ModbusSimulator
60-Day Free Trial — No Credit Card

MQTT SCADA Platform — Turn MQTT Data Into a Live Industrial Dashboard

Subscribe to any MQTT broker and visualize incoming data as a real-time SCADA dashboard. Supports JSON and CSV payloads, alarm management, historical trends, and multi-site monitoring.

Start Free 60-Day Trial → See Live Demo →

No credit card · Any MQTT broker · MQTT + Modbus in same platform

What is an MQTT SCADA Platform?

Traditional SCADA systems are built around polling — the master reads registers from slave devices on a fixed interval. MQTT flips this model: devices publish data to a broker as it changes. An MQTT SCADA platform subscribes to those topics and turns the incoming stream into a real-time dashboard with alarms, trends, and historical logging.

SCADA Cloud connects to any MQTT broker — Mosquitto, HiveMQ, AWS IoT Core, Azure IoT Hub — and subscribes to the topics you define. It parses JSON and CSV payloads, maps individual fields to named tags, and plots those tags on live dashboards. When a tag crosses a threshold, it sends an email or SMS alarm instantly.

The same platform also supports Modbus TCP, Modbus RTU (via edge connector), and OPC UA — so a single dashboard can combine MQTT IoT sensor data with Modbus PLC register values. Most industrial sites have a mix of both.

MQTT SCADA Features

Purpose-built for MQTT-first industrial monitoring

📨 Any MQTT Broker

Connect to Mosquitto, HiveMQ, EMQX, AWS IoT Core, Azure IoT Hub, or any standard MQTT 3.1.1 / MQTT 5.0 broker. Local or cloud-hosted brokers both work.

🗂 JSON Payload Parsing

Define JSON path expressions to extract individual values from structured payloads. Map $.sensor.temperature or $.readings[0].value directly to named dashboard tags.

⚡ Real-Time Dashboard

Every MQTT message received updates the dashboard instantly. No polling interval — data appears as fast as your devices publish it.

🔔 MQTT Alarm Rules

Set high/low/deadband alarms on any MQTT-sourced tag. Alarms send email or SMS instantly. Alarm history and operator acknowledgement log included.

📈 Historical Logging

Every tag value is timestamped and stored. Query historical data, export to CSV, or view trend charts to analyze process behaviour over time.

🔀 MQTT + Modbus Together

Use MQTT tags and Modbus register tags on the same dashboard. Mix IoT sensor data with PLC values — no separate systems needed.

Common Use Cases

Where MQTT SCADA delivers the most value

🌞 Solar & Renewable Energy

IoT gateways on solar inverters publish generation data over MQTT. SCADA Cloud subscribes and shows live kWh, voltage, current, and fault status per inverter on a plant-wide dashboard.

🏭 Industrial IoT Gateways

Edge gateways (Raspberry Pi, AWS Greengrass, Azure IoT Edge) bridge Modbus field devices to MQTT. SCADA Cloud subscribes to the gateway output without needing direct Modbus access.

💧 Water & Utilities

Remote pump stations with cellular connectivity publish flow, pressure, and level data via MQTT. SCADA Cloud receives and alarms on threshold breaches — no VPN required.

🌡️ Cold Chain & HVAC

Temperature sensors and HVAC controllers publish readings over MQTT at 1-second intervals. SCADA Cloud logs all data, alerts on out-of-range temperatures, and generates compliance reports.

⚡ Smart Metering

Smart energy meters publish consumption data to an MQTT broker. SCADA Cloud aggregates readings per meter, per building, or per site and generates demand-side reports automatically.

🔬 Laboratory & Testing

Test rigs and automated test equipment (ATE) publish measurement results over MQTT. SCADA Cloud provides a live view of test status and archives all results for traceability.

Connect Your MQTT Broker in 3 Steps

1

Add Your MQTT Broker

Enter your broker hostname, port, client ID, and credentials. SCADA Cloud connects and confirms the connection. Supports plain MQTT and MQTT over TLS (port 8883).

2

Subscribe to Topics & Map Tags

Enter the topic pattern to subscribe to (supports wildcards, e.g. plant/+/sensor/#). Configure JSON path expressions to extract individual values from payloads and map them to named SCADA tags.

3

View & Configure Alarms

Drag MQTT tags onto a dashboard to create live visualizations. Set alarm thresholds, configure email/SMS notifications, and enable historical logging — all from the same browser interface.

MQTT SCADA vs Modbus SCADA — Which Should You Use?

Both protocols are commonly used in industrial monitoring, but they serve different architectures. Modbus is a polling protocol — the SCADA master reads registers from slave devices on a fixed interval (e.g., every 1 second). It's the standard for PLCs, VFDs, energy meters, and most field instrumentation built in the last 40 years.

MQTT is a publish-subscribe protocol. Devices push data to a broker when it changes, rather than waiting to be polled. This makes MQTT more efficient for high-frequency or bandwidth-constrained scenarios like cellular-connected remote sites, IoT sensors, and edge gateways.

Most modern industrial sites use both: legacy equipment on Modbus, newer sensors and gateways on MQTT. SCADA Cloud handles both in the same platform so you don't need separate tools.

Testing your Modbus devices before connecting to SCADA? Use our Modbus Slave Simulator to validate register maps, or the Modbus TCP Simulator to test your SCADA Modbus master without real hardware. Also explore our online SCADA system overview for a broader comparison of deployment options.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an MQTT SCADA platform?

An MQTT SCADA platform subscribes to an MQTT broker and visualizes the incoming data as a real-time industrial dashboard. Instead of polling Modbus registers, the SCADA receives data pushed by IoT sensors, edge gateways, or PLCs over MQTT. You configure topic subscriptions, map JSON payload fields to named tags, set alarms, and view live trends — all from a browser.

Does the MQTT SCADA support JSON payloads?

Yes. SCADA Cloud parses JSON and CSV MQTT payloads automatically. You define a JSON path expression to extract individual values from the payload — for example, $.sensor.temperature or $.readings[0].value — and each extracted value becomes a tag in your dashboard. Nested JSON objects and arrays are both supported.

Can I use MQTT and Modbus in the same SCADA platform?

Yes. SCADA Cloud supports Modbus TCP, Modbus RTU (via an on-site edge connector), MQTT, and OPC UA simultaneously. You can combine tags from a Modbus energy meter, an MQTT IoT sensor, and an OPC UA PLC in a single dashboard. All protocols are configured from the same web interface and all data is stored in the same historian database.

What MQTT brokers does the SCADA platform support?

SCADA Cloud connects to any standard MQTT broker: Mosquitto, HiveMQ, EMQX, AWS IoT Core, Azure IoT Hub, and Google Cloud IoT. Both MQTT 3.1.1 and MQTT 5.0 are supported. You configure the broker hostname, port, client ID, username, password, and TLS settings from the dashboard. Local and cloud-hosted brokers both work.

Related Tools & SCADA Pages

Test your Modbus devices or explore other SCADA options

Try MQTT SCADA Free for 60 Days

No credit card · Any MQTT broker · Full features for 60 days

Start Free 60-Day Trial → Open Live Demo →

Questions? Email [email protected]