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  3. Configuring MQTT MRF Functionality
Manual Chapter : Configuring MQTT MRF Functionality

Applies To:

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BIG-IP LTM

  • 17.5.0, 17.1.2, 17.1.1, 17.1.0, 17.0.0, 16.1.4, 15.1.10, 15.1.9
Manual Chapter

Configuring MQTT MRF Functionality

Overview: Creating an MQTT MRF configuration

You can use a Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) Message Routing Framework (MRF) configuration to optimize performance and bandwidth. When creating a MQTT MRF configuration, in order to use the MRF proxy, you need to configure an MQTT Session profile. You create an MQTT Session profile to customize settings for client-side and server-side MQTT connection properties. These are attached to a virtual server that controls a client-side session, or attached via an optional Transport Config profile to control a server-side session.
The high performance MRF is a protocol independent extension to the BIG-IP system hudproxy to support message based protocols. It is designed to deliver messages to the best route using protocol specific routing helper functions.
Complete these tasks to configure the BIG-IP system to use MQTT MRF functionality.

Task list

Create an MQTT monitor
Create a pool
Create an MQTT Session profile
Optional: Create a MQTT Transport Config profile
Create a MQTT Peer profile
Create an MQTT Static Route profile
Create an MQTT Router profile
Create a virtual server

Create an MQTT monitor

You can create an MQTT monitor to monitor MQTT brokers that are configured as pool members in an LTM pool.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Monitors
    .
    The Monitors List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Monitor screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a name for the monitor.
  4. From the
    Type
     list, select
    MQTT
    .
    The screen refreshes, and displays the configuration options for the
    MQTT
     monitor type.
  5. From the
    Configuration
     list, select
    Advanced
    .
    This selection makes it possible for you to modify additional default settings.
  6. In the
    Interval
     field, type a number that indicates, in seconds, how frequently the system issues the monitor check.
    The default is
    5
     seconds.
  7. To specify a different interval for health checking, from the
    Up Interval
     list, select
    Enabled
    , and, in the
    Up Interval
     field, type the number of seconds for the interval.
    The default is
    Disabled
    .
  8. In the
    Time Until Up
     field, type the number of seconds to wait after a resource first responds correctly to the monitor before setting the resource to up.
    The default is
    0
     seconds.
  9. In the
    Timeout
     field, type the number of seconds that the target has in which to respond to the monitor request.
    The default is
    16
     seconds.
  10. To specify that you must manually re-enable the resource after an unsuccessful monitor check, for
    Manual Resume
    , select
    Yes
    .
    The default is
    No
    .
  11. From the
    MQTT Version
     list, select the protocol version that the monitor will use to communicate with the monitoring object.
    The default is
    3.1.1
    .
  12. In the
    Client ID
     field, type the Client ID that the monitor will send to communicate with the monitoring object.
  13. If the monitored object requires authentication, type a
    User Name
    .
  14. If the monitored target requires authentication, type a
    Password
    .
  15. In the
    Alias Address
     field, type an alias IP address for the monitor to check, on behalf of the pools or pool members with which the monitor is associated.
    The default is
    * All Addresses
    .
  16. In the
    Alias Service Port
     field, type an alias port or, from the
    Alias Service Port
     list, select a service for the monitor to check, on behalf of the pools or pool members with which the monitor is associated.
    The default is
    * All Ports
    .
  17. Click
    Finished
    .

Create a pool

Before you can assign an MQTT health monitor to a pool, you need to create the MQTT monitor.
You can create a pool of servers that you can group together to receive and process traffic. After the pool is created, you can associate the pool with a virtual server.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Pools
    .
    The Pool List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Pool screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the pool.
  4. For the
    Health Monitors
     setting, select an MQTT health monitor from the
    Available
     field, and move it to the
    Active
     field.
  5. For each pool member, in the
    New Members
     setting, select one of the options, and then follow the steps to configure the applicable settings.
    Option
    Steps
    New Node
    1. In the
      Node Name
       field, type a name for the node portion of the pool member.
    2. In the
      Address
       field, type the IP address of the server.
    3. For the
      Service Port
       setting, type one of the following port numbers, or select one of the following services from the list.
      Port Number
      Service Name
      1883
      MQTT
      . The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) registered port for MQTT service.
      8883
      MQTT-TLS
      . The IANA registered port for secure MQTT service over a Transport Layer Security (TLS) network.
    4. Click
      Add
      .
    New FQDN Node
    1. In the
      Node Name
       field, type a name for the node portion of the pool member.
    2. In the
      FQDN
       field, type the FQDN of the server.
      To use FQDNs instead of IP addresses, you should still type at least one IP address. Typing one IP address ensures that the system can find a pool member if a DNS server is not available.
    3. For the
      Service Port
       setting, type one of the following port numbers, or select one of the following services from the list.
      Port Number
      Service Name
      1883
      MQTT
      . The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) registered port for MQTT service.
      8883
      MQTT-TLS
      . The IANA registered port for secure MQTT service over a Transport Layer Security (TLS) network.
    4. From the
      Auto Populate
       list, select
      Enabled
       to automatically create ephemeral nodes, using the IP addresses returned by the resolution of a DNS query for the pool member defined by the FQDN.
    5. Click
      Add
      .
  6. Click
    Finished
    .
    The screen refreshes, and you see the new pool in the Pool list.

Create an MQTT Session profile

You can create an MQTT Session profile to customize settings for client-side and server-side MQTT connection properties.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Profiles
    Message Routing
    MQTT
    .
    The MQTT list screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New MQTT Session profile screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the MQTT session profile.
  4. From the
    Parent Profile
    list, select a profile from which the new profile inherits properties.
  5. Select the
    Custom
     check box.
  6. In the Settings area, for the
    Client ID Prefix
     field, type a prefix to add to the
    client-id
     for the server-side connection.
  7. For the
    Keepalive Interval
     setting, retain the default, or type a value for the
    MQTT CONNECT
     message on the server-side connection.
    The default is
    60
     seconds.
  8. If you want to use peered client-side and server-side connections, select the
    Peered Session Mode
     check box.
    The default is not to use peered connection (the checkbox is cleared); the BIG-IP system uses the MQTT message routing.
  9. In the
    Proxy Topic Prefix
     field, type a prefix to add to the MQTT topics sent on the server-side connection.
  10. From the
    Client Will Handling Mode
     list:
    • To disable forwarding of the client will message, select
      Ignore
      .
    • To control the
      will
       action for the ungraceful shutdown of the client-side connection, retain the default.
    The default is
    Send-Local-Copy
    .
  11. From the
    Server Will Handling Mode
     list:
    • To exclude the server side connection, select
      Ignore
      .
    • To control the
      will
       action for the ungraceful shutdown of the server-side connection, retain the default.
    The default is
    Copy-From-Client
    .
  12. Click
    Finished
    .
    The screen refreshes, and you see the new MQTT session profile in the MQTT list.

Optional: Create a MQTT Transport Config profile

You can create an MQTT Transport Config profile to configure server-side connection attributes.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Profiles
    Message Routing
    MQTT
    .
    The MQTT list screen opens.
  2. Click
    Transport Config
    .
    The Transport Config list screen opens.
  3. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Transport Config screen opens.
  4. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the Transport Config profile.
  5. For the
    Profiles
     setting, select the profile(s) you want from the
    Available
     list, and move it to the
    Selected
     field.
  6. For the
    iRules
     setting, select the name of the server-side iRule from the
    Available
     list, and move it to the
    Selected
     list.
  7. Retain the default settings for the remaining settings in the Configuration area.
  8. Click
    Finished
    .
    The screen refreshes, and you see the new Transport Config profile in the Transport Config list.

Create a MQTT Peer profile

Before you can create a MQTT Peer profile, first verify that you have created a pool and a MQTT Transport Config profile.
You can create a MQTT Peer profile to specify a pool of servers and a Transport Config to use for the pool.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Profiles
    Message Routing
    MQTT
    .
    The MQTT list screen opens.
  2. Click
    Peers
    .
    The Peers list screen opens.
  3. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Peer screen opens.
  4. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the Peer profile.
  5. From the
    Pool
     list, select the name of the pool you created previously.
  6. From the
    Transport Config
     list, select the name of the Transport Config you created previously.
  7. Click
    Finished
    .
    The screen refreshes, and you see the new Peer profile in the Peers list.

