Hello, I am looking into implementing fieldbus connectivity into a server software that collects data from remote devices. My plan insofar has been to implement a Modbus TCP stack on the server, represent my data as virtual slave(s) and use an Anybus X-Gateway for physically connecting the server to a fieldbus network.
Now, as to my real question, I do not quite understand if I should choose a gateway with master or slave interface for the Modbus TCP side. According to the HMS instructional videos, a gateway with master interface pointing to your slaves is meant for networks that don’t have an existing Master device such as a PLC . However, I understand that if a slave interface is used, queries from the Master device from the other side of the gateway (let’s say for example Profibus) should be translated and pass through to my virtual slaves all the same.
Is my understanding correct? For my use case, where one of the “networks” is simply a virtual representation of devices, does it matter whether or not I choose a gateway with Master or slave interface? Does a gateway with a slave Modbus TCP interface know how to translate queries from a Profibus or other fieldbus Master and pass them through in Modbus TCP format? I believe a gateway with Master interface is certain to work, but there are some differences in the specs between master/slave interface gateways which might favour a slave interface, if one can be used for my purposes.
Gateways I’ve been looking at for reference: