Azure-rtos: Legacy mqtt vs nx client

Question

Azure-rtos: Legacy mqtt vs nx client

Karim Walid Abdelazim Elhammady 16

Hello,

I am developing an application, and I have been using the legacy mqtt client for a while now, and it is working without any issues. I found the nx client that can be used to do exactly the same thing.

Can anyone explain to me the difference between the legacy mqtt client and the nx client? What will be the benefits for me to switch the nx client instead of the legacy mqtt?

The source code can be found in any of the examples in the following repository: https://github.com/azure-rtos/getting-started

Thanks,
Karim

Tiejun Zhou 1,131 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2022-01-26T02:23:18.757+00:00

Could you specify what is "legacy mqtt" and what is "nx client"? We have released NetX MQTT client. And to connect to Azure IoT, we also have middleware.
Karim Walid Abdelazim Elhammady 16 Reputation points

2022-01-26T02:35:48.967+00:00

In this example (https://github.com/azure-rtos/getting-started/tree/master/NXP/MIMXRT1060-EVK/app), there is a folder called (legacy) , in which there is a file called mqtt.c. From what I understand, this a legacy client. However, there is also the nx_client in the app directory. I checked the code for both clients, and both are doing exactly the same functionality but with different API version, I assume. What is really the difference between both clients? and what is the benefits for using the nx_client over the legacy one?
Tiejun Zhou 1,131 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2022-01-26T02:39:46.863+00:00

@Ryan , could you help with this question?
Karim Walid Abdelazim Elhammady 16 Reputation points

2022-01-26T02:40:08.617+00:00

@Tiejun Zhou Also, If you can explain to me the different between the ones you mentioned as well, I would appreciate it.
Tiejun Zhou 1,131 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2022-01-26T02:45:11.06+00:00

If Ryan does not answer here, could you please paste the question in Github issue too?
Karim Walid Abdelazim Elhammady 16 Reputation points

2022-01-26T02:50:19.447+00:00

sure. I can do that.

1 answer

Your answer

Tiejun Zhou 1,131 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2022-01-26T02:23:18.757+00:00

Could you specify what is "legacy mqtt" and what is "nx client"? We have released NetX MQTT client. And to connect to Azure IoT, we also have middleware.
Karim Walid Abdelazim Elhammady 16 Reputation points

2022-01-26T02:35:48.967+00:00

In this example (https://github.com/azure-rtos/getting-started/tree/master/NXP/MIMXRT1060-EVK/app), there is a folder called (legacy) , in which there is a file called mqtt.c. From what I understand, this a legacy client. However, there is also the nx_client in the app directory. I checked the code for both clients, and both are doing exactly the same functionality but with different API version, I assume. What is really the difference between both clients? and what is the benefits for using the nx_client over the legacy one?
Tiejun Zhou 1,131 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2022-01-26T02:39:46.863+00:00

@Ryan , could you help with this question?
Karim Walid Abdelazim Elhammady 16 Reputation points

2022-01-26T02:40:08.617+00:00

@Tiejun Zhou Also, If you can explain to me the different between the ones you mentioned as well, I would appreciate it.
Tiejun Zhou 1,131 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2022-01-26T02:45:11.06+00:00

If Ryan does not answer here, could you please paste the question in Github issue too?
Karim Walid Abdelazim Elhammady 16 Reputation points

2022-01-26T02:50:19.447+00:00

sure. I can do that.

Answer 1

Tiejun Zhou 1,131 Microsoft Employee

For NetX MQTT client, it is a general implementation of MQTT 3 client. You can use it to connect to whatever MQTT broker you are using, including Azure IoTHub but which requires some message encoding and parsing. So we have provided the Azure IoT middleware which wrappers all the functionalities you need to connect to Azure IoTHub and makes developers easy to use.

Karim Walid Abdelazim Elhammady 16 Reputation points

2022-01-26T02:49:49.507+00:00

@Tiejun Zhou I assume that the repository I am looking at is using the Azure IoT middleware. maybe by doing another wrapper layer, no?
Tiejun Zhou 1,131 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2022-01-26T02:56:44.9+00:00

I would say source code from "legacy" folder is another wrapper layer. For the existing project, it is using Azure IoT middleware. Here is the link of doc for Azure IoT middleware for AzureRTOS.
Karim Walid Abdelazim Elhammady 16 Reputation points

2022-01-26T03:11:16.083+00:00

Thanks a lot!
Karim Walid Abdelazim Elhammady 16 Reputation points

2022-01-26T03:30:21.2+00:00

@Tiejun Zhou After taking your comments into consideration, I found out that the legacy client is using the Net MQTT client, while the nx_client is using the Azure IoT middleware you mentioned. So maybe you can help me know why should I consider switching to the Azure-IoT-middlieware-based client (nx_client)?
Tiejun Zhou 1,131 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2022-01-26T03:38:52.51+00:00

"legacy" means this is deprecated and may not be maintained anymore. This "legacy" files are created before Azure IoT middleware is released. And those files are part of application which implements just enough functionalities needed by this particular application. While Azure IoT middleware is an official product which is maintained by AzureRTOS team. And all features provided by Azure IoTHub will be developed based on Azure IoT middleware, such as Plug and Play, Azure Device Update (not GA). It is your choice whether you need to upgrade to Azure IoT middleware for your production.
Karim Walid Abdelazim Elhammady 16 Reputation points

2022-01-26T04:36:23.043+00:00

@Tiejun Zhou Thanks a lot that really helped!, BTW, what does GA stand for?
Tiejun Zhou 1,131 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2022-01-26T05:10:01.947+00:00

Sure. GA stands for generally available.

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Azure-rtos: Legacy mqtt vs nx client

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