ModbusNews_Nov2008.pdf

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November/December 2008

News

Modbus Members Exhibit Modbus Conformance

at SPS/IPC Drives 2008 Test Program Update

Many Modbus Organization member

companies are exhibiting this week at

the SPS/IPC/Drives Show in

Nuremberg. Need a device that

“speaks” Modbus or advice on a

Modbus issue? Experts at these firms

are available to help.

A list of these companies and the halls

in which they can be found follows:

The true benefit of any open standard is the assurance it

provides to users that the products they buy will

interoperate seamlessly. Unfortunately, any specification,

no matter how carefully written, is subject to

interpretation and occasional misunderstanding. That’s

where conformance testing becomes valuable.

The Modbus Conformance Testing Program provides

independent verification that a broad array of

qualifications has been met in compliance with Modbus

specifications. It provides end users with the comfort

that their design and configuration process will proceed

smoothly and assures suppliers that their products were

developed in accordance with key Modbus criteria.

The Modbus-IDA Conformance Test Committee been

working on a revision of the test specification and test

suite.

A new test tool is expected to be announced and in

operation after the first of the year. At present,

conformance testing can be ordered through Modbus-

IDA with testing performed by approved third-party

test laboratories in the United States and China.

Request a conformance test order form by e-mailing

test@modbus-ida.org.

•

AFCON Software & Electronics

connectBlue

Control Techniques

Danfoss

Hilscher

Hirschmann Automation & Control

HMS Industrial Networks

INGETEAM

Kepware Technologies

MatrikonOPC

MESCO Engineering

MOXA

Phoenix Contact

ProSoft Technology

Schneider Electric

SOFTING

Wachendorff Automation

7A-631, 6-244

9-225, 4A-542

1-440, 6-208

1-358, 6-210

6-328, 6-110,

10-230, 4A-520

6-410, 6-208

2-231

6-244

6-210

9-221, 9-125

9-339, 6-110

10-240

6-124, 6-324

7-130, 6-210

8-520

PHP Library for Modbus

UDP Master

A new project on the Modbus Organization

’

s Technical

Resource page (www.modbus.org/tech.php) is an

implementation of the basic functionality of Modbus

UDP using PHP. Implemented features include a UDP

Modbus master and Function Codes 3, 16, and 23.

Note that the Modbus.org site offers links to third-party

sites for Modbus users

’

and developers

’

convenience.

These are not under the control of Modbus-IDA and

we are not responsible for the contents of any linked site

or any changes or updates to such sites. The inclusion of

these links does not imply endorsement of the site by

Modbus-IDA or imply approval of any content,

recommendation or application.

In anticipation of the

Thanksgiving Holiday

celebrated in the

U.S. this Thursday,

thank you to our

member companies

for your support and

good work!

News about the World’s Most Popular Industrial Protocol

Control Solutions, Inc.,

has been

developing networked control products

since 1995, specializing in building

automation, facility management, and

commercial automation. The company

offers a line of off-the-shelf embedded

control products with Modbus,

BACnet, Lon

Works®

, and SNMP

connectivity.

Meet Some of Our Members...

Organization News • Organization News

FieldServer

Technologies

designs and

markets a

broad line

of devices

that enhance communication between

instruments, systems, machines and

other devices that use non-compatible

data protocols. The FieldServer

combined with its extensive driver

library allows users to acheive

interoperability.

Drivers included in the library are

Modbus, LonWorks®, BACnet,

Metasys, DH+, Profibus, and drivers

for fire alarm panels, controllers, and

many other devices. The primary

purpose of FieldServer products is to

allow communications over Ethernet

with delivery to client devices in a

format that is immediately useful to the

client device. Ethernet drivers include

Modbus TCP, BACnet Ethernet,

EtherNet/IP, BACnet IP, Allen Bradley

CSP, and more.

FieldServer products meet the

interoperability needs of facilities

managers and process control

engineers in industrial plants and

commercial buildings around the

world.

