EMQX Enterprise 5.4: Integrating OpenTelemetry, OCPP, and Confluent for IoT Excellence

Morgan Hill, CA, January 3, 2023 – EMQ, a leading pioneer in open-source MQTT messaging with its platform EMQX, is excited to announce the release of EMQX Enterprise 5.4.0. This innovative release introduces OpenTelemetry for distributed tracing and logging, extends support for the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), and integrates seamlessly with Confluent for efficient data processing. Along with these features, this version includes numerous enhancements and bug fixes further improving the performance and stability of the product. EMQX Enterprise continues to cement its reputation as the top choice for scalable and secure messaging in enterprise IoT.

OpenTelemetry Integration for Comprehensive Observability

EMQX 5.4.0 incorporates OpenTelemetry for distributed traces and logs, enhancing support for the observability framework. This feature enables detailed tracking of request flows in MQTT scenarios, facilitating cross-participant (publisher-MQTT server-subscriber) tracing during message transmission.

Compliant with the W3C Trace Context MQTT specification, EMQX ensures comprehensive distributed tracing capabilities. For MQTT v3.1/3.1.1 clients that do not support setting user properties, EMQX allows configuration options to automatically append trace IDs to messages, maintaining the integrity of tracing.

OpenTelemetry logs, in a standardized format, significantly improve the parsing, analysis, and processing of logs. The concurrent activation of OpenTelemetry metrics, tracing, and logging provides a unified platform for data analysis, creating an all-encompassing observation solution specifically designed for IoT applications.

OCPP Protocol Gateway for Secure EV Charging Infrastructure

EMQX 5.4.0 introduces an OCPP 1.6-J protocol based gateway, enhancing communication between charging stations and centralized management systems. The OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol), is an open standard aimed at standardizing communication within EV charging infrastructure.

The OCPP gateway’s features include:

• Transport Layer Security: Provides secure communication through TLS/SSL encrypted connections.
• Access Authentication: Offers multiple authentication methods, including username/password and JWT.
• Message Permission Control: Enables users to manage permissions for upstream and downstream messages.
• Client Management: Facilitates client management via the Dashboard and REST API.
• MQTT Protocol Integration: Supports flexible application scenarios by integrating with the MQTT protocol.
• Third-Party Integration: Allows for integration with third-party management systems using a rule engine, data integration, and REST API.

Seamless Confluent Integration for Real-Time Data Processing

EMQX now integrates smoothly into the Confluent ecosystem, providing a comprehensive solution for real-time data collection, transmission, processing, and analysis in IoT. This enhancement strengthens an organization’s ability to derive in-depth insights and make informed decisions.

Enhanced Performance with New Route Storage Architecture

The latest version introduces a new route storage architecture, improving subscription and routing performance by an average of 30% compared to the previous version. This new system, now the default, ensures seamless updates for older clusters.

Security Enhancement for Robust Protection

• The update enhances security with added authentication for the REST API GET /api/v5/prometheus/stats used for fetching metrics in Prometheus Pull mode.
• Configuration file security is improved by allowing sensitive configurations to be stored in separate files, accessible by specifying the file path using the file:// prefix in the configuration file.
• The REST API now includes Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for enhanced security management.

For more information about EMQX Enterprise 5.4.0 and its features, please visit https://www.emqx.com/en/blog/emqx-enterprise-5-4-release-notes.