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MODBUS IPS

Protocol Specifications

Configuration File

MODBUS uses a configuration file named MODBUS.INI. This file must reside in the default (working) folder, where the MODBUS.EXE is saved.

MODBUS.INI is a text file, that you may create and edit using Notepad. You may also access it via a menu shortcut on the MODBUS menu bar (under File).

MODBUS is divided into sections. Each section starts with the name of the section between square brackets.

The following sections are defined at the moment:

[PORT]

[UNET]

[DRIVER]

[WATCHDOG]

Within each section, you define parameters using a 'key' followed by the "=" sign and followed by one or more alpha-numeric arguments.

Parameters within the section may be arranged in any order.

Multiple arguments must be separated by spaces, a dot, or a comma.

A comment line starts with "/".

The following keys are defined at the moment:

Section: [PORT]

Parameter Description Default value
COM Sets the COM port used.
The COM may be COM1, COM2,COM3, COM4 or TCP or UDP.
TCP and UDP use port 502 		COM=COM1
MODTCP Protocol 1=MODBUS TCP 0=MODBUS OVER TCP MODTCP=0
BAUDS Communication speed. Only applies to COM1 to COM4 BAUDS=19200
MODE Accepts a string of the form "baud=19200 parity=N data=8 stop=1 to=on dtr=off odsr=off octs=off dtr=off rts=off idsr=off".
All the parameters are optional and only those you include in the string are affected. If you include baud=300, then stop=2 automatically. 		baud=19200 parity=N data=8 stop=1 to=on dtr=off odsr=off octs=off dtr=off rts=off idsr=off

Section: [UNET]

NODE The identifier for this IPS on the UDP (UNET) network. NODE=1
RESET The index of the register in the data table that will be used for remote reset. Writing to this register causes the IPS to re-read the configuration file.
 None. No reset register.
SNAP The index of the register in the data table that will be used for remote protocol capture. Writing 1 this register causes the IPS to produce a capture file. It is equivalent to clicking TRACE -> Capture. None. No snapshot register.

The following keys are defined at the moment:

Section: [DRIVER]

STATION The MODBUS station id assigned to this driver. STATION=1
TIMEOUT The time in milliseconds that this station will wait for a response before trying again. TIMEOUT=250
ENABLE This parameter decides how the "ENABLE" registers operate for cluster of points. If ENABLE=0, the cluster communicates as long as its ENABLE register is on. If ENABLE=1, the cluster triggers a communication when the ENABLE register is turned on and automatically turns the ENABLE register off when the communication is confirmed by the station
.		 ENABLE=0
FRAME The time in milliseconds between receiving characters on the serial port to consider the message received. FRAME=2
ERRORCODE Specifies the index of a register that will report the MODBUS error code, or 0 if no error. No error reporting
REMOTE Specifies the IP of a remote MODBUS RTU connected to this TCP/IP interface. Each remote is defined by 5 decimal numbers. The first number is the UNET node id. The next 4 are the IP of that station.

You may include up to 64 "REMOTE" lines in the file.

No remote station defined
DI Defines a cluster of binary registers to be received from a remote station. Each "DI" definition consists of 6 numbers. You may include up to 64 DI definitions in the file.

FIRST, QTY, NODE, POS, ALERT, ENABLE

FIRST the index of the first register of the block at the requesting IPS.
QTY the number of registers to transfer, starting at and including the first register. The maximum number of register values that may be transferred is 16 per block.
NODE the MODBUS id of the station the data will be coming from.
POS the index of the first variable at the MODBUS station.
ALERT the index of the register to be set in case a communication error or time-out occurs when this particular block is transferred
ENABLE the index of the register at the IPS to trigger the transfer
When this register is set to 1, the transfer is initiated. If the ENABLE parameter is set to 1, once the transfer is confirmed by the station, this register is set to 0.
R0001 (index 0) may not be used as a ENABLE register. If ENABLE is 0, the cluster communicates continuously.
No DI cluster
RI Defines a cluster of analog 40xxx registers to be received from a remote station. Each "RI" definition consists of 7 numbers. You may include up to 64 RI definitions in the file.