(www.fieldserver.com)

Byres Security Inc.

develops industrial

security technologies for critical

infrastructure companies in the oil and

gas, power, chemical and

manufacturing sectors. Its sister

company, Byres Research Inc. is a

consulting and services company

providing security guidance on cyber

protection for critical infrastructures

and industrial processes to government

security agencies, major oil companies,

and power utilities. In October, the

company introduced the the Tofino™

Modbus TCP Enforcer Loadable

Security Module (LSM), the first

Control Solutions also provides custom

programming for standard hardware

and customized hardware solutions.

Control Solutions engineers each have

over 20 years of experience in

embedded controls technology. All

products are designed and made in the

USA and manufactured under ISO-

9000:2000.

Control Solution’s Modbus products

include the i.Board®, a low-cost web

server for Modbus TCP as well as the

i.CanDoIt® web server series, which

includes Modbus support with a

powerful set of features, including data

logging, scheduling, alarm monitoring,

and e-mail notifications.

( www./www.csimn.com)

security module designed specifically

for managing the leading SCADA

protocol, Modbus TCP. The device

performs detailed analysis and filtering

of all Modbus TCP messages, and is

certified by Modbus-IDA.

(www.tofinosecurity.com)

Shouldn’t your

company be a

member?

Modbus Newsletter

This is the newsletter of Modbus-IDA,

the international nonprofit organization

devoted to the evolution and support

of the Modbus protocols.

For more information about member-

ship and other services of Modbus-

IDA, please refer to our website:

www.modbus.org

Newsletter Editor:

Lenore Tracey

lenore@modbus-ida.org

Organization, Inc.

PO Box 628

Hopkinton, MA 01748 USA

ph +1-508-435-7170

fax +1-508-435-7172

info@modbus-ida.org

The Modbus-IDA Mission

Modbus-IDA is a group of independent users and suppliers of automation

devices that seeks to drive the adoption of the Modbus communication protocol

suite and the evolution to address architectures for distributed automation systems

across multiple market segments. Modbus-IDA will also provide the infrastructure

to obtain and share information about the protocols, their application and

certification to simplify implementation by users resulting in reduced costs.

Member News • MemberNews

Afcon Announces Next-Gen SCADA/HMI

AFCON Software and Electronics

is revealing the next generation of

SCADA/HMI software – Pulse

SCADA/HMI – this week at the SPS/

IPC/Drives Show in Nuremberg,

Germany.

Pulse is the most recent evolution of

AFCON’s P-CIM solutions for

SCADA/HMI. Pulse is designed for

the .Net framework. With increased

efficiency, superior visualization

capabilities, and a highly reliable

platform for production, it raises the

standard of SCADA solutions for

organizations of any size.

Pulse is a SCADA/HMI application

generator software that enables

application engineers to work in a

unified environment regardless of the

project deployment nature. It fits

standalone stations, networked

applications, Web architecture and

terminal service deployments, and is

also ready to run as client from flash

disk. The integrated development

environment supports the

transportability of application over any

.Net compatible platform such as

Windows XP/Vista and Server 2003/

2008 operating systems.

The Pulse Service-oriented Architecture

(SOA) is based on Microsoft’s WCF

technology, allowing remote distributed

concurrent engineering. Pulse relies on

the Microsoft ClickOnce solution to

enable remote client workstations to

update automatically with new product

versions and application definitions.

Taking advantage of .NET technology,

Pulse is integrated with a new look and

feel and various functionalities that help

controls and more can be added to the

product tools galleries and be reused in

the application.

To simplify connectivity from the plant

floor to corporate business systems

Pulse supports Microsoft SQL Server

2005 and OLEDB compatible

databases. Pulse operators and

managers benefit from the new

integrated Smart Information Panel

tool that provides out-of-the-box, real-

time, historical and alarm information

of any application tag, ready for

further data analysis.

Pulse supports over 200 protocols for

almost any device on the market,

including Modbus TCP and Modbus

over serial line, as well as the Unity

platform.

Founded in 1987, AFCON Software

and Electronics Ltd. is an international

software company and a leading

provider of SCADA/HMI systems

and solutions ranging from industry

control and building automation

management to OEM applications.

