IoT Platform:Connect a device to IoT Platform by using MQTT.fx

Configure MQTT.fx

1. Download and install the MQTT.fx tool. For information about how to install and use MQTT.fx, see MQTT.fx.
   In this example, mqttfx-5.2.0-windows-x64 is used. The third-party tool is not regularly updated. We recommend that you download the latest tool from the website in the previous reference link.

   Note You must apply for a license to use MQTT.fx.
2. Start the MQTT.fx tool, click Extras in the menu bar, and then select Edit Connection Profiles.
   
3. On the Edit Connection Profiles page, configure the parameters.
   1. Specify the basic information.
      

      Parameter	Description
      Profile Name	Enter a custom name. In this example, enter iot connection.
      Profile Type	Specify a connection mode. Select MQTT Broker.
      MQTT Broker Profile Settings
      Broker Address	Enter an MQTT endpoint, which is the value of the mqttHostUrl parameter that you obtained in the Prerequisites section. In this example, enter a1***.iot-as-mqtt.cn-shanghai.aliyuncs.com. a1*** indicates the ProductKey. cn-shanghai indicates the region ID.
      Broker Port	Enter a port number. Set this parameter to 1883.
      Client ID	Configure the parameters in the MQTT protocol. Format: ${ClientId}|securemode=${Mode},signmethod=${SignMethod}|timestamp=${timestamp}|. Enter the value of the clientId parameter that you obtained in the "Prerequisites" section of this topic. In this example, a1***.device1|securemode=2,signmethod=hmacsha256,timestamp=2524608000000| is specified. Parameter description: ${ClientId}: the ID of the client, such as a device, an application, or a web browser. Notice You can specify a custom client ID. The client ID must be 1 to 64 characters in length. When the client is a device, we recommend that you set this parameter to the MAC address or the serial number (SN) of the device. This allows you to easily identify your devices. ${Mode}: the security mode. Valid values: 2 and 3. If you use a direct TLS connection, specify securemode=2. Then, you must configure the SSL/TLS parameters. If you use a direct TCP connection, specify securemode=3. You do not need to configure the SSL/TLS parameters. ${SignMethod}: the signature algorithm. Valid values: hmacmd256, hmacmd5, and hmacsha1. ${timestamp}: the timestamp of the request. Unit: milliseconds. This parameter is optional. In the connection parameters provided by IoT Platform, the value of the ${ClientId} parameter is a string in the ${ProductKey} + '.' + ${DeviceName} format. The default value of ${Mode} is 2, and the default value of ${SignMethod} is hmacsha256. You can configure the parameters based on your business requirements. Notice Do not confuse the Client ID parameter of the MQTT.fx tool with the ${ClientId} parameter of the device. Do not omit the vertical bars (|) between and at the end of the parameters. When you configure the parameters, make sure that you remove all spaces from the parameter values. After you specify the Client ID parameter, do not click Generate.
      General	In this example, the default values of the parameters are used. You can configure the parameters based on your business requirements.

   2. Click User Credentials. On the tab that appears, select Use Username/Password and enter a User Name and a password.
      

      Parameter	Description
      User Name	The username consists of a DeviceName, an ampersand (&), and a ProductKey. Format: ${DeviceName}&${ProductKey}. Enter the value of the username parameter that you obtained in the "Prerequisites" section of this topic. In this example, device1&a1*** is specified. device1 indicates the DeviceName of the device. a1*** indicates the ProductKey of the device.
      Password	To generate a password, you must select a signature algorithm, use the DeviceSecret of the device as a secret key, and then concatenate the required parameters and their values. Enter the value of the passwd parameter that you obtained in the "Prerequisites" section of this topic. In this example, 86761***21d is specified. Notice Your MQTT.fx tool may display a masked password. If a password is already pasted, the pointer moves to the end of the password. In this case, you do not need to paste the password again. Make sure that the letters in parameter names and values are in the correct cases. You may modify the ${clientId} and ${SignMethod} parameters when you configure the Client ID parameter. In this case, make sure that the specified signature algorithm is the same as the value of the corresponding parameter in Client ID. Then, recalculate a password. For more information about the parameters and calculation method, see Use the Node.js script.

   3. If you use a TLS connection (securemode=2), click the SSL/TLS tab, select Enable SSL/TLS, and then set the Protocol parameter to TLSv1.2.
      Notice If you use a TCP connection (securemode=3), use the default settings on the SSL/TLS tab, and go to the next step.

      
4. Click OK in the lower-right corner.
5. Click Connect.
   If the indicator on the right side turns green, the connection is established.

   To view the status of the device, perform the following steps: Log on to the IoT Platform console. Choose Devices > Devices, select the product, and then find the device. The device is in the Online state.

   

In the following sections, downstream messaging and upstream messaging are tested to check whether the MQTT.fx client is connected to IoT Platform. If your test results are different from the following sample results, the connection is not established. You must modify the settings based on the logs.

Test downstream messaging

1. Log on to the IoT Platform console. On the Product Details page, choose Topic Categories > Topic Category. Then, find a custom topic whose Operation Authorization is set to Subscribe.
   In this example, the /a1***/${deviceName}/user/get topic is used. You must replace the ${deviceName} variable with device1.

   For more information, see Custom topics.

2. In the MQTT.fx tool, click Subscribe. In the Subscribe field, enter the topic that you specified in the previous step, and then click Subscribe.

   If the subscription is successful, the custom topic appears on the Subscribe tab.

   
3. Go to the Device Details page in the IoT Platform console. On the Topic List tab, find the topic and click Publish.
   
4. Enter a message and click OK.
   
5. In the MQTT.fx tool, check whether the message is received.
   
6. Go to the Device Details page in the IoT Platform console. On the Device Log tab, click View. On the Device Log page, view Cloud-to-device-Message.
   

   Find the message that you published and click View to view details of the message sent to the device.

   

Test upstream messaging

1. Log on to the IoT Platform console. On the Product Details page, choose Topic Categories > Topic Category. Then, find a custom topic whose Operation Authorization is set to Publish.
   In this example, the /a1***/${deviceName}/user/get topic is used. You must replace the ${deviceName} variable with device1.

   For more information, see Custom topics.

2. In the MQTT.fx tool, click Publish. In the Publish field, enter the topic that you specified in the previous step. In the editor, enter the message that you want to publish and click Publish.
   
3. Go to the Device Details page in the IoT Platform console. On the Device Log tab, click View. On the Device Log page, view Device-to-cloud-Messages.
   

View logs

In the MQTT.fx tool, click the Log tab. On the tab that appears, view the operation logs and error logs.