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The MQTTspB Simulator can be Started from the DataExplorer User interface, or running its executable directly with the proper command line parameters.

When running, it will create an MQTTspB Client that will connect to the configured Broker, publishing simulated data to mapped Topics. From the Broker point of view, the MQTTspB Simulator, will act as any other MQTT Client.

On this page:

Overview

This document has information on the MQTTspB Simulator configuration and Runtime Behavior.

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Watch a video on how to use the MQTT Simulator with Tag Provider here.

System Requirements

This simulator application comes with the default installation of product version 10. The executable file can be found under the ../fx-10/Protocols/MQTTspBSimulator.exe directory.

Make sure to execute the file from inside this folder to ensure all dependencies are satisfied.

Supported Features

The following features are supported:

Connection to Brokers (local and Remote) that may (or not) require a Username and Password.
Customization of Topic parameters - GroupID, NodeID and DeviceID.
Create Multiple NodeIds in the same GroupID, each with its own DeviceID’s.
Create Multiple DeviceIDs in the same NodeID.
Change the DeviceIds attributes using a config file.
Publish NBIRTH, DBIRTH, DDATA, NDEATH and DDEATH messages.

The Simulator is Write-Only! You will not be able to subscribe to any topic; only publishing is allowed.

Simulator Configuration

The MQTTspB Simulator is divided in three main regions. Configuration (Connection Parameters and Payload Settings), SimulationControl and View (DataBrowser and EventLog).

Connection Parameters

Here is configured the necessary information required to establish a connection to a Broker.

Broker URL: MQTT Broker (Server) Default value is loopback (local) ip (127.0.0.1).
Port Number: MQTT Broker listening port Default value is 1883.
Username: Username defined on the Broker. This will be requested if the Broker needs this configuration (optional).
Password: Password defined on the Broker. This will be requested if the Broker needs this configuration (optional).
Start Minimized: Application starts minimized (valid for the next time the application is started).
Connect On Startup: MQTTspB Client tries to connect to Broker automatically when application is started (valid for the next time the application is started).
Publish Data On Startup: MQTTspB Client tries to publish Data to Broker automatically when application is started (valid for the next time the application is started).
Block All Configuration Fields: Make configuration fields read-only.

The Simulator does not support SSL Protocols.

The fields can only be modified while the MQTTspB Client is not connected to a Broker.

Payload Settings

In this tab, you will be able to configure the Payload Structure to be published.

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The structure is defined based on a hierarchical structure illustrated below:

<GroupID Name="<GroupName>">
|-- <NodeIDs>
|   |-- <NodeID Name="<NodeName>">
|   |   |-- <DeviceIDs>
|   |   |   |-- <DeviceID Name="<DeviceName>">
|   |   |   |   |-- <Variables>
|   |   |   |   |   |-- Var1
|   |   |   |   |   |-- ... 
|   |   |   |   |   |-- VarN
|   |   |   |-- <DeviceID Name="<DeviceName2>">
|   |   |       |-- <Variables>
|   |   |   |   |   |-- Var1
|   |   |   |   |   |-- ... 
|   |   |   |   |   |-- VarX
|   |-- <NodeID Name="<NodeName2>">
|       |-- <DeviceIDs>
|       |   |-- <DeviceID Name="<DeviceName>">
|       |   |   |-- <Variables>
|   |   |   |   |   |-- Var1
|   |   |   |   |   |-- ... 
|   |   |   |   |   |-- VarY
|       |   |-- <DeviceID Name="<DeviceName>">
|       |       |-- <Variables>
|   |   |   |   |   |-- Var1
|   |   |   |   |   |-- ... 
|   |   |   |   |   |-- VarZ

To edit the structure, click on the Edit Data Structure button and customize your Payloas at the dialog window.

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There are some properties to be defined for Variables:

Type: Define the Variable DataType. Options are:

- Double
- Integer
- Boolean
- String

VariationFlag: Flag that indicates if variable value will be simulated every second in Runtime.
Min: Defines the minimum value for simulated data.
Max: Defines the maximum value for simulated data.
InitialValue: Defines an initial value for the variable.

The DataStructure can only be edited while the OPC Server is not running.

Simulation Control

This section is used to define the simulator behavior in runtime.

Publish One Data Sample: Sends one DDATA message for each Device created in the session.
Publish Continuous Data: Sends continuous DDATA messages with a time rate of 1 second.
Stop Publishing Data: Stop publishing continuous data.

Data Browser

In this region, you will be able to see the Payload Structure existing in the Broker.

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EventLog

This log displays useful information regarding the MQTTspB Simulator activity.

