TwinCAT and MOXA

Hello Friends,
I have query regarding TwinCat and one of the MOXA product which is MGate 5101-PBM-MN. I have never worked with this device before. The way I can understand is this is a master device in the network and TwinCAT is slave. I have uploaded the GSD files of MOXA to TwinCAT but then it started asking all sort of different questions. In TwinCAT when I go for append module, I dont know which option to choose out of approx. 100. Plus this MOXA unit which I understand is a kind of converter from profibus to different protocol ( may be wrong). This will be supplied by customer and as a hardware it is sitting at one of customer's test facility centre. A million dollar question Do I need to have this hardware with me to go ahead with programming ? I know I can disable this device in TwinCAT and do the programming but in future is it simply enabling this port and asking customer to connect this device via profibus. I bet it cannot be as simple as it sounds.
Any help in this matter will be highly appreciated.

Regards
Manoj

Erm...

TWinCAT is the programming software, not a hardware environment which could be master or slave. Once this said...

As far as I've seen on Internet, this device converts from Modbus TCP to Profibus and in the other way round.

You've not specified which kind of controller from Beckhoff you are using.

If you are on the "PC" kind (CX and higher) converting from Profibus to Modbus has no sense as you could do Modbus directly without adding anything else than a software library.

If you plan to do from Modbus to Profibus then GSD files have nothing to do here.

At the end you will have to specify a port master or slave and set a data structure (a set of variables) that will be the space shared between devices in System Manager.

After that, you could fill that "buffer" with your data.

Specify which is the way you need to follow Profibus->Modbus or Modbus->profibus and which kind of controller you are using. And we will have more details to help you.

Good luck!

Hello Joan,
Thanks for quick reply.
The CX I am using is CX2020-B310. Sorry to say TwinCAT as a hardware I should have said CX instead. As I mentioned in my previous post that this is a customer hardware which he already have. The only thing he ask me to have is Profibus slave which is CX2020-B310.
Regarding the route you were asking Profibus-Modbus or the other way around. I think it will act both way.
Correct me if I am wrong, while sending or receiving data we are performing one of the conversion anyway. The way I understand is if CX is sending status then it is profibus to modbus and if CX is receiving instructions then it is Modbus to Profibus.

Please suggest/comment

Regards
Manoj