Bridges

Prerequisite: Understand Data Flow concepts and complete the Getting Started guide.

Bridges move data into and out of the Unified Namespace, providing connection monitoring and automatic data organization. While read flows work with any protocol, write flows are not yet implemented - use stand-alone flows for writing to external systems.

UI Capabilities

Action	Available	Notes
Create bridges	✅	Visual protocol configuration
Select protocols	✅	OPC UA, Modbus, S7, MQTT, 50+ more
Configure location path	✅	ISA-95 levels (0-4)
Monitor connection health	✅	Real-time status
View logs	✅	Live log streaming
View metrics	✅	Throughput monitoring
Edit bridges	✅	Modify and redeploy
Delete bridges	✅	Clean removal
Advanced mode	✅	Direct YAML editing

Creating a Bridge (UI)

Step 1: Navigate to Data Flows

Go to Data Flows and click Add Bridge:

Data Flows Overview

Step 2: Configure General Settings

Fill in the basic information and press Save & Deploy. A popup will appear. Only then you can proceed with Step 3.

Bridge General Configuration

General Information:

• Name: Unique identifier for your bridge

• Instance: Select your UMH instance

• Level 0-4: Location path (e.g., enterprise → site → area → line → machine)

Connection:

• IP Address: Device IP (becomes {{ .IP }} variable)

• Port: Connection port (becomes {{ .PORT }} variable)

Step 3: Select Protocol

Click the Read tab and select your protocol:

Protocol Selection

We support 50+ industrial protocols through Benthos-UMH plus everything from Redpanda Connect:

Common industrial protocols:

• Modbus: For PLCs and RTUs

• OPC UA: For industrial servers

• S7: For Siemens PLCs

• Ethernet/IP: For Allen-Bradley

• And many more: See full list at Benthos-UMH Inputs

Step 4: Configure Protocol Settings

Each protocol has specific settings. For example, S7:

Siemens S7 Configuration

Step 5: Deploy

Click Save & Deploy. The bridge will start connecting to your device.

Managing Bridges

View Status

The main view shows all bridges with connection status and throughput:

Bridges Overview

• Green dot: Connected and running

• Yellow dot: Starting or warning state

• Grey dot: Intermediate states (starting, stopping, or stuck in starting state)

Context Menu

Right-click any bridge for quick actions:

Bridge Context Menu

View Logs

Monitor bridge activity in real-time:

Bridge Logs

View Metrics

Track performance and throughput:

Bridge Metrics

Enable Debug Logging

When troubleshooting connection or data issues, enable debug logging in your bridge configuration:

Via YAML:

protocolConverter:
  - name: my-plc-bridge
    protocolConverterServiceConfig:
      debug_level: true  # Enable detailed logging
      config:

Debug logging provides:

• Detailed protocol communication logs

• Connection state transitions

• Data parsing details

• For OPC UA: Sets OPC_DEBUG environment variable for protocol-level debugging

Remember to disable debug logging after troubleshooting - it generates significantly more log data.

To view debug logs, go to the bridge and select Logs.

Important: Data Types from Different Protocols

Industrial protocols (OPC UA, Modbus, S7) only provide time-series data - snapshots of values at points in time. They cannot directly provide relational records.

IT protocols (MQTT, HTTP, Kafka) can provide relational data - when you select "relational" as the data type in the UI, the bridge automatically uses nodered_js processor to handle complex business records like work orders or batch reports.

For converting time-series to relational data, see Stream Processors or use Stand-alone Flows with state management.

Configuration (YAML)

Advanced users can edit the YAML directly:

protocolConverter:
  - name: my-plc-bridge
    desiredState: active
    protocolConverterServiceConfig:
      debug_level: false  # Direct child (matches standalone flows)
      location:
        2: "production-line"
        3: "plc-01"
      config:
        connection:
          nmap:
            target: "{{ .IP }}"
            port: "{{ .PORT }}"
        dataflowcomponent_read:
          benthos:
            input:
              s7comm:
                addresses:
                  - DB1.DW20
                  - DB3.I270
                tcpDevice: "{{ .IP }}"
                rack: 0
                slot: 1
            pipeline:
              processors:
                - tag_processor:
                    defaults: |
                      msg.meta.location_path = "{{ .location_path }}";
                      msg.meta.data_contract = "_raw";
                      msg.meta.tag_name = msg.meta.s7_address;
                      return msg;
            output:
              uns: {}
      variables:
        IP: "192.168.1.100"
        PORT: "102"

Key Configuration Elements

Location Path:

location:
  0: enterprise   # Optional: inherits from agent
  1: site        # Optional: inherits from agent
  2: area        # Required: your addition
  3: line        # Required: your addition
  4: cell        # Optional: further subdivision

Template Variables:

variables:
  IP: "192.168.1.100"      # Available as {{ .IP }}
  PORT: "502"              # Available as {{ .PORT }}
  SCAN_RATE: "1s"          # Custom variable {{ .SCAN_RATE }}

Connection Monitoring:

connection:
  nmap:
    target: "{{ .IP }}"    # Uses IP variable
    port: "{{ .PORT }}"    # Uses PORT variable

Next Steps

• Try the Getting Started guide to connect your first device

• Learn about Data Models to structure your data

• Explore Metadata and Tracing for debugging

• Use Stand-alone Flows for custom processing

• Configure Stream Processors to transform data