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CONTROL SOLUTIONS Babel Buster 3 BB3-6101-GW User Manual

Modbus tcp to rtu transparent gateway
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Babel Buster BB3-6101 and MX-61 Gateway
User Guide
Babel Buster 3
Model BB3-6101-GW
Model MX-61-GW
Modbus TCP to RTU
Transparent Gateway
Rev. 1.0 – April 2021
© 2021 Control Solutions, Inc.
1 of 2
file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use...
User Guide Contents
1
Introduction
1.1
How to Use This Guide
1.2
Important Safety Notice
1.3
Warranty
2
Connecting Gateway for the First Time
2.1
Where to Start
2.2
Overview of Model BB3-6101-GW/MX-61-GW
2.2.1
Application of the BB3-6101-GW/MX-61-GW
2.2.2
How RTU Translates to TCP or Vice Versa
2.3
What is New in Model BB3-6101/MX-61
2.4
Connectors and Indicators
2.5
Opening the Web User Interface
3
System Configuration and Resources
3.1
Using the File Manager
3.1.1
Load, Save, Create XML Configuration File
3.1.2
Select Startup Configuration
3.1.3
Delete a File
3.1.4
Clear Configuration
3.2
Configuration Files and Restoring Default Settings
3.3
Network Configuration
3.3.1
IPv4, IPv6 Settings
3.3.2
NTP Time Server Settings
3.3.3
Port Settings
3.4
Resource Allocation
3.5
User Login Passwords
4
Accessing RTU Devices from TCP
4.1
Set Mode and Port Parameters
4.2
How It Works
5
Accessing TCP Devices from RTU
5.1
Set Mode and Port Parameters
5.2
Create TCP Device Map
5.3
How It Works
6
Error Counts and Packet Log
6.1
Reviewing Error Counts
6.2
Reviewing TCP Device Status
6.3
Reviewing the Packet Log
Appendix A
Hardware Details
A.1
Wiring
A.2
Front Panel LED Indicators
A.3
RS-485 Line Termination and Bias
A.4
Soft Configuration Reset
A.5
Discovering Lost IP Address
A.6
Forced Hard Configuration Reset
A.7
Firmware Update Notes
Appendix B
Modbus Reference Information
B.1
Function Codes, Error Codes, and More
Appendix C
Trouble Shooting
C.1
Modbus RTU Trouble Shooting
C.2
Modbus TCP Trouble Shooting
5/4/2021, 9:54 AM

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Summary of Contents for CONTROL SOLUTIONS Babel Buster 3 BB3-6101-GW

