📄 Edge Link

Edge Link


Edge Link is your direct, real-time window into the Integrator-AI. This powerful app functions as a built-in MQTT broker, streaming raw data as it's generated — giving developers, integrators, and operators instant visibility into live communications and device activity at the edge.

Connect using any standard MQTT client (such as MQTT Explorer, Node-RED, custom scripts, or dashboard tools like Grafana) to subscribe and receive data in real time.

  • Live Streaming via MQTT — Subscribe to topics (or use wildcards for multiple) and get raw data payloads as soon as the Integrator-AI produces them. Perfect for monitoring, analytics, custom dashboards, or third-party integrations.
  • Payload Formats — Most topics deliver data in JSON for easy parsing, but the exact encoding depends on the specific topic — always check the documentation for the topics you're using.
  • Subscriptions currently support QoS 0 only (fire-and-forget). We plan to add higher QoS levels (1 & 2) in future updates.
  • Retained messages are not published on subscription. In the context of traffic/Integrator-AI use cases, this provides limited value — but if it's important for your workflow, let us know and we'll prioritize it!
  • Clients cannot currently publish to the broker (any published messages are ignored). For control commands, configuration fetches, or device management, use our robust REST API instead — it's purpose-built for those operations.

Security

Encryption

Edge Link fully supports TLS encryption for secure MQTT communication between your clients and the Integrator-AI. 

Enable it easily in the app configuration dialog with a single toggle. The built-in certificate is self-signed — designed to minimize administrative overhead for agency technical teams. To connect, simply disable peer verification in your MQTT client (the connection remains fully encrypted).

If you need the .crt CA file for your client (to avoid disabling verification entirely), download it directly from the Edge Link status page in the Integrator-AI GUI (look for the light blue button in the bottom right) — or contact Blue-Band support for assistance.

We’re actively working on the ability to upload your own certificates in the near future for even greater flexibility and compliance.


Authentication

Add an extra layer of protection by setting an MQTT username and password — preventing unauthorized anonymous connections.

Once enabled, your MQTT client must provide these credentials during the CONNECT handshake. Without valid credentials, the broker will reject all subscriptions and access attempts.


Authorization

Currently, any client that successfully authenticates (and connects) has full access to all available topics and data published by the Integrator-AI. 

This streamlined approach suits most edge deployments, but we plan to introduce more granular authorization controls in future releases.


Testing

You can test connecting to one of our edge devices by using an MQTT client. Developers can also use this as a means to develop against. Here are some examples using Mosquitto to test with:

With TLS (mosquitto requires a certificate authority file for self-signed certificates, you can download from the Integrator-AI GUI). Keep in mind, we have to use the --insucure flag to disable peer verification because the certificate host will be localhost, and that will fail peer verification. The connection is still encrypted, but it does not verify the peer. This could open you up to man in the middle attacks, but the risk is near zero if you're on a trusted closed network. If you need support for a valid certificate, please contact Blue-Band and we'll work on a solution to get that setup. We will have an option to upload your own certificates in the near future.

mosquitto_sub -h 192.168.1.200 -p 8883 -u admin -P administrator -t "integrator/objects" -d -v --insecure --cafile integrator-ai.crt

Without TLS

mosquitto_sub -h 192.168.1.200 -p 1883 -u admin -P administrator -t "app/spmp/event/state/movement/#" -t "app/spmp/event/state/cycle" -d -v
mosquitto_sub -h 192.168.1.200 -p 1883 -u admin -P administrator -t "app/spmp/event/object/movement/+/+/arrival" -d -v


MQTT Topics

Each app and component that publishes real-time data includes its own dedicated topic documentation. Refer to the specific app/component guides (e.g., SPM+, Object Analytics, AID, etc.) for the exact topics, wildcards, and payload details you can subscribe to.