Modbus Gateway MGate MB3660-8 Series

- Supports Auto Device Routing for easy configuration
- Supports route by TCP port or IP address for flexible deployment
- Innovative Command Learning for improving system performance
- Supports agent mode for high performance through active and parallel polling of serial devices
- Supports Modbus serial master to Modbus serial slave communications
- 2 Ethernet ports with the same IP or dual IP addresses for network redundancy
- SD card for configuration backup/duplication and event logs
- Accessed by up to 256 Modbus TCP clients
- Connects up to Modbus 128 TCP servers
- Optional RJ45 serial interface (for “-J” models)
- Optional Serial port with 2 kV isolation protection (for “-I” models)
- Dual VDC or VAC power inputs with wide power input range
- Embedded traffic monitoring/diagnostic information for easy troubleshooting
- Status monitoring and fault protection for easy maintenance

Moxa MGate MB3660-8 are redundant Modbus gateways that convert between the Modbus TCP and Modbus RTU/ASCII protocols. They can be accessed by up to 256 TCP master/client devices, or connect to 128 TCP slave/server devices. Routing through the serial ports can be controlled by IP address, TCP port number, or ID mapping. Serial-port routing by designated TCP port and IP address allows access for up to 4 TCP clients/masters, while routing by ID mapping (slave ID table) allows access for up to 256 TCP clients/masters. Moxa MGate MB3660-8 gateways are designed to easily integrate Modbus TCP and RTU/ASCII networks. The MGate MB3660 gateways offer features that make network integration easy with any Modbus network. Isolation model with 2-kV isolation protection area available for power substation applications. 

For large-scale Modbus deployments, Moxa MB3660-8 can manage up to 248 serial slave nodes. (Modbus standard only defines Modbus IDs from 1 to 247). Each RS-232/422/485 serial port can be configured individually for Modbus RTU or Modbus ASCII operation and for different baudrates, allowing both types of networks to be integrated with Modbus TCP through one Modbus gateway.

High Performance with Innovative Command Learning
Moxa MGate MB3660 gateways support two communication modes: transparent mode and agent mode. For transparent mode, the gateway converts Modbus commands from Modbus TCP to Modbus RTU/ASCII, and vice versa, or from serial (master) to serial (slave). However, since only one Modbus protocol request-response action can be executed at any given time, each Modbus device has to wait its turn, resulting in poorer performance.

To provide better performance, MGate MB3660 features an innovative Command Learning function. It is activated with a single mouse click. Once activated, the gateway will learn and remember the Modbus commands it receives, and once a command has been learned, the gateway will act as though it were in agent mode, and actively send Modbus requests to the relevant Modbus devices. As data is saved in a different memory space that can be accessed by SCADA, the SCADA system can retrieve Modbus response data directly from the gateway’s memory, instead of waiting for the data to pass through Modbus devices. This feature improves communication performance.

Auto-Device Routing for Easy Configuration
Moxa’s Auto-Device Routing function helps eliminate many of the problems and inconveniences encountered by engineers who need to configure large numbers of Modbus devices. Set up a slave ID routing table and configure Modbus gateways to automatically detect Modbus requests from a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system on a mouse click. By removing the need to manually create the slave ID routing table, the Auto-Device Routing function saves engineers significant time and reduces cost.

Modbus Gateway with Power and Ethernet Redundancy
For complicated Modbus system, redundancy is critical. Moxa MGate MB3660-8 supports redundancy for both power input and Ethernet connection. MGate MB3660 gateways has dual AC or DC power inputs for power redundancy, and have dual Ethernet ports (with different IPs) for network redundancy. To accommodate different types of applications, the dual Ethernet ports can be configured in one of two ways:

(1) Using the same IP for both Ethernet ports. Moxa MGate MB3660 gateway will automatically switch to the backup LAN when the main LAN fails.

(2) Use different IP addresses for each of the two Ethernet ports. Modbus clients/masters can use both Ethernet ports to communicate with Modbus RTU/ASCII slave devices at the same time.