Edge Nodes¶

Edge Nodes represent this gateway instance in the Sparkplug B architecture.

Edge Nodes List Screenshot placeholder: List of edge nodes

What is an Edge Node?¶

An Edge Node is the gateway's identity in Sparkplug B terminology (the "edge_node_id"). It represents this physical gateway instance and contains all the Modbus devices managed by this gateway.

Creating an Edge Node¶

Screenshot placeholder: Add edge node form

Navigate to MQTT → Edge Nodes
Click Add Edge Node
Configure:

Basic Settings¶

Node Name: Descriptive name (e.g., "Plant1 Gateway")
Edge Node ID: Sparkplug edge_node_id (e.g., "Gateway01")
Used in MQTT topics
Must be unique within the Sparkplug Group
No spaces or special characters
Sparkplug Group: Select the group this node belongs to

MQTT Settings¶

Primary Broker: Select MQTT broker for publishing
Secondary Broker (optional): Failover broker
Enabled: Enable/disable this node
Click Save

Node Status¶

Each node shows: - Connection status (Connected/Disconnected) - Number of devices - Last NBIRTH time - MQTT broker connection

NBIRTH and NDEATH¶

NBIRTH (Node Birth)¶

Automatically published when node connects to MQTT broker. Contains: - Node metrics - Rebirth metric - Node Control/Metrics

NDEATH (Node Death)¶

Published when node disconnects: - Graceful shutdown: Gateway publishes NDEATH before disconnect - Unexpected disconnect: Broker publishes LWT (Last Will and Testament)

Broker Redundancy¶

Broker Failover Screenshot placeholder: Primary/secondary broker configuration

Configure primary and secondary brokers: 1. Set Primary Broker - Normal operation 2. Set Secondary Broker - Automatic failover 3. Gateway monitors primary health 4. Auto-reconnects to primary when available

See Broker Redundancy for details.

Best Practices¶

Use descriptive node names
Keep edge_node_id consistent and meaningful
Always configure broker redundancy for production
Monitor node connection status