Tiny Modbus/TCP to RTU/ASCII Gateway
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7. Modbus Information
What is Modbus TCP/IP?
Modbus is a communication protocol developed by Modicon in 1979. You can also visit
http://www.modbus.org to find more valuable information.
The Different versions of Modbus used today include Modbus RTU (based on serial communication
interfaces such as RS485 and RS232), Modbus ASCII and Modbus TCP, which is the Modbus RTU
protocol embedded into TCP packets.
Modbus TCP is an internet protocol. The protocol embeds a Modbus frame into a TCP frame so that
a connection oriented approach is obtained, thereby making it reliable. The master queries the
slave and the slave responds with the reply. The protocol is open and, hence, highly scalable.
7.1 Modbus Message Structure
Modbus devices communicate using a master-slave (client-server) technique in which only one
device (the master/client) can initiate transactions (called queries). The other devices
(slaves/servers) respond by supplying the requested data to the master, or by taking the action
requested in the query.
A query from a master will consist of a slave address (or broadcast address), a function code
defining the requested action, any required data, and an error checking field. A response from a
slave consists of fields confirming the action taken, any data to be returned, and an error checking
field.
Modbus/TCP Message Structure