DATA CONTROL
GATEWAYS
Make Systems
Multilingual
Industrial Ethernet gateways
streamline equipment
communication by handling
protocol conversion. They'll also
monitor energy use and add
functionality to older equipment.
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MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
Rick Carter
Executive Editor
IF YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT the industrial Ethernet
gateway, you may be missing an opportunity to improve
communication among your automated equipment, make
older equipment more functional, and simplify activities
such as network troubleshooting and energy monitoring. The
Ethernet gateway-also referred to as a protocol converter
or simply a gateway-is a standalone device that converts a
signal from one protocol to another. It can convert a Modbus
RTU (remote terminal unit) to Modbus TCP (transmission
control protocol), for example, or make other conversions,
such as Modbus RTU to PROFIBUS or Profinet. It achieves
this with a built-in CPU and memory-storage capability that
allows connected equipment to communicate directly with
the gateway instead of with each other using the PLC. This
JUNE 2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology June 2015