industrial data movement with MQTT
Cirrus Link’s MQTT modules for Ignition make it easy to connect, contextualize, and move real-time OT data using lightweight, event-driven architectures — all built on open standards.
Why MQTT for Ignition?
Traditional polling protocols create bottlenecks and data silos. MQTT changes that. By using publish/subscribe messaging and Sparkplug for data modeling, our MQTT modules enable scalable, decoupled architectures that support modern industrial needs — from SCADA modernization to cloud analytics.
Lightweight, secure, real-time data transmission
Decoupled architecture (no direct device-to-app binding)
Full Sparkplug B support for contextual payloads
Plug-and-play integration with Ignition
Available MQTT modules for Ignition
MQTT Engine Subscribe to Sparkplug data natively in Ignition
Build secure, efficient Industrial IoT (IIoT) solutions with the MQTT Engine module — a powerful tool for connecting MQTT servers to Ignition and delivering data to both operational and business applications with dramatically reduced bandwidth usage.
By leveraging a publish/subscribe architecture, MQTT Engine enables Ignition to consume Sparkplug-enabled data from edge gateways and MQTT-enabled devices like sensors, PLCs, RTUs, and OEM Edge Node Devices. These connections replace traditional host-based polling with a push-based, event-driven model — streamlining communications, increasing data throughput, and enabling highly scalable IIoT architectures.
Ideal for: wide-area SCADA systems or networks with constrained or expensive connectivity (like VSAT or cellular).
Key features
Increased data throughput and efficiency
Edge gateways handle proprietary polling protocols and publish updates via MQTT, pushing the polling load to the edge of the network. This reduces overhead, increases performance, and allows more frequent updates from a wider range of devices — including cameras, sensors, PLCs, and RTUs.
Self-learning tag creation
When MQTT Engine connects to an MQTT broker, it automatically discovers and creates Ignition tags from incoming Sparkplug payloads — no manual tag configuration required. New tags are learned in real time and instantly available within Ignition’s HMI, SCADA, and MES toolset.
Built-in system health metrics
Automatically generates system health tags to monitor device status, gateway connectivity, and broker availability. These metrics can be visualized with prebuilt dashboards or custom views, helping diagnose issues quickly and proactively.
Open source tools for device integration
MQTT Engine is built on the Sparkplug MQTT topic and payload specification, enabling third-party device manufacturers to integrate easily using open standards. Cirrus Link provides documentation, sample code, and example applications to simplify onboarding for any MQTT-enabled product.
High availability and security
With TLS-encrypted outbound connections from edge gateways to the MQTT broker, all inbound ports remain closed — reducing attack surface. Edge devices can automatically failover to secondary brokers and restore primary connections as needed, ensuring uptime and resiliency across the system.
File transfer over MQTT
Transmit images, CSVs, and other files from the edge using the MQTT Transmission module. MQTT Engine receives and stores files directly within Ignition, triggered through scripts, control tags, or automation logic.
Unified Namespace (UNS) enabled
As of version 4.0.23, MQTT Engine supports organizing Sparkplug messages into a Unified Namespace (UNS) format. Choose between standard Sparkplug views or a collapsed, UNS-style hierarchy to structure your industrial data for enterprise-wide visibility.
MQTT Transmission Publish Ignition tag data over MQTT — securely and efficiently
MQTT Transmission bridges the OT–IT gap by publishing real-time SCADA data from Ignition to MQTT-enabled platforms, enterprise systems, and IIoT applications — using the lightweight and open Sparkplug MQTT protocol.
Any Ignition tag can be transformed into a Sparkplug-compliant payload and securely transmitted to MQTT brokers, edge gateways, other Ignition gateways, or cloud services like AWS Greengrass — all without custom scripting or middleware.
Ideal for: wide-area SCADA systems or networks with constrained or expensive connectivity (like VSAT or cellular).
Key features
Mobilize OT data for enterprise use
Select and publish any Ignition tag to one or more MQTT servers — enabling a seamless flow of real-time data from SCADA to modern IIoT systems, cloud analytics, and machine learning tools.
Simple visual tag management
Use Ignition’s drag-and-drop tag editor to choose which tags to publish, apply transformations, rename or scale values — giving you full control over what data is shared and how it’s presented.
