Setting up Azure MQTT Broker for enhanced connectivity

In the era of Internet of Things (IoT) , where mobility and remote device management are crucial, hosting a secure MQTT broker on the cloud becomes imperative. However, concerns about application and data security often deter individuals. This blog aims to address these concerns by offering a comprehensive guide on hosting a secure MQTT broker on Azure, a reliable and widely used cloud platform. The chosen MQTT message broker for Azure hosting is Bevywise MQTT Broker.

Why to choose a pre-deployed broker?

Deploying a new server and setting up an MQTT broker from scratch can indeed be a complex and time-consuming process. By opting for a pre-deployed MQTT broker in Azure, you can save time and effort by bypassing the intricate setup and configuration steps.

The Bevywise MQTT broker in Azure Marketplace offers a convenient solution with its ready-to-use deployment, allowing you to quickly establish secure and scalable communication channels for your IoT devices. This eliminates the need to worry about infrastructure management, as the broker is already hosted on Azure.

The functionalities of Bevywise MQTT broker includes :

• Handling high volume of MQTT traffic and ensuring smooth scalability as the number of connected devices grows
• Comprehensive device management capabilities, enabling you to easily connect, manage and monitor your IoT devices.
• Built-in security features ensures secure communication & prevent unauthorized access to the MQTT broker and the data exchanged.
• Offering monitoring and analytics features that allow you to gain insights into the broker’s performance, message throughput and device activity.

All these functionalities eliminate the need to worry about infrastructure management, as the broker is ready to run on Azure.

Create Azure Account

Creating an account in the Microsoft Azure portal is the first and foremost step. Then sign in to the Microsoft Azure portal.

After signing in, you’ll see ‘Create this app in Azure’ window.

Fill in the necessary details and click ‘Continue’. At once, a window will appear to verify the mail id you provided.

After verifying your mail id, you will be able to access the Azure dashboard. In that, search and open ‘Bevywise MQTTRoute’.

Choose ‘Create’. It will lead to the ‘Create a virtual machine’ page.

Creating a virtual machine

Under the ‘Administrator’ account :

• Amidst ‘SSH public key’ and ‘Password’, choose your desired authentication type.

• As per the authentication type chosen, fill the required details and click ‘Next : Disks’

Under the ‘Disks’ category :

• In the ‘OS Disk type’, choose ‘Standard HDD (locally-redundant storage).

Leave all other default settings untouched.

Click ‘Review + Create’ to get your virtual machine created.

Once the deployment is over, you can see the following window.

Once your deployment is completed, open the Powershell and run the following command :

ssh username@ipaddress

Note : In the ‘Username’, give the username you provided when creating a virtual machine.

Instead of username, you can also use the password. When using password, your command should be : ssh password@the path of pemkey

Then run the MQTT Broker.