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Command Line Parameters

The MQTTspB Simulator can be executed with custom parameters through the command line. The syntax is as follows:

"..\MQTTspBSimulator.exe" /param1:<param1Value> ... /paramN

The existing parameters are listed below:

Minimized: Application starts minimized.
ConnectOnStartup: MQTTspB Client tries to connect to Broker automatically when application is started
PublishDataOnStartup: MQTTspB Client tries to publish Data to Broker automatically when application is started
BlockConfigurationFields: Make configuration fields read-only.
BrokerUrl: MQTT Broker URL
Port: MQTT Broker listening port
UserName: Username defined on the Broker. This will be requested if the Broker needs this configuration (optional)
Password: Password defined on the Broker. This will be requested if the Broker needs this configuration (optional).
GroupId: Defines the initial GroupID for the Payload Structure.
Config: Full path for *.xml configuration file with Server Configuration and custom DataStructure. More details on the syntax for the *.xml file in section 4.
Path: Full path of a FrameworX solution directory in which a configuration file can be found

Usage:

"..\MQTTspBSimulator.exe" /Minimized /AutoStart
                         /Config:"C:\Documents\CustomConfig.xml"

The input parameters are not case-sensitive

Custom Configuration(*.xml)

With a custom configuration file, you will be able to define your own Broker Configuration and DataStructure. The syntax for the configuration is described below:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<MQTTspBSimulator>
	<ConnectionParameters>
		<BrokerUrl>127.0.0.1</BrokerUrl>
		<BrokerPort>1883</BrokerPort>
		<UserName></UserName>
		<Password></Password>
	</ConnectionParameters>
	<PayloadSettings>
		<GroupID Name="GroupID">
			<NodeIDs>
				<NodeID Name="NodeID1">
					<DeviceIDs>
						<DeviceID Name="DeviceID1">
							<Variables>
								<Variable Name="Name" Type="string" VariationFlag="false" InitialValue="City"/>
								<Variable Name="State" Type="boolean" VariationFlag="true"/>
								<Variable Name="Latitude" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="-5" Max="2" InitialValue="0"/>
								<Variable Name="Longitude" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="40" Max="43" InitialValue="40"/>
								<Variable Name="PanelPower" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="200" Max="500" InitialValue="200"/>
								<Variable Name="PanelVoltage" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="-220" Max="220" InitialValue="0"/>
								<Variable Name="PanelCurrent" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="-10" Max="10" InitialValue="0"/>
								<Variable Name="TemperaturePort" Type="integer" VariationFlag="true" Min="15" Max="35" InitialValue="0"/>
							</Variables>
						</DeviceID>
						<DeviceID Name="DeviceID2">
							<Variables>
								<Variable Name="Name" Type="string" VariationFlag="false" InitialValue="City"/>
								<Variable Name="State" Type="boolean" VariationFlag="true"/>
								<Variable Name="Latitude" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="-5" Max="2" InitialValue="0"/>								
							</Variables>
						</DeviceID>
					</DeviceIDs>
				</NodeID>
				<NodeID Name="NodeID2">
					<DeviceIDs>
						<DeviceID Name="DeviceID1">
							<Variables>
								<Variable Name="Name" Type="string" VariationFlag="false" InitialValue="City"/>
								<Variable Name="State" Type="boolean" VariationFlag="true"/>
								<Variable Name="Latitude" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="-5" Max="2" InitialValue="0"/>
								<Variable Name="Longitude" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="40" Max="43" InitialValue="40"/>
								<Variable Name="PanelPower" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="200" Max="500" InitialValue="200"/>
								<Variable Name="PanelVoltage" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="-220" Max="220" InitialValue="0"/>
								<Variable Name="PanelCurrent" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="-10" Max="10" InitialValue="0"/>
								<Variable Name="TemperaturePort" Type="integer" VariationFlag="true" Min="15" Max="35" InitialValue="0"/>
							</Variables>
						</DeviceID>
						<DeviceID Name="DeviceID2">
							<Variables>
								<Variable Name="Name" Type="string" VariationFlag="false" InitialValue="City"/>
								<Variable Name="State" Type="boolean" VariationFlag="true"/>
								<Variable Name="Latitude" Type="double" VariationFlag="true" Min="-5" Max="2" InitialValue="0"/>
							</Variables>
						</DeviceID>
					</DeviceIDs>
				</NodeID>
			</NodeIDs>			
		</GroupID>		
	</PayloadSettings>
	<SimulatorControl>
		<ConnectOnStartup>false</ConnectOnStartup>
		<PublishDataOnStartup>false</PublishDataOnStartup>
		<Minimized>false</Minimized>
		<BlockConfigurationFields>false</BlockConfigurationFields>
	</SimulatorControl>
</MQTTspBSimulator>

MQTTspB Simulator with the fxAssetsMonitor demo project

Additional Information:

Solution for when the configurations from the XML MQTTspBSimulator-Demo9.2.exe.config are applied and the tags do not appear.

When you are using the demo project fsAssetsMonitor via the MQTTspB Simulator, it's necessary that the file "MQTTspBSimulator-Demo9.2.exe.config" be copied and pasted into the folder along with the project "fxAssetsMonitor.tproj". Upon opening the project, you can verify in Edit>Scripts>Classes, within the class CheckStatus that this class contains a method called StartMqttSimulator(). When running the project this method will fetch some arguments and together with the .config file, and from these configured arguments, the MQTTSpb Simulator will be called to run the values that are configured within this .config. When running the project this will be done automatically, without needing to manually open the simulator.

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The original file "MQTTspBSimulator.exe.config" within the product's installation folder comes with default values for simulation and can be modified to generate new simulation values. To add new attributes, you can follow the pattern of the other attributes in the file.

In this section: