EMQ vs MQTT: What are the differences?

Introduction

MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) and EMQ (Erlang MQTT Broker) are both widely-used communication protocols for the Internet of Things (IoT) applications. While they share some similarities, they also have key differences that distinguish them from each other.

1. Message Handling:

One key difference between EMQ and MQTT is the way they handle messages. EMQ provides support for both one-time delivery and guaranteed delivery. The one-time delivery option allows messages to be delivered to the subscriber(s) only once, while the guaranteed delivery option ensures that messages are delivered to the subscribers even if they go offline temporarily.

2. Scalability and Performance:

EMQ is designed for scalability and high-performance messaging. It leverages the power of Erlang/OTP to handle a large number of connections and messages efficiently. It utilizes the lightweight and concurrent nature of the Erlang programming language, allowing it to scale to handle millions of connections and messages simultaneously.

3. Operating System Compatibility:

EMQ is supported on a wide range of operating systems, including Linux, Windows, macOS, and several Unix-like systems. This cross-platform compatibility makes it suitable for deployment on various hardware and software environments.

4. Authentication and Security:

Both EMQ and MQTT support authentication and secure communication. However, EMQ provides additional features such as ACL (Access Control List) and SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security) for an enhanced level of security. ACL allows fine-grained control over user access to different topics, while SSL/TLS ensures encrypted communication between the clients and the server.

5. Integration with Other Systems:

EMQ supports seamless integration with other systems, databases, and messaging platforms. It can be easily integrated with popular databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB, enabling the storage and retrieval of messages and device data. It also provides connectors for integrating with messaging platforms such as Apache Kafka and RabbitMQ.

6. Real-time Data Streaming:

EMQ provides built-in support for real-time data streaming and processing. It supports various messaging patterns, including publish/subscribe and request/response, allowing developers to build real-time streaming applications for IoT and other use cases.

In summary, EMQ and MQTT differ in terms of message handling, scalability, operating system compatibility, authentication and security, integration with other systems, and real-time data streaming capabilities.