Cloud integration in brief
- MQTT is the common language of IoT: a lightweight publish/subscribe protocol that runs well on constrained devices and unreliable links.
- Each device needs its own identity, normally an X.509 certificate or a per-device key, never one shared secret across the fleet.
- Managed platforms (AWS IoT Core, Azure IoT Hub) reduce operations work; a self-hosted broker such as EMQX or Mosquitto reduces recurring cost and keeps data local.
- Most failures happen at the seams, so one team owning the firmware and the cloud contract avoids finger-pointing.
Choosing a platform
| Option | Good for | Consider |
|---|---|---|
| AWS IoT Core | Teams already on AWS; rules engine and fleet tooling | Pricing is per message and connection |
| Azure IoT Hub | Teams on Microsoft stack; device twins and routing | Tier limits shape architecture |
| Self-hosted MQTT (EMQX, Mosquitto, HiveMQ) | Cost control, data residency, private networks | You operate and secure it |
| ThingsBoard or similar | Fast dashboards and rule chains | Check scaling and support model |
Reference design
- Device: TLS 1.2+ MQTT client, per-device certificate, last-will message, and offline queue.
- Topics and payloads: a documented topic hierarchy and a compact schema (JSON or CBOR) with a version field.
- Ingestion: rules to route telemetry to a time-series database and alerts to a notification service.
- State and commands: device shadow or twin for desired and reported configuration.
- Visualisation: Grafana or a custom dashboard.
- Fleet management: provisioning, certificate rotation and staged firmware rollout.
Provisioning at the factory
Provisioning is where many projects stumble. Unique credentials must be generated and injected during production, ideally into a secure element, without exposing private keys. We design the factory flow, the test jig software and the cloud-side registration together, so units leave the line ready to connect.
Cost and data ownership
Cloud bills grow with message rate. We estimate costs from your reporting interval and fleet size, and use batching, compression and edge filtering to control them. See IoT product development cost for how this fits the full budget.
Sources and further reading
- OASIS — MQTT Version 5.0 specification — The standard defining MQTT.
- AWS IoT documentation — AWS IoT Core developer guide.
- Azure IoT Hub documentation — Microsoft guidance for device connectivity and management.
Last reviewed: October 2026. Regulations and product availability change; confirm current rules with the issuing authority before you commit to a design.