  • Page 1 Accessing RTU Devices from TCP Rev. 1.0 – April 2021 Set Mode and Port Parameters How It Works © 2021 Control Solutions, Inc. Accessing TCP Devices from RTU Set Mode and Port Parameters Create TCP Device Map How It Works...
  • Page 2 Babel Buster BB3-6101 and MX-61 Gateway file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Wireshark Hardware Requirements Example of Using Wireshark Appendix D SSL Certificates for Secure Web (HTTPS) X.509 Auto-Certificate Generation External Certificates Certificate Generation Script (Linux) 2 of 2 5/4/2021, 9:54 AM...
  • Page 3 This is especially important where the potential for property damage, personal injury, or loss of life may exist. By using ANY Control Solutions, Inc., product, the user has agreed to assume all risk and responsibility for proper system design as well as any consequence for improper system design.
  • Page 4 1. Introduction file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... including without limitation any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose and all other warranties are hereby disclaimed and excluded by Control Solutions, Inc. Configuration errors made by customer are not covered under warranty. Damage caused by incorrect electrical connection is not covered under warranty.
  • Page 5 2. Connecting Gateway for the First Time file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... 2. Connecting Gateway for the First Time Where to Start The Babel Buster BB3-6101-GW or MX-61-GW is used to directly route Modbus RTU messages to Modbus TCP and vice versa. This version of gateway does not do any data translation or remapping of registers, nor does it even look at the data being transferred.
  • Page 6 The Babel Buster BB3-6101-GW and MX-61-GW are non-mapping Modbus gateways used to simply forward Modbus RTU requests and responses to Modbus TCP, and vice versa. Most Control Solutions gateways involve mapping, and the gateway itself contains registers or objects which hold copies of data found in other devices. This intermediate data buffering is what allows access to the same data from multiple protocols.
  • Page 7 2. Connecting Gateway for the First Time file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... If the data packet is being sent via Modbus RTU, the first character transmitted is the slave address, and the last two characters are a CRC type checksum. If the data packet is being sent via Modbus TCP, there is a TCP header at the beginning of the packet, and the last byte of that packet is the same slave address or unit number that would have been sent via RTU.
  • Page 8 2. Connecting Gateway for the First Time file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... (b) Connect a CAT5 cable between the RJ-45 jack on the gateway, and your network switch or hub. You cannot connect directly to your PC unless you use a “crossover” cable (or your PC supports auto-MDX, which many newer laptops do).
  • Page 9 2. Connecting Gateway for the First Time file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... When you click on any of the page tabs such as System, you will be asked for a user name and password. The only login as shipped is user name “root” with a unique password generated specifically for your Babel Buster.
  • Page 10 2. Connecting Gateway for the First Time file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Most changes are stored in an XML configuration file in the device’s Flash file system. Only a few are stored differently, and the IP address is one of those. Normally, clicking Update on any configuration page only stores that configuration information to a temporary RAM copy of the configuration file.
  • Page 11 3. System Configuration and Resources file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... 3. System Configuration and Resources Using the File Manager The File Manager page is probably one of the most important pages to know about. Among other things, this is where you tell the gateway to save all of the changes you have made.
  • Page 12 3. System Configuration and Resources file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... The File Directory is a list of files that are currently stored in the Babel Buster's Flash file system. To filter files by type, select a type from the Filtered by list, and click Filter. File type filters are as follows: *.xml XML configuration files *.pem SSL certificates...
  • Page 13 3. System Configuration and Resources file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... You must use the Select button to populate the Selected File window prior to executing any action from the list. Choose a file from the drop down list that shows all available files, then click the Select button.
  • Page 14 3. System Configuration and Resources file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Save XML Config File: Any time you have made configuration changes that you want to retain as permanent, you need to come here, select the file from the directory list, and execute this Save action. Create New XML Config File: You have the option to create a totally new configuration file.
  • Page 15 3. System Configuration and Resources file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... There is a means of restoring the Babel Buster to "manufacturer's default settings". First of all, make sure that the Boot configuration file is set to "BootConfig.xml". Then, after selecting this file as the boot file, delete it. Now restart the gateway. Upon restart, and upon finding that the boot configuration name is BootConfig.xml, and it does not exist, the gateway will automatically create one with default parameters.
  • Page 16 3. System Configuration and Resources file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... 3.3.1 IPv4, IPv6 Settings To change the IP address(es) of this device, make the applicable entries and click Apply. The "automatic" selection means DHCP. Changes to the IPv4 IP address will take effect upon the next system restart.
  • Page 17 3. System Configuration and Resources file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... 3.3.2 NTP Time Server Settings The Babel Buster maintains time and date via SNTP services. NTP setup: Enter a primary and secondary IP address of NTP servers, such as those found at wwv.nist.gov (go to http://tf.nist.gov/tf-cgi/servers.cgi to find more). Enter daylight start/end rules, and offset from GMT for both standard and daylight time.
  • Page 18 3. System Configuration and Resources file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Secure browsing can be enabled here, and non-secure can be disabled. You cannot disable both, and a forced configuration reset will restore HTTP (non-secure) web browsing. In order to use HTTPS, you must first upload the necessary SSL certificates (see Appendix E) or allow the certificates to be self-generated by explicitly deleting existing certificates.
  • Page 19 3. System Configuration and Resources file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... User Login Passwords There is only one default login provided initially, namely the username "root" with a unique password generated specifically for your particular Babel Buster. This password is provided to you in either external documentation included with the gateway, or it may be found on a label attached to the gateway.
  • Page 20 4. Accessing RTU Devices from TCP file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... 4. Accessing RTU Devices from TCP Set Mode and Port Parameters Accessing one or more Modbus RTU slaves from TCP with the external Modbus TCP device acting as client (master) means the gateway needs to act as an RTU master on the RTU network.
  • Page 21 4. Accessing RTU Devices from TCP file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... For this mode, you should also enter the number of server connections to support. This will default to one. If more than one Modbus TCP client will be polling RTU devices at the same time through this gateway, then increase this number in order to allow more connections.
  • Page 22 4. Accessing RTU Devices from TCP file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... If the slave does respond, the checksum in the response will be verified. If the checksum test fails, meaning the message is corrupt, this fault will be reported back to the requesting TCP client with exception code 4 which is defined as "Slave device failure".
  • Page 23 5. Accessing TCP Devices from RTU file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... 5. Accessing TCP Devices from RTU Set Mode and Port Parameters Accessing one or more Modbus TCP server devices from an external Modbus RTU master means the gateway needs to act as one or more RTU slaves on the RTU network.
  • Page 24 5. Accessing TCP Devices from RTU file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... The server connections setting on this page does not apply in this mode - the connection count is established automatically by the TCP Device Map. IMPORTANT: Set timeout to something long enough for the device. If too short, the gateway will not wait long enough for a response from the Modbus server, and the result will be a lot of "no response"...
  • Page 25 5. Accessing TCP Devices from RTU file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... The first column, "First RTU Address In", should be the RTU slave address that you want the gateway to respond to. Assuming you do not want to translate addresses as they pass through the gateway, the First RTU Address Out would be the same address.
  • Page 26 5. Accessing TCP Devices from RTU file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Numbers in the First RTU Address In column must be unique. If an RTU address is duplicated, only the first entry will be used. When you have the unique situation of the TCP device being another gateaway, then you have the option of mapping a range of RTU addresses to a single TCP IP address.
  • Page 27 5. Accessing TCP Devices from RTU file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... To remove a device from the list, simply set its count ("No. Units at this IP") to zero. When this configuration is saved, any lines with a count of zero are skipped in writing the XML file.
  • Page 28 5. Accessing TCP Devices from RTU file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... corresponding unit number from the map table. The gateway will then transmit the request on the TCP network and then wait for a response. If the TCP device fails to connect or times out, the gateway will return exception code 11 to the RTU master.
  • Page 29 6. Error Counts and Packet Log file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... 6. Error Counts and Packet Log Reviewing Error Counts The Error Counts page is the first place to look if you are not getting the responses you expect. Messages are tabulated by RTU address regardless of operating mode. Total messages tabulates all messages including exception messages and requests that get no response.
  • Page 30 6. Error Counts and Packet Log file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... IMPORTANT: If you observe timeouts (no-response errors) at your Modbus RTU master or Modbus TCP client, but do not see no-response errors tabulated here, then the timeout setting in your master or client may be too short. If the device on the other side of this gateway fails to respond, it will be logged as a no-response error here, and your master/client should receive an exception 11 report.
  • Page 31 6. Error Counts and Packet Log file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Connection status codes you may see include: 5 = Connection attempt timed out, unable to establish connection (usually means remote device not connected or not reachable) 104 = Connection reset by peer 111 = Connection refused 113 = Connection aborted 114 = Network is unreachable...
  • Page 32 6. Error Counts and Packet Log file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... When accessing TCP devices from RTU, then there is a number with "TCP" in the Source/Dest column. This number is the device number as listed on the TCP Device Map. The number indicated along with "RTU" is the RTU slave address as recognized on the RTU link.
  • Page 33 6. Error Counts and Packet Log file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... The above examples illustrated short messages reading only a couple of registers. Longer messages will also be displayed in their entirety. In this particular example, the Modbus holding registers contained a lot of uneventful zeroes. 5 of 6 5/4/2021, 9:56 AM...
  • Page 34 6. Error Counts and Packet Log file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... 6 of 6 5/4/2021, 9:56 AM...

