Instructions

Doc: HMSI-27-314, Rev. 3.10Anybus Communicator EtherNet/IP / Modbus-TCP User Manual
Chapter 2
2. Basic Operation
2.1 General
The Anybus Communicator is designed to exchange data between a serial sub-network and a higher level
network. Unlike most other similar devices, the Anybus Communicator has no fixed protocol for the
sub-network, and consequently can be configured to handle almost any form of serial communication.
The gateway can issue serial telegrams cyclically, on change of state, or based on trigger events issued by
the control system in the higher level network (i.e. the fieldbus master or PLC). It can also monitor cer-
tain aspects of the sub-network communication and notify the higher level network when data has
changed.
An essential part of the Anybus Communicator package is Anybus Configuration Manager (ACM), a
Windows-based application used to supply the gateway with a description of the sub-network protocol.
No programming skills are required; instead, a visual protocol description-system is used to specify the
different parts of the serial communication.