Common Pitfalls of Using MQTT in Industrial Data Operations

In industrial environments, where real-time data is essential for smooth operations, MQTT has become a go-to messaging protocol for connecting devices. But like any technology, it’s not without its challenges. From data quality issues to security risks and vendor lock-in, there are several pitfalls that can disrupt your industrial data flow. In this article, we will discuss seven common MQTT challenges and explore strategies and solutions to help you mitigate these issues, ensuring more reliable, secure, and efficient industrial data operations.

The challenges we’ll discuss depend largely on an organization’s specific use cases. While each of these obstacles can have benefits in certain scenarios, they also present challenges that could hinder smooth data operations. By identifying these pitfalls early, you can take proactive steps to improve data communication and better manage your industrial processes.

#  Lack of Standardization in Data Formats and Quality Concerns

Industrial data often comes from a variety of devices, machines, and software services. For it to be truly useful, it must be standardized and formatted in a way that makes it easily processable by the receiving systems.

A significant challenge with MQTT is its lack of enforced standardization in data formats. While this flexibility can be advantageous in some contexts, it often means that additional work is required to transform data into a usable format, leading to inefficiencies. Without a standardized approach, data may become inconsistent or poorly structured, complicating analysis and making it harder to extract actionable insights. Furthermore, the absence of message schema enforcement means that the consumer of the data does not know what to expect. This uncertainty can lead to compatibility issues and increases the effort required to interpret and validate the incoming messages, especially in systems where diverse applications rely on a uniform data structure.

To address this, frameworks like Sparkplug B provide a standardized way of managing MQTT payloads, ensuring data consistency and quality across devices and systems. Leveraging such frameworks ensures that data is delivered in a structured, reliable format, which ultimately supports more informed decision-making and streamlined operations.

#  Payload Limitations and Bandwidth Constraints

MQTT can struggle when transmitting large amounts of data or high-frequency messages, especially when bandwidth is limited. Although the MQTT standard allows message payloads up to 250 MB, sending such large amounts of data can cause delays and performance issues. This is because MQTT was designed for small, lightweight messages, and many brokers set limits on payload sizes. Large payloads, like images or detailed sensor data, can make this even worse.

To avoid these problems, consider compressing your data before sending it, aggregating data to send less frequently, or adjusting the frequency of updates. For large blobs or binary data, it is better to store them on a shared storage layer, such as AWS S3 or network drives, and send a pointer to the data file instead.

#  Risks of Data Loss and Delivery Issues

In industrial settings, the timely and reliable transmission of data is critical. Data loss, duplication, or out-of-order delivery can significantly impact decision-making, safety, and efficiency. While MQTT is generally robust, its publish-subscribe model can sometimes lead to reliability challenges, such as message loss or misordering.

Network disruptions, for instance, may result in important messages being dropped before they reach their destination. Similarly, when a network reconnects after a failure, MQTT might deliver messages out of order or resend some messages, creating duplicates. These issues can lead to confusion, unreliable analyses, or even unsafe conditions (e.g., in the case of robotic control systems, where mis-sequenced commands can cause malfunctions).

To mitigate these risks, MQTT offers Quality of Service (QoS) levels, which define how messages are delivered:

• QoS 0: Messages are delivered at most once with no guarantees of delivery or order.
• QoS 1: Guarantees that messages are delivered at least once, but duplicates can occur.
• QoS 2: Ensures messages are delivered exactly once, and in the correct order.

While higher QoS levels offer more reliable message delivery, they also introduce increased overhead and latency, which may not be acceptable in real-time applications. Therefore, it’s critical to evaluate which QoS level best aligns with the operational needs and time sensitivity of your industrial processes.

#  Lack of Acknowledgment Mechanisms

Another key challenge with MQTT is the lack of acknowledgment mechanisms. Unlike traditional request-response communication models, MQTT doesn’t inherently provide a built-in way for the receiver to acknowledge receipt of a message. This lack of visibility can make it difficult to ensure that data has been successfully transmitted, which could lead to uncertainties in operational systems.

While MQTT allows for some workarounds (such as implementing tracking mechanisms or using a second topic for acknowledgment), these solutions add complexity to the integration process. By designing systems that include these acknowledgment mechanisms, you can improve reliability, but it requires careful planning and additional development effort.

#  TCP Limitations in MQTT Frameworks

While MQTT operates over the TCP/IP protocol to ensure reliable message delivery, this introduces several challenges, particularly for resource-constrained industrial devices.

TCP requires maintaining a constant connection state, which demands significant processing power and memory. This becomes problematic in industrial IoT environments, where many devices are low-powered and designed for minimal energy consumption. The ongoing need for devices to manage and maintain a persistent TCP connection can quickly drain resources, limiting overall system efficiency and scalability.

