Partner Solution

Connecting the shop floor to the UNS of HiveMQ

How can industrial sites create a single, trusted operational data layer (Unified Namespace - UNS) with HiveMQ that provides consistent, contextualized, and governed data to all OT and IT consumers?

Overview

A modular, secure UNS built on HiveMQ (local factory brokers + central UNS) and Industrial Edge delivers a harmonized MQTT dataflow across OT and IT. Edge devices normalize and publish field data into local HiveMQ brokers following UNS naming and governance. Local brokers cluster and bridge to a central HiveMQ for enterprise-wide distribution, providing low-latency access for SCADA, MES, ERP, analytics and web/HMI apps while ensuring security, scalability and operational resilience.

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Detailed architecture

Field and Edge layer

Vendor-agnostic automation equipment (PLCs, drives, sensors) connects to Industrial Edge devices via OT connectors (EtherNet/IP, Modbus, OPC UA, etc.).
Industrial Edge runs data acquisition, filtering, context enrichment, edge apps (e.g., Virtual PLC, LiveTwin, AI inference) and publishes standardized telemetry/events to the local MQTT databus.

Local UNS (HiveMQ Edge / Factory)

Each site runs a HiveMQ instance implementing the Unified Namespace: consistent topic structure, metadata conventions and access control policies.
HiveMQ Edge supports local persistence, extensions for transformation/validation, and role-based access control to enforce governance at the source.
Local brokers serve real-time needs for local HMI/SCADA (WinCC OA, WinCC Unified, Ignition) and local analytics while minimizing dependency on connectivity to HQ.

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Architecture hub - UNS HiveMQ detail not text

Description

Central UNS / Cloud (HiveMQ HQ / Central)

Local brokers securely bridge or tunnel selected topics to a central HiveMQ cluster (HQ) to create an enterprise UNS view.
Central HiveMQ aggregates, enforces enterprise-wide policies, and provides vetted data streams to ERP, MES, CRM, historical systems, and cloud analytics.
Bidirectional flows are supported: enterprise systems can publish configuration or setpoints back through the UNS to relevant edge consumers.

Integration, management and resiliency

Industrial Edge Management and HiveMQ management components enable deployment, monitoring, lifecycle management and scaling of edge apps and brokers.
Clustering, replication and secure bridges ensure high availability and local autonomy during network outages.
Extensions and plugins (transformation, schema validation, auditing, encryption) enable data governance, security and observability across the UNS.

Values & benefits

Single source of truth

A governed UNS provides consistent, contextualized operational data consumers can trust.

OT-IT Convergence

Simplifies and standardizes data flow between shop floor systems and enterprise applications.

Low latency & local autonomy

Local HiveMQ instances ensure real‑time responsiveness and continue operating during WAN interruptions.

Scalable enterprise distribution

Bridged HiveMQ clusters provide efficient, scalable distribution across factories, HQ and cloud.

Reduced integration cost & time-to-value

Reusable UNS topics and broker extensions reduce custom point‑to‑point integrations.

Components

Industrial Edge

• Centralized orchestration for edge apps, connectors and local processing

• Secure data acquisition, filtering and contextual enrichment from heterogeneous devices

• Publishes data to the local HiveMQ broker

HiveMQ (Factory/Edge)

• Implements the local UNS: topic hierarchy, retention, and access control enforcement

• Provides local MQTT persistence, extensions and optimized local subscriptions for HMI/SCADA

• Enables secure bridging to central HiveMQ

HiveMQ (HQ/Central)

• Enterprise UNS aggregation point with clustering, policy enforcement and enterprise integration

• Provides curated data streams to ERP, MES, CRM, cloud analytics and corporate dashboards

• Supports multi-site synchronization