---
title: "Machine Monitoring Solution Architecture"
slug: "machine-monitoring-solution-architecture"
status: "new"
updated: 2025-12-22T17:25:19Z
published: 2025-12-22T17:25:19Z
canonical: "support.tulip.co/machine-monitoring-solution-architecture"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.tulip.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Machine Monitoring Solution Architecture

Machine monitoring connects shop floor equipment to Tulip to track real-time machine data, calculate {{glossary.OEE}}, and build human-machine workflows. As you scale from monitoring a single machine to managing a fleet, **choosing the right architecture pattern is critical** for maintainability, cost-efficiency, and performance.

This guide synthesizes best practices from Tulip solution architects and customer implementations to help you design scalable, production-ready machine monitoring solutions.

**In this article, you will learn:**

- **Key concepts of machine monitoring components**  
- **Decision tree for selecting the right machine monitoring architecture** 

:::(Info) (Note)
This article is primarily intended for solution architects, IT/OT engineers, experienced citizen developers, and technical decision-makers evaluating machine monitoring implementations.
:::

## Machine monitoring components

To understand architecture patterns, you need to know the core components of Tulip's machine monitoring system:

**Machine**: A digital representation of a physical asset. Machines have **attributes** (e.g., spindle speed, temperature) that you update via {{glossary.OPC UA}}, {{glossary.MQTT}}, or the [Tulip machine attributes API](/r230/docs/use-the-machine-attributes-api).

**Machine Type**: A template that defines states, attributes, and triggers for a category of similar machines (e.g., "CNC Mill" type for 5 different make/models).

**Machine Attribute**: A data point from a machine (e.g., "Cycle Time", "Part Count"). Attributes can be read-only (sensor data) or writable (setpoints).

**Machine Trigger**: Conditional logic that runs **headless** (without an app running) to update machine state or activity fields based on attribute changes.

**Machine Activity Table**: A system table that logs machine state history, part counts, defects, and downtime reasons for OEE calculation. **Important**: This table has no Tulip Table APIs enabling real-time reads & writes.

**Station**: A physical or logical location on the shop floor. You can assign machines to stations to enable "at this station" trigger logic.

### Typical enterprise-level machine connectivity architecture
The architecture below is the most common for enterprise-level large-scale connectivity.

![MQTT Setup v2.svg](https://cdn.document360.io/7c6ff534-cad3-4fc8-9583-912c4016362f/Images/Documentation/MQTT%20Setup%20v2.svg){height="" width=""}

This shows how a shop floor machine would be connected to Tulip via an OT gateway with an MQTT broker, and optionally a {{glossary.DataOps}} platform.

## Select the right architecture

![Designing Machine Monitoring Solution.png](https://cdn.document360.io/7c6ff534-cad3-4fc8-9583-912c4016362f/Images/Documentation/Designing%20Machine%20Monitoring%20Solution(1).png){height="" width=""}

For more information, see:
* [Headless vs. app-based architecture](/r230/docs/machine-monitoring-headless-vs-app-based-architecture)
* [Machine monitoring app-based architecture patterns](/r230/docs/machine-monitoring-app-based-architecture-patterns)

## Related resources

Use the links below to find relevant resources for your machine monitoring solutions.

### Knowledge Base

- [Machine Monitoring](/r230/docs/machine-monitoring) - Foundational concepts and setup guide  
- [How to Add and Configure Machines](/r230/docs/add-and-configure-machines) - Step-by-step machine configuration  
- [Machine Monitoring Architecture](/r230/docs/machine-monitoring-architecture) - Network topology and IT infrastructure  
- [Build Your First MQTT Data Source](/r230/docs/build-your-first-mqtt-connector) - Connector setup guide  
- [Using Machine Data in Analytics](/r230/docs/machine-data-analysis) - Create OEE dashboards  
- [Automations](/r230/docs/automations-1) - Automation capabilities 

### Tulip Library

- [Machine Monitoring Dashboard App](https://library.tulip.co/apps/machine-monitoring-dashboard) - Pre-built dashboard template  
- [Machine Monitoring Terminal App](https://library.tulip.co/apps/machine-monitoring-terminal) - Operator terminal with OEE tracking  
- [Composable MES: Production Management Suite](https://library.tulip.co/suites/production-management) - End-to-end production apps

### Tulip University

- [Machine Monitoring Fundamentals](https://university.tulip.co/machine-monitoring-in-tulip)  
- [How to Connect Machines to an OPC UA Server](https://university.tulip.co/how-to-connect-machines-to-an-opc-ua-server)  


### API documentation

- [Use the machine attributes API](/r230/docs/use-the-machine-attributes-api) - Write machine attribute values  
- [Table API guide](/r230/docs/table-api-guide) - Read and write Tulip Tables  


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