Create an MQTT Static Route profile

Before you can create an MQTT Static Route profile, verify you have created a virtual server and a MQTT Peer profile.
You can create an MQTT Static Route profile to create a route to the peer for traffic coming to a virtual server.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Profiles
    Message Routing
    MQTT
    .
    The MQTT list screen opens.
  2. Click
    Static Routes
    .
    The Static Routes list screen opens.
  3. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Route screen opens.
  4. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the Route profile.
  5. From the
    Virtual Server
     list, select the name of the virtual server you created previously.
  6. From the
    Peer
     list, select the name of a peer you created previously.
  7. Click
    Finished
    .
    The screen refreshes, and you see the new Route profile in the Static Routes list.

Create an MQTT Router profile

Before you can create an MQTT Router profile, verify you have created a MQTT Static Route profile.
You can create an MQTT Router profile to select a static route.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Profiles
    Message Routing
    MQTT
    .
    The MQTT list screen opens.
  2. On the menu bar, click
    Router Profiles
    .
    The Router Profiles list screen opens.
  3. Click
    Create
    .
    The New MQTT Session profile screen opens.
  4. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the Router profile.
  5. Configure settings as needed.
  6. From the
    Static Route
     list, select the name of a static route you created previously.
  7. Click
    Finished
    .
    The screen refreshes, and you see the new Router profile in the Router Profiles list.

Create a virtual server for MQTT

Before creating a virtual server, verify that you have created the pool to which you want this virtual server to send traffic.
When you create a virtual server, you specify a destination IP address and service port. All other settings on the virtual server have default values. You can change the default values of any settings to suit your needs.
  1. On the Main tab, click
    Local Traffic
    Virtual Servers
    .
    The Virtual Server List screen opens.
  2. Click
    Create
    .
    The New Virtual Server screen opens.
  3. In the
    Name
     field, type a unique name for the virtual server.
  4. From the
    Type
     list, for the virtual type, select
    Message Routing
    .
  5. In the
    Destination Address/Mask
     field:
    • If you want to specify a single IP address, confirm that the
      Host
       button is selected, and type the IP address in CIDR format.
    • If you want to specify multiple IP addresses, select the
      Address List
       button, and confirm that the address list that you previously created appears in the box.
    The supported format is address/prefix, where the prefix length is in bits. For example, an IPv4 address/prefix is
    10.0.0.1
     or
    10.0.0.0/24
    , and an IPv6 address/prefix is
    ffe1::0020/64
     or
    2001:ed8:77b5:2:10:10:100:42/64
    . When you use an IPv4 address without specifying a prefix, the BIG-IP system automatically uses a
    /32
     prefix.
    The IP address or addresses for this field must be on the same subnet as the external self-IP address.
  6. In the
    Service Port
     field, type one of these two port numbers, or select one of the two services from the list.
    Port Number
    Service Name
    1883
    MQTT
    . The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) registered port for MQTT service.
    8883
    MQTT-TLS
    . The IANA registered port for secure MQTT service over a Transport Layer Security (TLS) network.
  7. In the
    Configuration
     list, retain the default,
    Basic
    .
  8. For the
    SSL Profile (Client)
     setting, from the
    Available
     list, select the name of the Client SSL profile you previously created and move the name to the
    Selected
     list.
  9. From the
    Application Protocol
     list, select
    MQTT
    .
  10. From the
    Session Profile
     list, select the name of a MQTT Session profile that you created previously.
  11. From the
    Router Profile
     list, select the name of a MQTT Router profile that you created previously.
  12. Configure any other settings that you need.
  13. In the Resources area, for the
    iRules
     setting, from the
    Available
     list, select the name of the iRule that you want to assign, and move the name into the
    Enabled
     list.
  14. Click
    Finished
    .
You now have a virtual server that listens for application traffic and acts according to the values configured within the virtual server.
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