MQTT-bridge-mosquitto not working with AWS Iot

[Neel Patel]

Hi,

   we have implemented https://github.com/nRFCloud/MQTT-bridge-mosquitto in our AWS account. but in we are getting error like 

January 07, 2025 at 14:51 (UTC+5:30)	1736241683: Client nrfcloud-bridge-local closed its connection.	fe29218ea33042bbbeab50082ada95da	MqttBridgeContainer
January 07, 2025 at 14:51 (UTC+5:30)	1736241683: Connecting bridge nrfcloud-bridge (mqtt.nrfcloud.com:8883)	fe29218ea33042bbbeab50082ada95da	MqttBridgeContainer
January 07, 2025 at 14:50 (UTC+5:30)	1736241652: Client nrfcloud-bridge-local closed its connection.	fe29218ea33042bbbeab50082ada95da	MqttBridgeContainer
January 07, 2025 at 14:50 (UTC+5:30)	1736241652: Connecting bridge nrfcloud-bridge (mqtt.nrfcloud.com:8883)	fe29218ea33042bbbeab50082ada95da	MqttBridgeContainer
January 07, 2025 at 14:50 (UTC+5:30)	1736241621: Client nrfcloud-bridge-local closed its connection.	fe29218ea33042bbbeab50082ada95da	MqttBridgeContainer
January 07, 2025 at 14:50 (UTC+5:30)	1736241621: Connecting bridge nrfcloud-bridge (mqtt.nrfcloud.com:8883)

   CloudFormation stack is successfully deployed. there is no error in that.

   Also it was working fine around 24 hours ago. suddenly we were not getting any data in AWS so we tried to redeploy it but the result is the same.

Thanks,  

[dejans]

Hi,

How many devices do you have in total? How many devices are affected by this "not able to connect" problem?

Are affected devices (that try to connect) located in the same physical location?

Best regards,
Dejan

[Neel Patel]

Hi,

We have 50+ devices and all devices are not able to connect. Our devices are in 2-3 countries like Poland, Spain etc.

Thanks 

[dejans]

Hi Neel,

Although there is no fix for MQTT Bridge yet, we have verified that mosquitto MQTT broker (which the bridge uses) works if it is installed and configured manually.

Fortunately, there is a workaround implementation which you can try to follow. It installs and configures Mosquitto locally on a Windows 11 machine. You can adapt these instructions for use on Linux or in Docker containers as you see fit.

The MQTT Bridge must be already installed, because it reuses local certs the bridge creates. The ECS task of the bridge does need to be running. You can stop it using the AWS Console by clicking “Update Service” on the ECS cluster’s nrfcloud-mqtt-bridge-MqttBridgeService…, and setting the “Desired tasks” to 0.

1. In your AWS account and region where the MQTT Bridge is installed, go to the Systems Manager Parameter Store console.

2. Copy the certificates in the IotCert and IotKey parameters into files named local_IotCert.txt and local_IotKey.txt. Ensure the last line of each file has an end-of-line character at the end.

3. Using the REST API, create an MQTT Team device. See https://api.nrfcloud.com/v1#tag/Mqtt-Team-Devices/operation/CreateMqttTeamDevice.

4. Store the 3 certificates returned in files named nrfcloud_caCert.crt, nrfcloud_clientCert.txt, and nrfcloud_privateKey.txt.

5. Change all literal strings "\n" to end-of-line characters in all 3 files. Ensure the last line of each file has an end-of-line character at the end.

6. Download https://mosquitto.org/files/binary/win64/mosquitto-2.0.11-install-windows-x64.exe

7. Install it to the default location

8. Add "%ProgramFiles%\Mosquitto" (without quotes) to the Windows PATH

9. Create a directory from where you will run Mosquitto and store configuration files, such as "C:\Mosquitto".

10. Open a Command Prompt window and "cd" to the run directory you created.

11. Enter "mosquitto -h". You should see the help page and "mosquitto version 2.0.11" displayed.

12. Copy the attached "config.txt" into that directory.

13. Replace the "remote_clientid" with the ID of the MQTT Team device you created, e.g. "mqtt-team-…".

14. Replace the "address" of the "connection iot-bridge" (not the "connection nrfcloud-bridge") with the AWS IoT Domain configuration name for your AWS account and region.

15. Create a subdirectory "config".

16. Copy the 5 files you created above, into that "config" directory. (local_IotCert.txt, local_IotKey.txt, nrfcloud_ca.crt, nrfcloud_clientCert.txt, nrfcloud_privateKey.txt)

17. In the run directory, start the mosquitto broker with the command: "mosquitto -v -c config.txt".

18. Verify that MQTT messages sent by devices in your nrfCloud team appear on your AWS account and region on the MQTT topics "data/#" as described in republished topics.
    
