Chariot Server Usage Overview
Summary
This page provides an overview of the Chariot MQTT Server Web UI, including key pages used for monitoring, configuration, and diagnostics.
Dashboard
The Dashboard provides a high-level view of the Chariot server’s current state, including system health and overall activity.
Key Capabilities
- View overall system status
- Monitor high-level server metrics
- Quickly identify abnormal conditions
When to Use
- Confirm the server is running normally
- Get a quick snapshot of system health
Logging
The Logging page provides access to real-time server logs and allows you to adjust log verbosity for troubleshooting.
Key Capabilities
- View live logs as they are generated
- Filter logs by text or severity level
- Adjust log levels (TRACE, DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR)
- Download log files for analysis
When to Use
- Troubleshoot errors or unexpected behavior
- Monitor system activity in real time
- Collect logs for support or diagnostics
Alerts
The Alerts page provides visibility into system-generated events and allows you to manage alert behavior.
Key Capabilities
- View alerts in real time
- Filter alerts by type, severity, or text
- Acknowledge and clear alerts
- Enable/disable alert types and adjust priority
When to Use
- Investigate system warnings or failures
- Monitor client and Sparkplug-related issues
- Manage alert noise and prioritization
Backup
The Backup page allows administrators to export and restore Chariot configuration data.
Key Capabilities
- Export Chariot configuration backups
- Restore configuration data from backup files
- Transfer configuration settings between environments
- Recover configuration after system changes or upgrades
Configuration Options
- Export Backup
- Downloads a
backup.zipfile containing the current Chariot configuration data
- Downloads a
- Restore From Backup
- Restores Chariot configuration data from a
backup.zipfile
- Restores Chariot configuration data from a
When to Use
- Create configuration backups before upgrades or maintenance
- Restore a previous Chariot configuration
- Migrate configuration settings between systems
- Recover from configuration issues or system failures
Web Server
The Web Server page allows administrators to configure HTTP and HTTPS access for the Chariot Web UI.
Key Capabilities
- Configure HTTP and HTTPS connectivity
- Enable or disable secure web access
- Configure web server ports
- Assign a custom server name
Configuration Fields
- Server Name
- Optional display name for the Chariot installation
- Enable HTTP
- Enables non-secure HTTP access to the Chariot Web UI
- HTTP Port
- Port used for HTTP connections
- Enable HTTPS
- Enables secure HTTPS access to the Chariot Web UI
- HTTPS Port
- Port used for HTTPS connections
When to Use
- Configure secure Web UI access
- Change default HTTP or HTTPS ports
- Enable HTTPS communication for production deployments
Certificates
The Certificates page allows administrators to upload SSL/TLS certificates and keys used to secure HTTPS and MQTTS communication.
Self-signed certificates should not be used in production environments on public networks.
Key Capabilities
- Upload SSL/TLS certificates and keys
- Configure HTTPS and MQTTS encryption
- Upload CA certificate chains
- View installed certificate details
Configuration Fields
- Private Key
- RSA private key in PKCS1 PEM format used to generate the server CSR
- CA Chain
- Root and intermediate CA certificates in PEM format
- Certificate
- X.509 server certificate in PEM format
Once all required files are uploaded, select Setup SSL to complete the SSL/TLS configuration.
If successful, the uploaded certificate information will be displayed on the Certificates page.
When to Use
- Configure HTTPS for the Chariot Web UI
- Secure MQTT client communication with TLS/SSL
- Install new or updated server certificates
- Configure CA trust chains
🔗 Please see Configure SSL/TLS for Chariot for more information.
Diagnostics
The Diagnostics page provides insight into the internal state of the Chariot server, including thread-level information.
Key Capabilities
- View active threads and system processes
- Inspect runtime behavior
- Provide diagnostic data for support
When to Use
- Investigate performance or stability issues
- Collect information for Cirrus Link support
User Accounts
The User Accounts section provides management tools for Chariot UI users and roles.
Permissions for roles follow the format:
<domain>:<action>
Key Capabilities
- Create and manage users
- Assign roles and role-based permissions
- Reset passwords
- Configure user details
User Sources
The Chariot Security Service can be configured to add an LDAP Realm to use when authenticating and authorizing access via the Chariot UI.
⚠️ This feature is available in Chariot v2.4.2 and newer
🔗 Review the Configure LDAP and Microsoft Active Directory Authentication Tutorial for configuration details.
MQTT Accounts
The MQTT Accounts page manages client authentication credentials and MQTT topic access control lists (ACLs).
Key Capabilities
- Create MQTT client credentials
- Configure publish/subscribe topic permissions
- Manage ACLs
- Configure LDAP authentication integration
When to Use
- Restrict MQTT topic access
- Configure client authentication
- Troubleshoot client authorization issues
Account Credentials
LDAP
License
The License page allows administrators to upload, activate, and manage Chariot licenses.
Key Capabilities
- Upload license files
- Perform online activation/deactivation
- Generate offline activation requests
- Upload offline activation codes
When to Use
- Activate a new Chariot installation
- Transfer or deactivate licenses
- Manage offline licensed environments
🔗 Please see License Management for more information.
Server Configuration
The Server Configuration page is used to configure server connectivity, listener settings, authentication behavior, and MQTT bridging.
Key Capabilities
- Configure MQTT listener ports and protocols
- Enable secure and non-secure connections
- Configure WebSocket support
- Manage anonymous authentication behavior
- Configure MQTT bridge connections
When to Use
- Configure broker network access
- Enable TLS-secured MQTT communication
- Integrate Chariot with external brokers
- Restrict or manage client access
⚠️ Note: MQTT bridging is not compatible with Sparkplug and should only be used for non-Sparkplug MQTT traffic. Bridging is only supported in versions ≥ 2.3.0.
Client Status
The Client Status tab provides detailed information about MQTT clients connected to the server.
Key Capabilities
- View connected clients and session details
- Inspect subscriptions and topics
- View network and connection information
- Review Last Will and Testament (LWT) configuration
When to Use
- Troubleshoot client connectivity issues
- Verify subscriptions and topic usage
- Inspect individual client sessions
Retained Messages
The Retained Messages tab displays all retained MQTT messages currently stored by the server.
Key Capabilities
- View retained messages by topic
- Inspect stored payloads
- Identify outdated or unnecessary retained data
When to Use
- Debug unexpected client behavior
- Verify retained message state
- Clean up stale or incorrect retained messages
Sparkplug
The Sparkplug page provides visibility into Sparkplug clients connected to the server, including host applications, edge nodes, and devices.
Key Capabilities
- View system hierarchy (Hosts → Groups → Edge Nodes → Devices)
- Monitor client state (online/offline)
- Inspect device-level data
- Search and filter nodes
When to Use
- Monitor Sparkplug client behavior
- Diagnose node or device issues
- Understand system structure and relationships
Host Applications
Selecting a host application from the list will show addtional details (such as the last time it was online/offline).
Edge Nodes
Selecting an Edge Node from the list will show additional details and also populate the list of the Edge Node's devices below.
Buttons on the far right of each Edge Node entry in the list provide tools for sampling compression and downloading the Sparkplug Edge Node birth (NBIRTH) and Device birth (DBIRTH) payloads in JSON format.
Tools
The Tools tab allows you to generate Access Control Lists (ACLs) needed for Hosts and Edge Nodes.
ACLs define the topics that a client can publish and subscribe on and generating an ACL through the Sparkplug Tools will automatically add the the credentials to the MQTT Credentials section of the Chariot configuration.