  • Page 35: Hardware Details

    A. Hardware Details file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Appendix A Hardware Details Wiring Wiring for the Babel Buster BB3-6101 is illustrated below. Wiring for the Babel Buster MX-61 is illustrated below. 1 of 10 5/4/2021, 9:57 AM...
  • Page 36 A. Hardware Details file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Wire the gateway as illustrated. Follow all conventional standards for wiring of EIA-485 networks when connecting the Modbus RTU EIA-485 (RS485) network. This includes use and termination of shield, termination of the network, and grounding. IMPORTANT: Although EIA-485 (RS485) is thought of as a 2-wire network, you MUST include a third conductor connected to GND or common at each device so that all devices are operating at close to the same ground potential.
  • Page 37 A. Hardware Details file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Front Panel LED Indicators A.2.1 BB3-6101 LED Indicators Power-up LED behavior: On power up, the Reply LED will remain on solid red for about 20 seconds, then the Request and Reply LEDs will do a "lamp test" where Request is yellow and Reply is Red simultaneously for about 1 second, and then both Request and Reply turn green simultaneously for about 1 second.
  • Page 38 A. Hardware Details file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... detected. Yellow LED indicates an Ethernet link is present. This indicator Ethernet Link will light if a link is present regardless of processor or network activity. If not lit, check network wiring. Blue LED (internal) on any time power is present and internal Status power supply is functioning.
  • Page 39 A. Hardware Details file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Operating as Modbus Master, flashes green each time a good response is received. Reply (green) Operating as Modbus Slave, flashes green each time a good response is sent. Green LED is on solid during portions of the boot-up process, Ethernet Activity and then flashes briefly when Ethernet network traffic is detected.
  • Page 40 A. Hardware Details file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Soft Configuration Reset Soft reset should be used to remove all configuration information any time you do have the ability to connect to the gateway's web user interface. The "Clear Configuration" action is described in Section 3.1.5. Using the forced hard reset should only be used as a last resort if you are unable to connect to the gateway because the SSL certificates are invalid for a secure connection or you are unable to recover the lost IP address.
  • Page 41 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... source that starts with “Digiboar_”. This label comes from the fact that the server modules used on Control Solutions IP products are made by Digi International, previously known as “Digiboard”. There will usually be one or more "pings" or ARP packets to the device's own IP address, and one last ping to its own address plus one.
  • Page 42 Installing this jumper prior to power-up causes the server to go into TFTP firmware update mode. Normally you would perform a firmware update by simply uploading a new image.bin file (provided by Control Solutions tech support) using the BB3-6101/MX-61's internal FTP server and a command line FTP session on your PC (Linux or Windows command line).
  • Page 43 A. Hardware Details file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... File System Wipe: On rare occasion, the Flash file system has been observed to get corrupted as a result of losing power while a write operation was in progress. This is most effectively confirmed by opening a command prompt FTP session (Windows 10 PowerShell) to try to view the files in the Flash file system.
  • Page 44 A. Hardware Details file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... utilization indicated on the Resources page in your device is above about 30%, the FTP upload will fail, and thus the firmware update will not take place. You have two choices: (1) Use the TFTP approach, or (2) Temporarily reconfigure your gateway to use a minimum of resources to free up space to temporarily buffer the image.bin file upload.
  • Page 45 B. Modbus Reference Information file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Appendix B Modbus Reference Information Function Codes, Error Codes, and More Modbus Register Types The types of registers referenced in Modbus devices include the following: • Coil (Discrete Output) • Discrete Input •...
  • Page 46 B. Modbus Reference Information file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Write Multiple Coils Write Multiple Holding Registers Modbus Exception (error) Codes When a Modbus slave recognizes a packet, but determines that there is an error in the request, it will return an exception code reply instead of a data reply. The exception reply consists of the slave address or unit number, a copy of the function code with the high bit set, and an exception code.
  • Page 47 Control Solutions default order. Control Solutions Modbus products all default to placing the high order register first, or in the lower numbered register. This is known as "big endian", and is consistent with Modbus protocol which is by definition big endian.
  • Page 48 Register #1 is address zero. If it is not clear whether your documentation refers to register or address, and you are not getting the expected result, try plus or minus one for register number. All Control Solutions products refer to register numbers in configuration software or web pages. However, some manufacturers document their devices showing address, not register numbers.