(www.afcon-inc.com)

Pulse is the most recent

evolution of AFCON’s

P-CIM solutions for

SCADA/HMI. Pulse is

designed for the .Net

framework...

application engineers reduce design

time and lower total cost of

ownership. With Pulse’s new features,

users can develop professional

visualization screens using global smart

graphic objects, layers, themes and

styles.

Pulse leverages .Net technology

capabilities by granting advanced users

the option to extend the collection of

functionalities with software

components they develop themselves.

Components such as activities,

engineering unit conversions, .Net

Modbus-IDA Discussion Forums

Modbus Discussion

Q&A

Sensors with Modbus TCP...

Emin Ceyhan requested advice

about sensors with Modbus TCP:

We need to use a sensor that supports

Modbus TCP. We have an RF Reader

Controller. The brand is Reva. One of

this electronic device’s features is

support of the Modbus TCP protocol.

If there is a sensor or transmitter with

Modbus TCP support, the sensor’s

message can be sent to Reva easily. Any

ideas?

M. Griffin responded:

There are lots of “sensors” that work

with Modbus TCP. Unfortunately, you

are a bit vague as to what sort of

sensor you are looking for. If you are

looking for an RF antenna, then I

would suggest that you talk to the

people you bought the controller from.

Even if they don’t sell one themselves,

they can no doubt recommend one to

you....

Emin Ceyhan provided more

information about his project:

Thank you for the response. I

understand you, but we have … to use

a sensor with Modbus TCP support. It

is a load-cell. So I need a transmitter

with Modbus TCP support.

M. Griffin replied:

So if I understand you correctly, the

“sensor” you are looking for has

nothing to do with the RF system itself.

You are looking for a load cell signal

conditioner with a Modbus TCP

interface.

I have seen “weigh controllers” with

network interfaces, including Modbus

TCP. For example Hardy Instruments

sells one.

I haven’t seen just a plain load cell signal

conditioner with any sort of network

interface. However, you can use a

standard load cell signal conditioner that

has an analogue output and connect it

to a network module that takes an

analogue input.

For example, Acromag has the 851T

From the Modbus Discussion Forum…

Strain Gauge/Load Cell Input, which

would interface to the load cell and

provide an analogue output.

They also have the 961EN/962EN six-

channel differential input: DC current

or DC voltage signals or the 963EN/

964EN 12-channel single-ended input:

DC current or DC voltage signals.

Either of these would take an analogue

input from the load cell signal

conditioner and output Modbus TCP.

I’m not recommending any of the

above products in particular, but I am

offering them as examples. There are

no doubt equivalents from other

manufacturers as well.

pvbrowser offered additional

suggestions:

I would suggest a Modbus TCP RS485

gateway such as [the Modbus Data

Gateway, ADAM-4572] http://

www.ucs.co.uk/index.php?pid=948 and

ADAM modules on RS485 as I/O

devices.

Add your advice to this thread at

modbus.control.com/thread/

1223963647.

Modbus TCP Data

Concentrator...

Syed Hussain wrote to the forum:

We are using Honeywell Experion

C300 controllers to interface with VSD

drives for our expansion project. We

would be installing around 200 VSDs

all supporting Modbus TCP/IP

protocol. The Honeywell Experion

C300 controller can now talk peer to

peer with the Modbus TCP/IP slaves.

The only issue is that the controller can

only have eight Modbus TCP/IP

masters talking to eight Modbus TCP/

IP slaves. We are looking for a device

that can sit in the middle, acting as a

master for multiple VSDs and slave for

the Experion controller. Can someone

please advise if such a device is

available preferably Modbus-IDA

tested?

Mark suggested:

While it has never been tested with 200

devices, the PeakHMI RLL program

has Modbus TCP master and slave

included. It does not have a limit on the

number of connections. At the

moment it is free: http://

www.hmisys.com.

Michael Griffin offered:

I have a Free Software (GPL) project

called MBServer that can do this. It is

available at: http://sourceforge.net/

project/

showfiles.php?group_id=228414&packa

ge_id=276643.

You will also find a link to it from the

Modbus.org web site (Technical

Resources page).

You would use the mbserver (release 2)

package. There is introductory web-

based documentation at http://

mblogic.sourceforge.net/

The package itself has more detailed

web-based documentation available

through a built-in web server that is

accessible when you install it. I will be

adding the content of those additional

pages to the Sourceforge web site

within the next couple of days, so you

will be able to read them without

installing MBServer.