Moreover, not all IoT devices are capable of supporting the overhead required by TCP/IP. Simpler devices, such as sensors with limited computing capabilities, may struggle with the complexities of maintaining a reliable TCP connection. This can restrict the deployment of MQTT in systems where lightweight communication protocols, like UDP, would be more appropriate for ensuring broad compatibility and energy efficiency.

#  Security Risks and Vulnerabilities

Security is a critical concern when using MQTT in industrial environments. While MQTT supports features like encryption and authentication, it is possible to misconfigure the system to bypass these safeguards. A poorly configured MQTT deployment—such as one without authentication or encryption—can leave it vulnerable to attacks like data interception, unauthorized access, or man-in-the-middle attacks. In industrial settings, these vulnerabilities could lead to data manipulation, operational disruptions, or even safety issues in critical systems.

To ensure a secure MQTT setup, proper configuration is essential. Implement encryption (SSL/TLS) to protect data transmitted between devices and the broker, safeguarding sensitive information from interception. Enable authentication mechanisms, such as usernames, passwords, or client certificates, to ensure that only authorized devices and users can access the system.

Using access control measures further strengthens security by limiting the actions that devices or users can perform. For example, restricting permissions for certain commands can prevent unsafe operations in safety-critical environments. Monitoring MQTT traffic for anomalies or suspicious activity can also help identify and address potential threats proactively.

Lastly, employ message integrity checks to confirm that messages are not tampered with during transmission. With the right configuration and adherence to these best practices, MQTT can be deployed securely to support safe, reliable, and efficient industrial systems.

#  Single Point of Failure and the Risks of Vendor Lock-In

One of the key risks in using MQTT for industrial operations is the single point of failure created by the central broker. If the broker goes down, it can disrupt the entire data flow, significantly impacting operations. To mitigate this, it’s essential to implement strategies like high availability, load balancing, and backup solutions to ensure the system stays online and reliable.

Another concern is vendor lock-in, where companies choose a specific MQTT broker or service provider but later struggle to switch due to proprietary features, configurations, or integrations. This can lead to a lack of flexibility, limiting future scalability or the ability to adapt to evolving needs. Vendor lock-in typically occurs when the broker relies on proprietary protocols or formats that are not compatible with other systems, or when advanced features and configurations are unique to a specific vendor, making migration or integration with new platforms challenging.

To avoid this, it’s crucial to choose an MQTT broker that adheres to open standards. Open-source MQTT brokers or those that support widely adopted standards like MQTT 3.1.1 or MQTT 5.0 offer the flexibility to switch providers without major disruptions. Additionally, brokers that prioritize interoperability with other industrial IoT systems can provide more options for scaling and integrating future technologies.

By selecting a broker that prioritizes flexibility, open standards, and scalability, companies can avoid vendor lock-in and ensure they can seamlessly transition to new systems or providers as their operational needs evolve.

#  How FlowFuse Solves These Problems

FlowFuse is an industrial data platform designed to simplify the management, scaling, and security of industrial IoT applications. Built on top of Node-RED, FlowFuse supports various industrial protocols, including MQTT, to facilitate seamless data communication between devices. FlowFuse addresses many of the challenges mentioned above with its robust set of features.

For instance, FlowFuse helps standardize data before it is sent to the MQTT broker using Node-RED’s powerful low-code programming capabilities. You can define data formats and topics, ensuring consistency and quality across all connected devices. This minimizes issues like data inconsistency and allows for smoother integration of diverse systems. It also supports the implementation of Sparkplug B.

Security is another area where FlowFuse provides benefit in the context of MQTT. By leveraging MQTT nodes, you can implement robust security as it allows you to configure it with SSL/TLS, username/password authentication, and more. This ensures secure communication between devices, protecting data from unauthorized access and ensuring confidentiality.

FlowFuse also simplifies the creation of acknowledgment mechanisms. By using Node-RED, you can build custom workflows to track the receipt and processing of messages, ensuring data integrity and operational transparency. This helps ensure that messages are reliably received and processed, contributing to smoother operations.

Moreover, FlowFuse provides its own MQTT broker service that adheres to open standards, making it easier to avoid vendor lock-in and reducing the risk of a single point of failure. With built-in high availability and load balancing, FlowFuse ensures continuous data flow and reliable communication, and you can scale its capabilities by contacting FlowFuse support to meet the growing demands of your industrial IoT system.

Ready to solve your industrial data challenges? Get started with FlowFuse today!

#  Conclusion

While MQTT offers great potential for industrial data operations, it comes with challenges such as data quality issues, security risks, and vendor lock-in. By understanding these pitfalls and using tools like FlowFuse, organizations can address these challenges effectively. FlowFuse helps standardize data, ensure secure communication, and prevent single points of failure, enabling smooth and reliable industrial IoT operations. With the right approach, MQTT can deliver powerful, efficient, and secure data communication.