Feature Request: Official Node-RED integration for Azure IoT Edge
Problem
Azure IoT Edge provides Edge Hub routing for communication between modules, but Node-RED currently requires a third-party Node-RED package to communicate with Edge Hub as an IoT Edge module.
A common industrial use case is:
OPC Publisher -> Edge Hub -> Node-RED
where Edge Hub routes messages from OPC Publisher to a Node-RED module input.
For example:
FROM /messages/modules/OpcPublisher/*
INTO BrokeredEndpoint("/modules/NodeRedData/inputs/OpcPublisher")
Node-RED should then be able to receive this message through an official Azure IoT Edge Node-RED integration.
Today, this functionality depends on third-party Node-RED modules such as:
https://github.com/iotblackbelt/noderededgemodule
This creates an additional dependency for an Azure IoT Edge deployment and can create compatibility issues when Edge Hub or the IoT Edge SDK/protocol implementation changes.
Proposed feature
Provide an official Azure-supported Node-RED integration for IoT Edge that allows Node-RED to communicate with Edge Hub using the standard IoT Edge module APIs.
Ideally, Node-RED would have native IoT Edge nodes such as:
- IoT Edge Module Input
- IoT Edge Module Output
- IoT Edge Module Twin
- IoT Edge Direct Method
The nodes should use a shared underlying IoT Edge module client rather than creating an independent client for every node.
Example architecture
OPC Publisher
|
v
Edge Hub
|
| EdgeHub route
v
Node-RED IoT Edge Module Input
|
v
Node-RED flow
Similarly:
Node-RED flow
|
v
IoT Edge Module Output
|
v
Edge Hub
|
v
IoT Hub / another Edge module
Benefits
- Removes dependency on third-party Node-RED IoT Edge packages.
- Provides an officially supported integration between Node-RED and Azure IoT Edge.
- Allows Azure IoT Edge SDK and protocol changes to be handled by the official integration.
- Makes Edge Hub route-based communication much easier to configure and maintain.
- Provides a consistent solution for common industrial scenarios such as:
OPC Publisher -> Edge Hub -> Node-RED
- Reduces compatibility and maintenance risks for production deployments.
Additional considerations
The integration should ideally support the protocols and authentication mechanisms officially supported by the current Azure IoT Edge version.
The underlying client should be shared across the Node-RED IoT Edge nodes, so that adding multiple input/output/twin/method nodes does not create multiple independent module connections.
The implementation should also handle Edge Hub startup ordering, temporary connection failures, reconnects, and restoration of subscriptions automatically.
Request
Would the Azure IoT Edge team consider providing an officially supported Node-RED integration/module for communicating with Edge Hub?
This would be particularly valuable for industrial deployments where Node-RED is used as the application/flow layer and OPC Publisher or other Edge modules provide the data sources.
Feature Request: Official Node-RED integration for Azure IoT Edge
Problem
Azure IoT Edge provides Edge Hub routing for communication between modules, but Node-RED currently requires a third-party Node-RED package to communicate with Edge Hub as an IoT Edge module.
A common industrial use case is:
OPC Publisher -> Edge Hub -> Node-RED
where Edge Hub routes messages from OPC Publisher to a Node-RED module input.
For example:
FROM /messages/modules/OpcPublisher/*
INTO BrokeredEndpoint("/modules/NodeRedData/inputs/OpcPublisher")
Node-RED should then be able to receive this message through an official Azure IoT Edge Node-RED integration.
Today, this functionality depends on third-party Node-RED modules such as:
https://github.com/iotblackbelt/noderededgemodule
This creates an additional dependency for an Azure IoT Edge deployment and can create compatibility issues when Edge Hub or the IoT Edge SDK/protocol implementation changes.
Proposed feature
Provide an official Azure-supported Node-RED integration for IoT Edge that allows Node-RED to communicate with Edge Hub using the standard IoT Edge module APIs.
Ideally, Node-RED would have native IoT Edge nodes such as:
The nodes should use a shared underlying IoT Edge module client rather than creating an independent client for every node.
Example architecture
OPC Publisher
|
v
Edge Hub
|
| EdgeHub route
v
Node-RED IoT Edge Module Input
|
v
Node-RED flow
Similarly:
Node-RED flow
|
v
IoT Edge Module Output
|
v
Edge Hub
|
v
IoT Hub / another Edge module
Benefits
OPC Publisher -> Edge Hub -> Node-RED
Additional considerations
The integration should ideally support the protocols and authentication mechanisms officially supported by the current Azure IoT Edge version.
The underlying client should be shared across the Node-RED IoT Edge nodes, so that adding multiple input/output/twin/method nodes does not create multiple independent module connections.
The implementation should also handle Edge Hub startup ordering, temporary connection failures, reconnects, and restoration of subscriptions automatically.
Request
Would the Azure IoT Edge team consider providing an officially supported Node-RED integration/module for communicating with Edge Hub?
This would be particularly valuable for industrial deployments where Node-RED is used as the application/flow layer and OPC Publisher or other Edge modules provide the data sources.