Modbus Protocol

Chapters 10 in the Textbook

Professor: HONGWEI ZHANG

CSC8260 Winter’2016

Presented By: Priyank Baxi (fr0630)

[email protected]
 Outline
• Overview
• Modbus Protocol
• Modbus over Serial line
• Modbus/TCP
• Gateway and Similar Devices
• Modbus as Part of the CIP Stack in ODVA
• Modbus on other Stack
 Outline
• Overview
• Modbus Protocol
• Modbus over Serial line
• Modbus /TCP
• Gateway and Similar Devices
• Modbus as Part of the CIP Stack in ODVA
• Modbus on other Stack
 History of Modbus Protocol

• The Modbus protocol was created in 1978 by Modicon Inc.

as a simple way for communicating control data between
controllers and sensors using an RS232 port.

• The protocol became widely adopted, quickly reaching the

status of de facto standard in the industrial automation
field.
Modbus Communication Stack
Example of Modbus Network
 Features
• Simple to implement
• Small footprint
• Scalable in complexity, scope, and range
• It is simple to administer and enhance
• Open and low cost
• Connectivity
• Installed base, experience, and tools
 Outline
• Overview
• Modbus Protocol
• Modbus over Serial line
• Modbus/TCP
• Gateway and Similar Devices
• Modbus as Part of the CIP Stack in ODVA
• Modbus on other Stack
 Modbus Protocol
• The transfer of information between a Modbus client
and a Modbus server is initiated when the client
sends a request to the server to transfer information,
to execute a command, or to perform one of many
other possible functions.
• After the server receives the request, it executes the
command and/or prepares the required data. The
server then responds to the client by acknowledging
that the command is complete and/or providing the
requested data.
Client-Server Messaging
 APDU
• APDU stands for Application Protocol Data Unit
 Client Server Interaction
• The interactions can be of two types:
1. Broadcast (unconfirmed)
2. Unicast (confirmed)
Broadcast
Unicast with Normal Response
Unicast with Exception Response
State Machine
Client State Machine
Server State Machine
 Data Types
• Discrete
• Coil
• Input Register
• Holding Register
 Function Codes
Service identifiers:
• Publicly assigned function codes. These function codes are either
assigned to a standard service or reserved for future assignment.
The function codes currently assigned to a standard service

• User-definable function codes. These function codes can be used for

experimentation in a controlled laboratory environment. They must
not be used in an open environment. There are two ranges: FC 65
(0x41) to 72 (0x48) included and 100 (0x64) to 110 (0x6E) included.

• Reserved function codes. These function codes are currently used by

some companies for legacy products and are not available for public
use.
 Outline
• Overview
• Modbus Protocol
• Modbus over Serial line
• Modbus /TCP
• Gateway and Similar Devices
• Modbus as Part of the CIP Stack in ODVA
• Modbus on other Stack
Modbus over Serial line
OSI Layer for Serial line
Modbus Serial line PDU
 Modbus Message RTU Framing
• A Modbus message is placed by the transmitting device
into a frame that has a known beginning and ending
point. This allows devices that receive a new frame to
begin at the start of the message and to know when
the message is completed. Partial messages must be
detected and errors must be set as a result.
 ASCII Transmission Mode
• When devices communicate on a Modbus serial line
using the ASCII mode, each application message octet
is sent as two ASCII characters on the wire, that is, it
will require two characters on the wire.
• This mode is used when the capabilities of the device
do not allow the conformance with RTU mode
requirements regarding timers’ management.
• This mode is less efficient than RTU since each
application message octet needs two characters on the
wire.
 Outline
• Overview
• Modbus Protocol
• Modbus over Serial line
• Modbus /TCP
• Gateway and Similar Devices
• Modbus as Part of the CIP Stack in ODVA
• Modbus on other Stack
Modbus TCP Stack
TCP/IP Encapsulation
 Role of Transaction ID
• A client requests a service on the set of its addressable
servers with the help of the transaction ID,managed
(created and destroyed) by the client.
• The transaction mechanism is exposed at the application
layer due to the client/server possibility of having more
than one outstanding request at a time, with the
consequent need to properly associate requests and
confirmations. It also controls the maximum number of
such requests, which could be 1.
• The capabilities of a client/server application layer client
depend on lower layers and on the particular
implementation; these factors are captured in the
configuration of the transaction mechanism allowing
programmatic adaptation.
 Unit ID and Gateways
• On TCP/IP, when no gateways or IP collocated
application entities are involved, the client
and the server are the intended end points of
the connection, and they are fully identified
using the IP address.
• In this case, the unit ID may be ignored by the
server, and the client should set it to the value
of 255.
 TCP as a Streaming Protocol
• The streaming nature of the TCP protocol
allows for cases where the server received
only a partial transaction, according to a valid
length. The server must be able to buffer the
partial transaction and wait for the remaining
payload. The server may implement
mechanisms, for example, via a timer, to
reclaim resources if the wait exceeds a
configured time.
Modbus /TCP request in Client
Flowchart
Modbus /TCP request in Client
Flowchart
 Outline
• Overview
• Modbus Protocol
• Modbus over Serial line
• Modbus /TCP
• Gateway and Similar Devices
• Modbus as Part of the CIP Stack in ODVA
• Modbus on other Stack
 Gateway and Similar Devices
• Gateways involving Modbus have been around
for a very long time, and new ones keep being
developed, with Modbus being the common
second protocol available side by side other
protocols, or providing the gateways between
different Modbus stacks.
• The gateway between Modbus serial and
Modbus/TCP, a very successful one, enabled
many legacy products to ride the TCP/IP wave
without having to be replaced or left behind.
• Overview
• Modbus Protocol
• Modbus over Serial line
• Modbus /TCP
• Gateway and Similar Devices
• Modbus as Part of the CIP Stack in ODVA
• Modbus on other Stack
Modbus CIP Stack in ODVA
 Outline
• Overview
• Modbus Protocol
• Modbus over Serial line
• Modbus /TCP
• Gateway and Similar Devices
• Modbus as Part of the CIP Stack in ODVA
• Modbus on other Stack
 Modbus on other Stack
• Modbus has been architected and deployed
on several stacks, like power line carrier
stacks, many 802.15.4 stacks, and cellular.
THANK YOU