    
    

Please find uploaded example of config.txt file.  

Fullscreen 1638.config.txt Download

connection nrfcloud-bridge
address mqtt.nrfcloud.com:8883
local_clientid nrfcloud-bridge-local
# Replace the example below with the device ID of an MQTT Team device you create
remote_clientid mqtt-team-73a78bf2-6159-4692-87b3-6ae194cb9778-0619ece8-0463-446b-a583-54b7105212df
bridge_protocol_version mqttv311
bridge_cafile config/nrfcloud_caCert.txt
bridge_certfile config/nrfcloud_clientCert.txt
bridge_keyfile config/nrfcloud_privateKey.txt
bridge_insecure false
cleansession true
start_type automatic
notifications false
log_type all
log_timestamp true

topic m/# in 1 data/ prod/(team-ID)/

connection iot-bridge
# Replace the example below with your AWS IoT Domain configuration name
address a3shl1aeabcdef-ats.iot.us-west-1.amazonaws.com:8883
bridge_cafile config/nrfcloud_caCert.txt
bridge_certfile config/local_IotCert.txt
bridge_keyfile config/local_IotKey.txt
bridge_insecure false
cleansession true
start_type automatic
notifications false
log_type all
log_timestamp true

topic # out 1

Best regards,
Dejan

[dejans]

Hi Neel,

Have you made any progress? Can you provide an update on a current status? 

Best regards,
Dejan

[Neel Patel]

Hi,

While using this config file, we are facing the below error.

Client nrfcloud-bridge-local disconnected: protocol error.
Client local.DESKTOP-UQS9RRA.iot-bridge disconnected: protocol error.

[dejans]

Hi,

We have tested internally using your config and certificate files and could not reproduce the issue. 
Below are some updated instructions. Can you please try again by following instructions shown below?

1. In your AWS account and region where the MQTT Bridge is installed, go to the Systems Manager Parameter Store console.

2. Copy the certificates in the IotCert and IotKey parameters into files named local_IotCert.txt and local_IotKey.txt. Ensure the last line of each file has an end-of-line character at the end.

3. Using the REST API, create an MQTT Team device. See nRF Cloud REST API documentation

4. Store the 3 certificates returned in files named nrfcloud_caCert.txt, nrfcloud_clientCert.txt, and nrfcloud_privateKey.txt.

5. Change all literal strings "\n" to end-of-line characters in all 3 files. Ensure the last line of each file has an end-of-line character at the end.

6. Download mosquitto.org/.../mosquitto-2.0.11-install-windows-x64.exe

7. Install it to the default location

8. Add "%ProgramFiles%\Mosquitto" (without quotes) to the Windows PATH

9. Create a directory from where you will run Mosquitto and store configuration files, such as "C:\Mosquitto".

10. Open a Command Prompt window and "cd" to the run directory you created.

11. Enter "mosquitto -h". You should see the help page and "mosquitto version 2.0.11" displayed.

12. Copy the attached "config.txt" into that directory.

13. Look for the “# Replace…” comment lines and replace the example strings with the correct strings for your case.

14. Create a subdirectory "config".

15. Copy the 5 files you created above, into that "config" directory. (local_IotCert.txt, local_IotKey.txt, nrfcloud_ca.crt, nrfcloud_clientCert.txt, nrfcloud_privateKey.txt)

16. In the run directory, start the mosquitto broker with the command: "mosquitto -v -c config.txt".

17. Verify that MQTT messages sent by devices in your nrfcloud team appear on your AWS account and region on the MQTT topics "data/#" as described in republished topics documentation.

Please find uploaded revised 

If you still experience issue, please consider trying on another computer and look thoroughly for any potential networking issue which may block some traffic.

Best regards,
Dejan

[dejans]

Hi,

The issue in MQTT bridge should be fixed now. Fixed mqtt bridge mosquitto is available in the same location as it was previously. For re-deploying the bridge, you should follow the instructions provided in MQTT bridge mosquitto, get and compile the newest code, and use the --reset option to create a new MQTT Team device and new local credentials as described on the linked page. If this works, then you do not need a workaround anymore. You can also delete all account-* and mqtt-team-* devices on your team that you do not use, except mqtt-team-* device that will be newly created by your latest deployment. That device ID can be found in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store in the parameter NrfCloudMqttTeamDeviceId. 

Best regards,
Dejan