ActiveMQ vs EMQ: What are the differences?

Introduction: ActiveMQ and EMQ are both popular message brokers used for managing messaging in distributed systems. While they serve similar purposes, there are key differences between the two that developers should consider when choosing a messaging system for their applications.

1. Protocol Support: ActiveMQ primarily supports protocols like OpenWire, STOMP, and MQTT, while EMQ focuses more on supporting MQTT and CoAP. This difference in protocol support can influence the choice of message broker based on the specific requirements of the application's messaging needs.

2. Scalability: ActiveMQ is known for its ability to horizontally scale by adding more brokers to the cluster, while EMQ leverages the Erlang platform to achieve high scalability and concurrency at the core architecture level. Depending on the scalability requirements of the system, developers may choose one over the other based on their needs.

3. MQTT Broker Features: EMQ is specifically designed to be an MQTT broker, offering advanced features like topic routing, session management, and QoS control for MQTT clients. ActiveMQ, on the other hand, provides broader support for various messaging protocols, which may be advantageous in applications requiring diverse communication patterns.

4. Ease of Deployment: ActiveMQ is relatively easy to deploy and configure, making it suitable for rapid development and deployment scenarios. EMQ, being built on the scalable Erlang platform, may require more expertise in Erlang programming to optimize its performance and scalability for large-scale deployments.

5. Community and Support: ActiveMQ has a large and established community of users and contributors, providing extensive documentation, tutorials, and support resources. EMQ, while growing in popularity, may have a smaller community support network, which could impact the availability of resources and expertise for developers using the platform.

In Summary, ActiveMQ and EMQ differ in protocol support, scalability, MQTT broker features, ease of deployment, and community support, each offering unique strengths and considerations for developers choosing a messaging system for their applications.