  • Page 49: Troubleshooting

    C. Trouble Shooting file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Appendix C Trouble Shooting Modbus RTU Trouble Shooting You will find message and error counters listed on the Error Counts (see section 6). There is also the packet log where you can see what messages are passing back and forth.
  • Page 50 C. Trouble Shooting file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Wireshark Hardware Requirements There are no particular hardware requirements regarding the PC you run Wireshark on. Basically anything running any version of Windows can run Wireshark. There are also Linux and Mac versions. The "hardware requirement"...
  • Page 51 C. Trouble Shooting file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Example of Using Wireshark If you use Wireshark to capture Modbus TCP traffic, and set the filter to "modbus", your display will be something similar to what is pictured below. Click on any request or reply, and you can expand the interpretation of the Modbus message in the middle section of the screen.
  • Page 52 D. SSL Certificates for Secure Web (HTTPS) file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... Appendix D SSL Certificates for Secure Web (HTTPS) The secure web server (HTTPS) requires SSL certificates in order to establish secure connections. The HTTPS certificates are only required if HTTPS is enabled on the Network configuration page in the Babel Buster BB3-6101/MX-61.
  • Page 53 D. SSL Certificates for Secure Web (HTTPS) file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... External Certificates There are three certificates that you must generate and upload to use SSL certificates other than the self-generated X.509 certificates. The required certificates are as follows, and must use exactly these names. ca.crt CA Root certificate in PEM format server.crt...
  • Page 54 The following script, run on a Linux system with OpenSSL installed, will generate the three required SSL certificate files. It will generate a number of intermediate files as well - you don't need to upload them. Replace references to Control Solutions in this script with your own company name.
  • Page 55 -out client.key ${BITS} # ok, and now the MAIN CA openssl req -x509 -${HASH} -nodes -days 10000 -newkey rsa:${BITS} -keyout ca.key -out ca.crt -subj "/CN=Main CA Certificate/O=Control Solutions Inc./C=US/ST=Minnesota/L=St Paul" ###### # Create a CSR for both server and client # Replace these values with one appropriate for your organization openssl req -out server.csr -key server.key -new -subj "/CN=${SNAME}...
  • Page 56 D. SSL Certificates for Secure Web (HTTPS) file:///C:/AAA_CSI/Literature/2021 User Guides/BB3-6101-MX-61 Use... -set_serial ${SN}02 -out client.crt -${HASH} # Create a windows file to import the client keys if needed in this format openssl pkcs12 -export -clcerts -in client.crt -inkey client.key -out client.p12 # Create the client keys as a complete pem file if needed in this format openssl pkcs12 -in client.p12 -out client-full.pem -clcerts...

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