Run Your Own MQTT Broker for 60GHz Radar: An Apache Artemis Setup Guide

Description and use

Setting up Apache Artemis as an MQTT broker for 60 GHz radar, ESP32 gateway, and Home Assistant, covering installation, user configuration, enabling port 1883, and connection verification.

Problem

The radar setup guide requires an MQTT broker ready before configuring the radar, but it does not provide steps to stand one up.

Outcome

Apache Artemis is successfully configured as an MQTT broker on port 1883, allowing 60 GHz radar modules, an ESP32 gateway, and Home Assistant to publish and subscribe to the required topics.

Workflow

• Install Java 17 and 1 GB RAM on a LAN machine
• Download Apache Artemis 2.50.0 and extract
• Run artemis create /opt/radar-broker and set console credentials, disable anonymous login
• Start broker with artemis run to verify
• Install broker as a service with artemis-service install and start
• Edit /opt/radar-broker/etc/broker.xml to add <acceptor name="mqtt">tcp://0.0.0.0:1883?protocols=MQTT</acceptor>
• Restart broker and confirm listening on 1883 with ss -ltnp | grep 1883
• Create users in etc/artemis-users.properties and roles in etc/artemis-roles.properties for radar, radar‑gw, and ha
• Restart broker
• Configure radar modules with server address tcp://<host>:1883, unique ClientID, and the corresponding username/password
• Configure ESP32 gateway firmware with mqtt_server, mqtt_port, mqtt_username, mqtt_password and unique ClientID
• Add MQTT integration in Home Assistant with same host, port 1883, and ha credentials
• Verify connections in broker console, subscribe to /Radar60SP/{DeviceID}/#, /Radar60FL/, /RadarHP/, and check Home Assistant states
• Troubleshoot common issues such as missing acceptor, wrong port, duplicate ClientID, or firewall on 8161

Evidence

The broker has to be ready before the radar is configured

Source

Apache Artemis 2.50.0

Source

Stop the broker, edit /opt/radar-broker/etc/broker.xml, and add one acceptor inside <acceptors>

Source

Create users in etc/artemis-users.properties and map them to roles in etc/artemis-roles.properties

Source

Verify by subscribing to the model's report topic with any MQTT client — /Radar60SP/{DeviceID}/#

Source