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Modbus RTU/TCP

ModBus is a protocol based on RTU (serial binary) and TCP/IP packets. A connection with IP-Symcon is possible via LAN or serial gateway.

The following devices are supported by IP-Symcon:

Supported devices

Integration in IP-Symcon

First a "ModBus Device" instance has to be added within IP-Symcon, which reflects a single address and, thus, value. A separate "ModBus Device" must be created for each address. Several devices (addresses) can be controlled via one gateway.
The configuration of the parent gateway and I/O instance must then be adapted to the connected device. It must be selected via which protocol and device ID the device is addressed. The device ID is particularly important for RTU connected devices. For devices connected to TCP, this is often device ID 1.

Modbus Gateway Configuration

Swap LSW/MSW: Some devices require that the respective 16/32-bit components are exchanged for 32/64-bit values. This option is enabled by default and can be disabled if necessary.

In order to be able to establish a connection to the device, IP address and port (default:502) must be entered in the gateway's parent I/O instance.
Further configuration (screenshot below) is as follows.

Option Description
Unit Data type of the variable of the device
Function (Read) Function according to which the values are to be read
Address (Read) Device address of the register to be read from
Function (Write) Function according to which the values are to be written
Address (Write) Device address of the register to be written to
Factor (Numeric values) The factor multiplies or divides the received value and writes it to the device variable
Length
(Strings)
If the length is greater than 0, it defines the precise number of characters queried
Swap Bytes (Strings) Swaps byte components of the queried string
Emulate status "Emulate status" means that the value of the variable is set to the new value if the write command is successful and does not depend on a read command
Interval If the interval is greater than 0, the address (read) is queried cyclically on the ModBus device and the variable of the device is updated
Modbus Device Configuration

Due to the fact that PHP 5.3.x offers integers as the largest integer value, DWORDs (unsigend ints) can be read in IP-Symcon, but these are mapped to integers, which means that only the lower 31 bits can be evaluated.

FunctionCodes

Depending on the FunctionCode, a suitable address must also be entered. This can be taken from the table.
The table below also provides an overview of which FunctionCode is sent with which parameterization within IP-Symcon:

FunctionCode Device address Read/Write address Surname
0x01 (1) 1 - 10000 Device address - 1 Read Coils
0x05 (5) 1 - 10000 Device address - 1 Write Single Coil
0x02 (2) 10001 - 20000 Device address - 10001 Read Discrete Inputs
0x03 (3) 40001 - 50000 Device address - 40001 Read Holding Registers
0x10 (16) 40001 - 50000 Device address - 40001 Write Multiple registers
0x04 (4) 30001 - 40000 Device address - 30001 Read Input Registers

If, for example, address 40123 is to be written to (FunctionCode = 0x10), the appropriate unit (byte, word, DWord, ShortInt, SmallInt, Integer, Float) must be selected and write address 122 (40123 - 40001) entered.

Some manufacturers do not adhere to this convention. It must be checked in the respective instructions or data sheets whether the device address must be subtracted depending on the function code or whether absolute addresses apply

Data types

Data type Sign Bit
Bit unsigned 1
Byte unsigned 8
Word unsigned 16
String unsigned 16 (2x8)
DWord unsigned 32
Char signed 8
Short signed 16
Integer signed 32
Real signed 32
Int64 signed 64
Real64 signed 64