Zero-recovery-time redundancy is one thing. Getting your clocks right across that redundant network is another. In substation automation and industrial control, time synchronization isn’t optional — protection functions, event logging, and sampled value streams all depend on it. This article explains how PTP works specifically in PRP and HSR environments, what the standard requires, and where the practical… Read More »
HSR gives you zero recovery time. That part is guaranteed by the protocol. What’s not guaranteed — and what the standard deliberately leaves to implementation — is how much latency each node adds to the ring. That accumulates. Get the ring sizing wrong and you can end up with end-to-end delays that cause problems for time-sensitive applications, even… Read More »
PRP and HSR both deliver zero-recovery-time redundancy — but they work differently, and mixing them takes more than just plugging cables together. This guide walks through every connection scenario defined in IEC 62439-3, what device you need for each one, and what to watch out for when you’re laying out the topology. Before You Start: Know What You’re… Read More »
If you’re working with PRP or HSR networks, you’ll run into the RedBox and QuadBox. They solve two different problems: the RedBox gets non-redundant devices onto a redundant network; the QuadBox ties two HSR rings together. This article breaks down how each one works, what the standard actually specifies, and where the two are commonly confused. RedBox: The… Read More »
A practical engineering guide to configure Modbus TCP on the Mitsubishi MELSEC iQ-R series — quick setup, GX Works3 parameters, MODBUS Device Assignment, function codes, exception codes, float/endian handling, polling timing, and field troubleshooting Quick Setup (5 Steps) If you just need it working fast, here’s the short path: Step Action 1 GX Works3 → Module Parameter →… Read More »
The Schneider Modicon M340 PLC is one of the most widely deployed PLCs in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for water treatment, building automation, energy management, and machine control. Modbus TCP is its default Ethernet protocol — the embedded CPU Ethernet port is a Modbus TCP server out of the box. This guide shows you how to… Read More »
Every node in an OPC UA address space — every variable, object, method, and data type — has a unique address called a NodeId. When you read a tag value, browse the address space, or call a method, you are using a NodeId. NodeIds are the OPC UA equivalent of register addresses in Modbus or class/instance/attribute paths in… Read More »
A complete reference for PROFINET ports — covering UDP 34962 (RT Unicast), UDP 34963 (RT Multicast), UDP 34964 (RPC Context Manager), UDP 49152, the Ethertype 0x8892 for cyclic I/O, MRP Ethertype 0x88E3, firewall rules, and Wireshark filters Introduction PROFINET ports are different from every other industrial protocol. Unlike Modbus (port 502), DNP3 (port 20000), or IEC 104 (port… Read More »
A practical reference for engineers covering every Modbus exception code (01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 08, 0A, 0B) — what each code means, what causes it, how to fix it, and how to identify exception responses in Wireshark Introduction When a Modbus master sends a request to a slave, four things can happen: This article covers case… Read More »
OPC UA uses TCP port 4840 by default. This single port carries everything OPC UA does — discovery, session establishment, reading tags, writing values, subscriptions, method calls, and historical data access. Unlike OPC Classic (which used DCOM with dynamic port allocation and was a firewall nightmare), OPC UA uses one well-known port that works cleanly through NAT, proxies,… Read More »