Add client Modbus devices

After adding a client Modbus network, you can use the network’s default “device manager” view to add the appropriate client Modbus devices.

You need the address information for each Modbus device you are adding, as well as its Modbus data configuration (coils, inputs, input registers, and holding registers) for this procedure, as well as for later procedures to add proxy points under devices. Have the device vendor’s documentation available for reference, in order to map Modbus data correctly in NiagaraAX.

To add a client Modbus device in the network

Use the following procedure to add the correct type of client Modbus device in the network.

To add a client Modbus device:

In the Nav tree or in the Driver Manager view, double-click the client network, to bring up the device manager (Modbus Async Device Manager, Modbus Tcp Device Manager, Modbus Tcp Gateway Device Manager). All of these device manager views operate in a similar fashion.
For general device manager information, see the “About the Device Manager” section in the Drivers Guide.
Click the New button to bring up the New device dialog.

Depending on the network type, the appropriate device object Type will be preselected (either ModbusAsyncDevice, ModbusTcpDevice, or ModbusTcpGatewayDevice).

For more details on this step, see one of the following:
Select for number to add: 1 (or more, if multiple) and click OK.

This brings up a dialog to name the device(s), enter Modbus device address, as well as enter other information, such as Modbus Config overrides, and ping address. Typically, the default values for most items are sufficient to start with, except the following:
- Any ModbusAsyncDevice needs the unique Modbus address (1—247) in use.
- Any ModbusTcpDevice needs the unique IP address in use (Modbus address can remain at 1).
  
  Also, if it uses a TCP port besides the standard 502, enter it here.
- Any ModbusTcpGatewayDevice needs the unique Modbus address (1—247) in use.
For more details on this step, see About Modbus client devices.
Click OK to add the client device(s) to the network.

You should see the device(s) listed in the Modbus device manager view, showing a status of “{ok}” and enabled as “true.”

If a device shows “down” check the configuration of the network and/or the device addresses. You can simply double-click a device in the device manager to review settings in an Edit dialog, identical to the New dialog when you added it.

After making any address changes, click Save, then right-click the device and select Actions->Ping.
The default “ping address” for a client Modbus device is for the “first” (40001 Modbus) holding register value (integer)—often this works well without an exception response. However, it is recommended that you confirm this ping address, and if necessary change in the device’s property sheet. See Ping Address properties for more details.