ZeroMQ Producer

Purpose

This target publishes gateway variables, devices, alarms, and plugin events through a ZeroMQ socket.

Configure the forwarding group and target through Data Forwarding. This page covers the ZeroMQ endpoint, socket mode, high-water mark, Topic templates, and debug verification.

Open the plugin

Open Development Configuration → Data Forwarding and:

1. Save the forwarding-group range, trigger, interval, online filter, and batching.
2. Add a target, choose ZeroMQ Producer, and fill in the basic target information.
3. Open Target properties and configure the endpoint, socket type, bind mode, high-water mark, Topics, templates, and cache.
4. Save and enable the target, start a matching test receiver, and use target debug.

Basic target information

Setting	Default	Configuration
Group	-	Select a saved forwarding group.
Target name	-	Required and unique within the group.
Enable	Enabled	Disable to avoid creating a ZeroMQ socket.
Log level	Info	Temporarily use Debug for endpoint or send diagnostics.
Start timeout	60 seconds	Valid range is 1 to 3600 seconds.

Target properties

Connection and capacity

Setting	Default	Configuration
Connection address	tcp://127.0.0.1:5555	ZeroMQ endpoint such as tcp://host:port or ipc://file. Both sides must use the same endpoint.
Socket type	Pub	Current choices are Pub (publisher/subscriber), Push (push/pull), and Dealer (asynchronous request/reply). The receiver must use the compatible socket type.
Bind mode	Enabled	Enabled calls Bind; disabled calls Connect. Only one side may bind an endpoint.
High-water mark	1000	Outbound socket queue limit. A slow receiver can reach this limit and cause blocking or drops.

Socket-level send success does not confirm peer receipt. Use Dealer with an application-level ACK when end-to-end confirmation is required.

Topic templates

Setting	Default	Configuration
Device Topic template	Empty	Device message prefix/Topic; empty disables device records.
Variable Topic template	ThingsGateway/Variable	Variable prefix/Topic; ${DeviceName} and ${Name} may be used.
Alarm Topic template	Empty	Alarm prefix/Topic; empty disables alarm records.
Plugin-event Topic template	Empty	Plugin-event prefix/Topic; empty disables plugin-event records.

${field} must exist on the corresponding entity or script result. The forwarding group controls membership; Topic controls category and receiver subscription.

Target-variable properties

ZeroMQ inherits Data1 to Data10, optional text fields that are empty by default and are not added to messages automatically. Configure membership, aliases, trigger, and batching in Data Forwarding.

Setting	Default	Configuration
Data1 to Data10	Empty	Project-specific metadata; reference explicitly from a script or upload template when needed.

Data and scripts

Setting	Default	Configuration
Detail log	Disabled	Enable briefly to inspect sends.
JSON indentation	Enabled	Disable to reduce payload size.
Ignore JSON nulls	Enabled	Disable when null fields must remain.
Device/variable/alarm/plugin-event list upload	Enabled	Disable the relevant list switch for one message per entity.
Variable/alarm dictionary upload	Disabled	Applies only to the corresponding list mode.
Entity scripts	Empty	Select saved scripts to transform entities before Topic and payload rendering.

Upload template fields

In Upload Template Configuration, choose Text or Json for each entity and insert ${field} placeholders. Empty content uses default JSON serialization; preview before saving. See Kafka Producer template fields.

Cache and capacity

Setting	Default	Configuration
Enable failed-write retry cache	Disabled	Enable to retain failed sends and replay after recovery.
Cache file maximum rows	262144	Maximum CacheDB outbox rows.
Upload chunk size	2000	Maximum records per replay batch.
Memory queue limit	100000	Maximum in-memory records before CacheDB handoff.
Filter offline data	Disabled	Filters offline variables; the forwarding-group filter also applies.
Upload concurrency	1	ZeroMQ sockets are not thread-safe; the plugin reduces values above 1 to 1.

Entity	Available fields
Variable	Id, Name, DeviceName, Value, CollectGroup, CollectTime, ChangeTime, IsOnline, DataType, Unit, RegisterAddress, Remark1
Device	Id, Name, ActiveTime, DeviceStatus, PluginName, Description, LastErrorMessage, Remark1
Alarm	AlarmId, VariableId, Name, DeviceName, AlarmCode, AlarmLevel, AlarmLimit, AlarmText, RecoveryCode, AlarmTime, EventTime, AlarmType, EventType, Remark1
Plugin event	DeviceName, ObjectValue

Functions

Function	Purpose
ZeroMQ protocol debug	Use ZeroMQ protocol debug to send or inspect protocol frames and view the device or target response.

Target debug

Open Development Configuration → Data Forwarding, select the forwarding group and target, and open Debug.

ZeroMQ protocol panel

Check endpoint, bind mode, Topic, and publish result. Use a test subscriber while commissioning.

Verify the target

1. Start a test ZeroMQ subscriber with the matching socket type and endpoint.
2. Confirm that only one side binds the endpoint.
3. Change one variable included in the forwarding group.
4. Compare Topic, payload, and message count at the subscriber.
5. Check target logs and the queue level when the receiver is slower.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check
Subscriber receives no message	Endpoint, socket type, bind mode, firewall, subscriber state, group range, and Topic template.
Address already in use	Only one process should bind the endpoint. Switch the other side to connect mode or use another endpoint.
Messages are delayed or dropped	Receiver speed, high-water mark, network, and target log.
Topic is unexpected	Topic templates, ${key} fields, entity values, and the forwarding group target.
Payload is invalid	Template preview, JSON syntax, placeholder names, and entity-script output.

Related links

• Data Forwarding: Forwarding groups, triggers, cache, redundancy, and common target operations.
• Plugin Manual Index: Other collection and data-forwarding plugins.