KEB America announces MQTT addition to C6 Router

Feb. 16, 2018 – KEB America has announced the addition of MQTT protocol to its C6 VPN Industrial Router, allowing it to also be used as an IIoT gateway.

Historically, the KEB VPN Router has been used to provide remote access with data logging capabilities. MQTT is a pub/sub messaging protocol that works on top of the TCP/IP protocol. Logged data can be pushed to services such as Amazon’s AWS or Microsoft Azure with the MQTT protocol. From there, machine builders and systems integrators can perform analytics, create dashboards, and measure critical KPIs.

For Quality of Service (QoS) MQTT recognizes three levels: QoS 0, QoS 1, and QoS 2. According to the company, it can guarantee the delivery of a message and possibly resend the message in high latency networks. The protocol is meant to be used in situations where a small code footprint is required and the network capabilities are limited, like in small devices or automation systems with widely distributed components. By using MQTT in an application, a developer is choosing a protocol that will be simple to install and maintain, and easy for new personnel to learn, it adds. The C6 Router can use TLS, SSL, authentication and authorization security features when communicating with the broker.