Step-by-Step Guide to Connect Bevywise IoT Simulator with HiveMQ Cloud

As IoT ecosystems grow more complex, the ability to simulate large-scale device behavior has become essential for developers, QA engineers, and solution architects. IoT simulators provide a cost-effective way to model thousands (or more) of devices, manage message flows, and evaluate communication patterns—without the overhead of deploying physical hardware fleets. This approach accelerates development, reduces integration risk, and helps ensure that IoT applications behave reliably under real-world conditions.

Cloud-based MQTT brokers like HiveMQ Cloud and our own Cloud MQTT Broker (CrystalMQ) provide scalable, secure infrastructure for managing device messaging at scale. One critical part of any IoT deployment is ensuring that your simulated devices integrate smoothly with the MQTT broker that anchors your data flow.

The Bevywise IoT Simulator enables realistic device traffic generation, security validation, and performance testing across any MQTT broker—including brokers like HiveMQ. In this blog, we’ll walk through how to use the Bevywise IoT Simulator and integrate it with an MQTT broker like HiveMQ Cloud, enabling a scalable, secure, and production-like IoT simulation environment.

Why Integration Matters for HiveMQ Testing & Data Simulation

Integrating an IoT simulator with an MQTT broker isn’t just about “does it connect?” It’s about reproducing traffic and operational realities you’ll see in production. By combining the Bevywise IoT Simulator with a HiveMQ environment, you can:

• Simulate high‑scale MQTT traffic across dynamic topics and structured payloads (telemetry, events, alerts, commands).
• Validate secure connections using TLS/SSL and username/password authentication.
• Exercise QoS behaviors (0/1/2) under load to observe latency, retries, and delivery guarantees.
• Model device churn and reconnect storms — critical for real‑world field deployments.
• Benchmark broker response to message bursts, schedule‑driven events, and long‑running (soak) sessions.
• Develop & test HiveMQ agents, rules, or downstream processors using fully synthetic but realistic data streams.

A repeatable sim‑to‑broker workflow gives you confidence that a HiveMQ‑based architecture can scale, secure, and sustain real IoT workloads—before you invest in hardware rollouts.

Why Bevywise IoT Simulator for HiveMQ Environments

If your goal is to reach production faster, catch scaling issues earlier, and reliably feed your data streams with realistic device behavior, Bevywise gives you more control:

• Simulate massive MQTT traffic across structured payloads (telemetry, alerts, commands).
• Validate secure connections with TLS/SSL and authentication.
• Test QoS behavior under different loads.
• Model device churn and reconnect events to simulate real-world network conditions.
• Benchmark broker performance for bursts, schedules, and soak tests.
• Visual & log‑driven validation – Quickly see which devices are active, what topics are flowing, and how payloads resolve.
• Repeatable test packs – Save and reuse networks, devices, and event templates across teams.

In short: Bevywise makes it easier for HiveMQ users (and anyone running MQTT) to simulate production‑like behavior without writing custom traffic generators every time.

Prerequisites Checklist

Before you start, confirm the following:

• Bevywise IoT Simulator downloaded & installed (Windows .exe assumed here).
• Access to a HiveMQ Cloud cluster (or a test instance) with credentials management privileges.
• Ability to download and upload a trusted root certificate (Let’s Encrypt ISRG Root X1 in this example).
• Topics you plan to publish to (decide naming early: e.g., demo/devices/{deviceId}/telemetry).
• User credentials (username/password) created in HiveMQ Access Management.

Step‑by‑Step Integration Walkthrough

Step 1 – Run the Bevywise IoT Simulator

To start the Bevywise IoT Simulator, simply double‑click the simulator ".exe" file.

After launch, a terminal session will open in the background, and you’ll be directed to the Bevywise IoT Simulator Dashboard in your browser.

Step 2 – Explore the IoT Simulator Dashboard

On first launch, you’ll see a default network named "HEALTH_CARE".

This is a starter template created by Bevywise Networks. The simulator interface is served locally at: 127.0.0.1:9000

Use this default network to explore the UI, or create your own.

Step 3 – Create a New Network

1. Click the menu icon (☰) in the top‑left corner.

2. Choose New Network (you’ll also see Existing Network and Templates).

• Alternative: Use the Create New Network shortcut on the main dashboard.

3. In the dialog that appears, provide a Name and Description.

4. Click Create.

Your newly created network will appear in the left navigation panel above the Dashboard entry.

Step 4 – Gather HiveMQ Cloud Connection Details

Open your HiveMQ Cloud console and locate the Overview section for your cluster.

Copy the URL from the connection details and paste it into the IP Address field in the simulator settings, as instructed below.

Step 5 – Configure Simulator Settings for HiveMQ Cloud

1. In the Bevywise IoT Simulator, switch to the network you created.

2. Click the Settings icon in the top‑right corner.

3. In the connection settings dialog, enter:

• Broker IP/Host: Paste the HiveMQ Cloud endpoint URL.
• Enable TLS/SSL: Turn this on for secure MQTT.
• Port: Set to `` (standard MQTT over TLS port used by HiveMQ Cloud).
• Root Certificate: Download and upload the ISRG Root X1 certificate from Let’s Encrypt:
  https://letsencrypt.org/certs/isrgrootx1.pem.