FIRST, QTY, NODE, POS, ALERT, ENABLE, TYPE

FIRST the index of the first register of the block at the requesting IPS.
QTY the number of registers to transfer, starting at and including the first register. The maximum number of register values that may be transferred is 16 per block.
NODE the MODBUS id of the station that the values will be coming from.
POS the index of the first register at the station.
ALERT the index of the register to be set in case a communication error or time-out occurs when this particular block is transferred
ENABLE the index of the register at the IPS to trigger the transfer
When this register is set to 1, the transfer is initiated. If the ENABLE parameter is set to 1, once the transfer is confirmed by the station, this register is set to 0.
R0001 (index 0) may not be used as a ENABLE register. If ENABLE is 0, the cluster communicates continuously.
TYPE Set to 0 to receive each value as a 16-bit integer. Set to 1 to receive each value as a short real number (32 bit floating point) - each value reads two consecutive MODBUS registers. Set to 2 to receive each value as a signed integer (2's complement).
No RI cluster
AI Defines a cluster of analog 30xxx registers to be received from a remote station. Each "AI" definition consists of 6 numbers. You may include up to 64 AI definitions in the file. FIRST, QTY, NODE, POS, ALERT, ENABLE
FIRST the index of the first register of the block at the requesting IPS.
QTY the number of registers to transfer, starting at and including the first register. The maximum number of register values that may be transferred is 16 per block.
NODE the MODUS id of the station that the values will be coming from.
POS the index of the first register at the station.
ALERT the index of the register to be set in case a communication error or time-out occurs when this particular block is transferred
ENABLE the index of the register at the IPS to trigger the transfer
When this register is set to 1, the transfer is initiated. If the ENABLE parameter is set to 1, once the transfer is confirmed by the station, this register is set to 0.
R0001 (index 0) may not be used as a ENABLE register. If ENABLE is 0, the cluster communicates continuously.
No AI cluster
DO Defines a cluster of binary registers to be received from a remote station. Each "DI" definition consists of 6 numbers. You may include up to 64 "DO" definitions in the file.

FIRST, QTY, NODE, POS, ALERT, ENABLE

FIRST the index of the first register of the block at the requesting IPS.
QTY the number of registers to transfer, starting at and including the first register. The maximum number of register values that may be transferred is 16 per block.
NODE the MODBUS id of the station the data will be coming from (source).
POS the index of the first variable at the MODBUS station.
ALERT the index of the register to be set in case a communication error or time-out occurs when this particular block is transferred
ENABLE the index of the register at the IPS to trigger the transfer
When this register is set to 1, the transfer is initiated. If the ENABLE parameter is set to 1, once the transfer is confirmed by the station, this register is set to 0.
R0001 (index 0) may not be used as a ENABLE register. If ENABLE is 0, the cluster communicates continuously.
No DO cluster
RO Defines a cluster of analog 40xxx registers to be sent to a remote station. Each "RO" definition consists of 7 numbers. You may include up to 64 "RO" definitions in the file.

FIRST, QTY, NODE, POS, ALERT, ENABLE, TYPE

FIRST the index of the first register of the block at the requesting IPS.
QTY the number of registers to transfer, starting at and including the first register. The maximum number of register values that may be transferred is 16 per block.
NODE the MODBUS id of the station that the values will be coming from.
POS the index of the first register at the station.
ALERT the index of the register to be set in case a communication error or time-out occurs when this particular block is transferred
ENABLE the index of the register at the IPS to trigger the transfer
When this register is set to 1, the transfer is initiated. If the ENABLE parameter is set to 1, once the transfer is confirmed by the station, this register is set to 0.
R0001 (index 0) may not be used as a ENABLE register. If ENABLE is 0, the cluster communicates continuously.
TYPE Set to 0 to send each value as a 16-bit integer. Set to 1 to send each value as a short real number (32 bit floating point) - each value writes to two consecutive MODBUS registers.
No RO cluster

Section: [WATCHDOG]

ACTIVE Enable/Disable the watchdog. When enabled, all the outputs turn off after a delay when the IPS no longer receives commands from a RTES32.
 ACTIVE=1
TIME The delay in milliseconds after which the outputs turn off when the watchdog is enabled.
 TIME=1000.

MODBUS SLAVE

When MODBUS-IPS is not sending any I/O request, it assumes that it is a slave station and will respond to I/O requests from MODBUS MASTERS. The 4xxxx registers represent the floating point registers of this IPS and the 2xxxx or 1xxxx registers represent the binary registers of this IPS.

Example:
Two computers on the network run MODBUS-IPS
Computer A is at IP 192.168.0.102 and has the following MODBUS.INI:

  
[UNET]
NODE=5
[PORT]
COM=TCP
MODTCP=1
[DRIVER]
FRAME=50
STATION=11

Computer B is at IP 192.168.0.103 and has the following MODBUS.INI:
[UNET]
NODE=6
[PORT]
COM=TCP
MODTCP=1
[DRIVER]
FRAME=50
STATION=1
REMOTE=11 192.168.0.102
RI=50,16,11,50,16,0,0

The MODBUS-IPS at Computer B will read the values from registers 50 to 65 at the MODBUS-IPS in Computer A and place them into it's registers 50 to 65.

Application note: Beckhoff watchdog

Beckhoff model IL230xx B900, using MODBUS-TCP include a watchdog that turns the digital outouts off when comunication to the module is interrupted for 1000ms.

When that occurs, the watchdog must be reset before operating the outputs again

To reset the watchdog, 2 numbers (48847 and 45054) must be written consecutively to a given register address (44385). The countdown value of the timer is at register address 44128.

Below is a working example on how this reset may be accomplished

When the communication with the module is re-established, the countdown WATCHDOG reads 0.
This causes RESET1 to turn on and sends the first value.
0.5 seconds later, RESET2 turns on and sends the second value.
The watchdog resets and WATCHDOG shows the initial value 1000.