Chuck Mallock: M5 IoT Server is Here!

I have wanted for some time for there to be a wireless hotspot at M5 specifically for hosting Mosquitto, an internet of things information broker which implements the MQTT protocol. I think I have finally crossed all the technical hurdles. I put the server up for a couple hours last Wednesday and tested it, and it seemed to be working perfectly. I have now put it back up, and plan to leave the server up permanently.

The server creates a local WiFi network with DHCP and access to the mosquitto port 1883, but not through-access to the internet. Mosquitto will also be available to the campus network (including eduroam). Talk to Chuck to get the url - I don't want to post it here!

This service will allow interconnection of IoT objects all around M5; sensors, switches, actuators, simple displays, lights, etcetera. A data source sends (in MQTT terms, publishes) a message to the host (the broker), labeled by a topic name; any device that has subscribed to that topic will receive notification of the new value, and can then act on it as necessary.

Links:

• The home page for the MQTT protocol

• The mosquitto software home page

• Installing the mosquitto MQTT server onto a Raspberry Pi, in case you want to try it yourself