MQTT in Node RED: Building a Dashboard and Logging Data

MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) is a lightweight messaging protocol that is commonly used in IoT (Internet of Things) applications for sending and receiving data between devices. Node-RED, a flow-based development tool for visual programming, provides a convenient way to work with MQTT to build dashboards and log data.

Building a Dashboard

Node-RED allows users to create a dashboard to visualize data from MQTT messages. This can be done using the Node-RED Dashboard node. By configuring the Dashboard node with the appropriate MQTT topic, users can create widgets such as gauges, charts, and text boxes to display real-time data from MQTT messages. The dashboard can be accessed from any web browser, making it easily accessible for monitoring and analysis.

Logging Data

In addition to building a dashboard, Node-RED can also be used to log data received from MQTT messages. By using the Node-RED File node, users can save data to a file on their system. This is useful for recording historical data for analysis or debugging purposes. Users can configure the File node to append data to an existing file or create a new file each time data is received. This provides flexibility in how data is stored and managed.

Conclusion

MQTT in Node-RED provides a powerful platform for working with data from IoT devices. Whether it’s building a dashboard to visualize real-time data or logging data for historical analysis, Node-RED makes it easy to work with MQTT. By leveraging the capabilities of Node-RED, users can effectively manage and utilize data from MQTT in their IoT applications.