Store and forward for reliability
When a connection to the MQTT server is lost, MQTT Transmission stores time-stamped tag updates locally. Once the link is restored, the module backfills historical data and resumes live transmission — preserving data integrity across outages. Watch our video about store and forward.
Secure, outbound-only architecture
All MQTT communications are initiated from the Ignition gateway using outbound TLS connections — ideal for sending data across DMZ boundaries to enterprise or cloud systems without exposing internal assets.
Supports multiple MQTT servers
Transmit to multiple brokers simultaneously to enable redundancy, scalability, or hybrid cloud/on-prem architectures.
Built-in OPC UA to MQTT bridge
Easily connect legacy SCADA or HMI systems to modern IIoT platforms. MQTT Transmission acts as an OPC UA-to-MQTT bridge, allowing data from older systems to be securely mobilized with minimal effort.
Compatible with Ignition Gateway & Ignition Edge
Deploy Transmission wherever you need it — whether on a full Ignition gateway or lightweight edge device — to support a wide range of IIoT use cases.
File transfer over MQTT
Send files like CSVs, images, and other binary data from the edge to the central Ignition platform. File transfers can be triggered by scripting, tag values, or automatically based on system conditions. (Requires MQTT Engine + Transmission.)
MQTT Distributor Embed a lightweight, secure MQTT broker inside Ignition
The MQTT Distributor module turns your Ignition gateway into a fully functional MQTT server, compliant with the OASIS MQTT 3.1.1 specification. It enables MQTT clients to securely connect, publish, and subscribe to data — supporting real-time communication between OT systems and enterprise applications.
Whether deployed standalone or alongside MQTT Engine and Transmission, Distributor forms the backbone of a Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM) infrastructure for IIoT and SCADA environments.
Key features
Run a self-contained MQTT infrastructure
When paired with MQTT Engine, Distributor enables a complete MQTT publish/subscribe architecture on a single Ignition gateway. It’s an ideal solution for IIoT, SCADA modernization, and Unified Namespace (UNS) implementations.
Perfect for wide-area or high-cost networks
Distributor is optimized for environments with limited or expensive connectivity — such as oil and gas pipelines using VSAT or cellular networks — by supporting efficient, event-driven messaging.
Flexible deployment options
Available as either an add-on Ignition module or a standalone MQTT server, Distributor offers the flexibility to fit a variety of architectures. Deploy multiple instances across sites for redundancy, scalability, or geographic distribution.
Two licensing tiers for scale
- MQTT Distributor – Supports up to 50 simultaneous MQTT clients
- MQTT Distributor Plus – Supports up to 250 MQTT clients, ideal for large-scale operations
Secure client connectivity
Supports TLS encryption and client certificate authentication for secure, authenticated communications across industrial and enterprise networks.
MQTT Recorder Automatically capture structured records from the edge into SQL databases
For years, high-value industrial data — like Quantitative Transaction Records (QTRs), alarms, and batch events — has been trapped in proprietary protocols and register-based systems. These record-style datasets are difficult to manage using traditional SCADA tools, which risk fragmenting or overwriting data.
The MQTT Recorder module solves this by enabling edge devices and flow computers to publish complete records as immutable MQTT messages. These records are time-stamped, optionally SHA-256 hashed for audit integrity, and automatically inserted into SQL tables by the MQTT Recorder module in Ignition.
Key features
Automated table creation & population
When MQTT Recorder receives a RECORD-type message, it automatically builds the corresponding SQL table (if it doesn’t already exist) and inserts the incoming record — ensuring structure, consistency, and simplicity.
Immutable record handling for compliance
Records can include a SHA-256 hash key that guarantees the data has not been modified from its source. Ideal for regulated industries and auditable data flows.
Broad industrial applications
MQTT Recorder supports any structured event or record transmitted via MQTT and Sparkplug.
Examples include:
- Oil & Gas – EFM Quantitative Transaction Records (QTRs), EFM Alarms & Events, pump controller cards
- Pharmaceutical – Batch production records
- Transportation – Engine events from locomotives or fleet monitoring systems
Seamless integration with MQTT Engine
Works in tandem with MQTT Engine to receive and decode Sparkplug records from the MQTT broker. Data flows from edge to broker to Ignition with no manual intervention.
Database-agnostic
Supports all major SQL databases available through Ignition — including PostgreSQL, MySQL, MS SQL Server, and more.
Ready to get started?
Choose the modules you need — or contact us to build the right MQTT strategy for your operation.