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The Lobaro Hybrid Modbus Gateway is a simple to use, cost and energy efficient device that reads, caches and forwards data via Modbus from any number of Modbus enabled devices into the Internet.

The Gateway can be used to communicate with Modbus Slave devices (ASCII/RTU/TCP) on a RS-485 bus over NB-IoT, LTE-CatM1, LoRaWAN or LAN. Modbus commands can be transmitted via Downlink message to the Gateway and are forwarded by the Bridge to the connected Slave Devices. Received responses are forwarded as Uplink messages to the Lobaro IoT Platform. The Modbus Gateway can also be configured to execute Modbus commands regularly and report the responses at time of execution.

The Modbus Gateway supports reading of all four object types that can be provided by Modbus slave devices: Coil, Discrete Input, Input Register, and Holding Register. It also supports writing values to all writable objects: Coils and Holding Registers. Multiple different slave devices on the Bus can be accessed individually by a single Gateway device. Reading intervals and register definitions can be configured very flexibly to suit individual requirements.

Quick start guide

For details about each Steps please refer to the related detailed sections of the Manual below.

• Make sure the SIM card is inserted correctly when using NB-IoT or LTE-CatM1.
• Connect the Modbus Gateway to your Modbus Slave Devices
  • Via RS485 connector using a twisted pair cable: A to A, B to B, and GND to GND (GND is not strictly necessary but enhances the connection. Not all slave devices supply a GND connector).
  • Via ETH connector for Modbus TCP using a RJ45 LAN cable.
• Connect the Modbus Bridge to a computer using the Lobaro Configuration Adapter and the Lobaro Maintenance Tool.
• Connect power to the device - powering with the configuration adapter does not work.
• Make sure the configuration is correct to connect to the Internet (depends on you connection method: Mobile, LoRaWAN or LAN.
• Make sure the configuration is correct to read out your desired Modbus device (e.g. ASCII/RTU, Baud, Data Length, Stop Bits, Parity and Modbus Command).
• Optionally: Switch to the Log tab of the Lobaro Tool to see if the device is connecting and working as expected.
• Go to The Lobaro Platform and log into your account.
• Go to "Devices" and select your "Hybrid Modbus Gateway".
• If you have several Gateways: the "Address" is printed on the device's case as "DevEUI".
• You should see all uplinks the Gateway collected so far. Next step is to configure your individual Device Type to display you slaves data or forward data to your own IT.

Supported Devices

The Lobaro Modbus Gateway works with all devices that act as a Modbus Client using RTU, ASCII or TCP. Some devices that have been used successfully with the Gateways are:

Modbus Introduction

For an overview about the Modbus protocol please refer to our documentation page about Modbus.

For a deeper introduction into Modbus please visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modbus.

Setting up the device

Interfaces

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The same antenna is also used for communication via NB-IoT and LTE Cat-M1. A Nano SIM (4FF) is required for mobile connectivity.

Properties of compatible SMA Antennas: 

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Networking Parameters

Name	Description	Default Value	Value Description & Examples
WAN	Radio technology used for

data uploads

connection to backend

lte

"lte"

lte: use either cellular NB-IoT or LTE-M nbiot: use cellular NB-IoT

for uplinks"lorawan"

ltem: use cellular LTE-M lorawan: use LoRaWAN with OTAA lorawan-abp: use LoRaWAN

for uplinks

with ABP

"

lan

"

: use LAN

for uplinks

/Ethernet (not supported, yet)
Host	Hostname / IP of the Lobaro Platform API Not used for LoRaWAN uplink	94.130.20.37	94.130.20.37 = backend.lobaro.com  DNS is not supported yet
Port	Port number of the Lobaro Platform API Not used for LoRaWAN uplink	5683

NB-IoT Parameters (WAN = "lte", "nbiot", "ltem")

The NB-IoT LTE functionality is enabled if the WAN parameter is set to "lte". A , nbiot, or ltem. Using this mode requires an appropriate SIM-Card has to be inserted.

LoRaWAN Parameters (WAN = "lorawan", "lorawan-abp")

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Name	Description	Default Value	Value Description & Examples
DevEUI	DevEUI used to identify the Device	Device's own DevEUI as printed on label	8 bytes = 16 hex digits, e.g. 0123456789abcdef
JoinEUI	EUI used for OTAA (aka AppEUI)	Individual default value for each device	8 bytes = 16 hex digits, e.g. 0123456789abcdef
AppKey	AES Key used for LoRaWAN	Individual default value for each device	16 bytes = 32 hex digits, e.g. 0123456789abcdef001122334455667788
SF	Minimal Spreading Factor used	12	7-12, used after reset, can be decreased by ADR during operation (but not increased)

Warning
When changing the value for AppKey make sure you are using a good random source and keep the value secret. With this value it is possible to take control over the device when it reboots.

OTAA - Over the Air Activation

The preferred method to use LoRaWAN is Over The Air Activation (OTAA). When WAN="lorawan" the device uses the values to perform an OTAA Join with the LoRaWAN Network Server. Make sure the values for DevEUI, JoinEUI, and AppKey match.

ABP - Activation by personalisation

Our devices support activation by personalisation (ABP) when WAN="lorawan-abp". This mode is useful for devices that have a bad reception. You will have to synchronise session keys by hand between the device and your Network Server when using ABP.

TODO

LoRaWAN Parameters (WAN = "lorawan")

LAN Parameters (WAN = "lan")

Connection via LAN/Ethernet is not supported, yet.

Modbus related Parameters

^† See also our Introduction to Cron expressions.

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