4. Click Save to apply settings.

Step 6 – Create Simulated Devices

1. In the top‑right corner, click the `` icon next to Settings.

2. Select Blank Device.

3. In the device dialog, enter:

• Device Name
• Device ID (unique; often used in topic paths)
• Description (optional but helpful when scaling)

4. Click Save.

Your device appears in the device list. A red status dot indicates the device is currently inactive (not connected).

Step 7 – Map HiveMQ Credentials to the Simulator

Before you bring devices online, create credentials in HiveMQ:

1. Go to the HiveMQ Cloud Access Management Page.

2. Click Add Credentials.

3. Provide a Username, Password, and Permissions (read/publish rules as needed).

4. Save the credentials.

After creating the credentials, use the same Username and Password in the simulator:

1. Select the device you created.

2. Enable Authentication.

3. Enter the mapping:

• Access Key = Username
• Access Token = Password (from HiveMQ Access Management).

Note : Use the exact same username and password created in HiveMQ Access Management when configuring device credentials in the simulator.

Step 8 – Create Events & Publishing Behavior

Events control what and when your simulated devices publish.

To create an event:

1. Click the `+` icon (same as used for device creation).

2. Choose an event type—e.g., Whole Day.

3. In the event dialog, configure schedule, topic, payload pattern, and interval.

After saving, an event topic will appear in the Event Menu for the selected device/network.

Activate Device & Start Publishing

• Click the red status button next to the device to connect it. It turns green when active.
• Watch message activity in the Device Log panel to confirm data is being published.

Step 9 – View Published Data in HiveMQ Using the Web Client

Once your simulator devices are connected, data is already being published to your HiveMQ Cloud instance. To monitor that data in real time, you can use the HiveMQ Web Client, which acts as a subscriber.

To use the Web Client:

1. Open the HiveMQ Web Client in your HiveMQ Cloud console.

2. Enter your Username and Password, then click Connect

3. In Topic Subscriptions, enter the topic you configured in your simulator events.

4. Click Subscribe

5. Scroll down to view incoming MQTT messages in the console as they arrive.

You’ve now validated end‑to‑end connectivity between Bevywise IoT Simulator and your HiveMQ environment.

Going Beyond Basic Connectivity

The steps above get you connected. The sections below help you turn that connection into a full HiveMQ testing and HiveMQ data simulation lab powered by Bevywise.

HiveMQ Testing Scenarios You Can Run

Use your Bevywise simulation to run controlled experiments:

1. Smoke Test

Bring up 5–10 devices; confirm connect/publish/subscribe flows work.

2. Scale Ramp

Increase virtual devices in stages (100 → 1k → 10k). Monitor broker resource use and connection stability.

3. Burst / Spike Test

Publish high message bursts (e.g., 10x normal rate for 60s) to see how the broker handles backlog and QoS.

4. Soak / Longevity Test

Run 24‑hour or multi‑day connections with periodic publishes to detect memory leaks, slowdowns, or session dropouts.

5. Disconnect / Reconnect Storm

Script rolling disconnects to mimic network flaps in the field. Observe session state, queued QoS1/2 delivery.

6. Security Validation

Try invalid credentials, missing certs, or blocked topics to confirm broker enforcement.

HiveMQ Data Simulation Patterns

The Bevywise IoT Simulator lets you reproduce realistic device data models. Consider these patterns:

Example JSON telemetry payload:

{
"deviceId": "device-001",
"ts": 1737446400,
"tempC": 22.4,
"humidity": 58,
"status": "ok"
}

Topic Design Tips for HiveMQ Testing

Good MQTT topic structure makes testing easier and analytics cleaner.

Recommended pattern:

<env>/<account>/<deviceId>/telemetry
<env>/<account>/<deviceId>/events
<env>/<account>/<deviceId>/state

Examples:

dev/demo/device-001/telemetry
prod/factory-a/line3-sensor07/events

Keep topic depth consistent so you can subscribe with wildcards (e.g., dev/+/+/telemetry).

Troubleshooting Guide

Automation & Scaling Ideas

Ready to level up your HiveMQ testing?

• Clone devices in Bevywise to scale quickly.
• Use templates for consistent payload schemas.
• Schedule layered event groups (telemetry + alerts + commands) to exercise multiple topic paths.
• Run tests in batches and log publish counts vs. broker acknowledgements.
• Integrate with CI/CD: trigger simulator runs after firmware or rules engine updates.

Build & Test IoT Deployments with Ease

Bevywise IoT Simulator combined with HiveMQ Cloud offers developers a powerful way to simulate IoT environments, configure MQTT brokers, and publish real-time data securely. This integration ensures faster testing, reduced costs, and more reliable deployments without relying on physical devices.

Download our IoT Simulator and try it out now to connect with HiveMQ Cloud (and other MQTT brokers) in minutes and start building robust IoT solutions today!