I have been studying about TCP/IP and http protocols. I have a modbus TCP/IP network that I would like to be able to view from any standard web browser. I have seen some ready made hardware out there but the pricing is ridiculous and I am having a hard time understanding why I need it in the first place if I already have a TCP/IP network established. This is the communication of the Internet I thought so I should be able to use a browser to view with minimal hardware and software requirements. Any help on understanding the basics of each step/layer necessary to get the information of my Modbus TCP/IP network to be able to be viewed from a browser would be very helpful. Thanks

 

Just because Modbus TCP uses TCP/IP doesn't mean you can view Modbus data with a Web browser. Modbus TCP is a protocol unto itself wrapped inside TCP/IP, just as HTTP is the protocol for Web pages wrapped inside TCP/IP. These are not the same thing, even though both are encapsulated in TCP/IP.

You need software to poll Modbus TCP, translate and store the received data and then serve up HTML Web pages containing the data. Not so simple a task - that's why devices capable of such feats cost money.

Do some studying and you'll see the problem. Look at the source for a web page, then look at the Modbus TCP protocol spec: No similarity whatsoever.

Curt Jeffreys
CW Industries

 

You already asked a similar question on another thread "Modbus TCP/IP Question", so I will continue the answer there rather than repeating it here.

 

What technologies are you using to develop your website?

If you're using ASP.NET, you can use Automated Solutions' ASComm.NET Modbus/TCP driver.

http://automatedsolutions.com/products/dotnet/ascomm/mb.master.net.asp

-Mark
http://automatedsolutions.com