The software runs on a PC. There are

no limits to the number of client

(master) connections, but if you have a

lot of connections and are polling at a

fast rate you will want a fast PC to

handle the communications load.

Check the CPU load on your PC as

you add connections. If need be, you

could split the load between several

PCs. The software itself won’t cost you

anything, so it’s just a matter of how

many PCs you want to set up.

The size of the messages themselves is

relatively unimportant. What matters is

how many messages per second are

being sent and received. This means the

load on the slave (server) portion of

Modbus Discussion

From the Modbus Discussion Forum,

continued…

support Modbus TCP with master and utilizing. With Schneider Electric Altivar

the software will be relatively

61 and 71 drives it is possible to use the

unimportant, as you will be reading and slave modules. You would have to

I/O Scanner functionality of the

program the communications for

writing fewer larger messages.

various Modicon PLCs to accomplish

If you want to load test the PC, there is them, however, so it isn’t entirely out-

the task you are looking to do. The

of-the-box either. Whether you are

another package at the same location

DCS could then communicate to the

configuring MBServer or

called mbasyncserver that can be used

PLC and control the drives as required.

programming a PLC, I don’t see how

to act as just a slave (or you could just

you could avoid telling a system what

Syed Hussain:

set up a second instance of MBServer

addresses to read from what drives.

with no clients active). Set up

Thanks Fellows,

I would be careful about loading any

MBServer on one PC, and

We will be interfacing ABB LV and AB

system (including the Honeywell) to its

mbasyncserver on another.

MV VSD drives with the Experion

rated limit though. Often, the limit on

Then set the MBServer configuration

the number of connections allowed is a C300 controllers.

to open up 200 connections to

I have found information on an off-

mbasyncserver and do the same polling crude form of load limiting. The

the-shelf ABB LV VSD module called

processors in many PLCs (and other

commands you would use for the

NETA module that can talk Modbus

proprietary controllers) are relatively

drives. The reason for using two

TCP and can connect up to nine drives

slow, and they can get bogged down

different PCs is so that the second

on an ABB proprietary protocol called

with communications quite easily.

server isn’t adding its processing load

DDCS, which is what we are

Whether or not this would be a

to the same PC.

problem for you depends on how fast considering.

If you are interested and have further

you are polling.

So the DCS would be talking to the

questions, let me know and I will be

NETA card and NETA would be

Typically it is more efficient to transfer

happy to answer them.

talking to nine drives using DDCS

one large message than several small

Syed Hussain responded:

protocol on a fiber optic ring or star

ones. I would suggest trying to group

fiber optic topology.

I am more interested in a standalone

the messages from different drives

industrial grade device, preferably din-

close together in the memory of each

Does anyone have any idea about the

rail mounted that can act as a server.

data concentrator so you can read them DDCS protocol? I could not find any

We do not want to have all 200 devices all with one function call from the

decent documentation on the Net.

on the same server; 10 to 15 devices

Honeywell.

We are still looking for a solution for

per server would be preferred to

Robert Willis suggested:

the Allen-Bradley MV VSDs, we are

reduce the risk of a single point failure.

considering an option like ControlNet

It would be beneficial to know the

Can you recommend a device that can

and then probably a ControlNet to

manufacturer of the VSD you are

serve this purpose?

Modbus TCP gateway. Any thoughts

on that? Any thoughts on

From Michael Griffin:

a solution that does not

I think what you mean is

involve a PLC in the

you want an “out-of-the-

Modbus users and suppliers get together

middle would be

box” solution. You could

on the Modbus Community for:

appreciated.

run MBServer on an

•

Interactivity

Add your advice to

industrial PC, and it

•

Knowledge aggregation

this thread, at

would be industrial grade

modbus.control.com/

(including solid state drive,

•

Contact with Modbus users and suppliers

thread/1026249633.

if you want).

Discussion supported by...

As for an out-of-the-box

solution, I don’t know of

a system that is exactly

what you want. You may

want to consider using

some small PLCs as data

concentrators. Quite a few

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