Connecting KepServerEnterprise with multiple Modbus devices to talk to FTView SE

Question

I have used Modbus Device Simulator (PyModbus) to run 200 Battery, 90 PCS and 10 FIP Modbus devices on localhost each with 1000+ registers.

The simulator created devices sequentially from a port you specify, e.g. 300 devices starting on port 6001 will occupy the ports 6001-6300 with specified number of registers. Refer the attached test screenshots.

All simulator devices are working correctly and can see values update with open ModScan client software, but all the values are zeroed in the OPC Quick client and in FT View Live Data Test Client even though the comms quality is Good. Refer the ModScan Output image.

Unfortunately, I cannot set the ports for the channels independently. As soon as I change the port on one channel, same port gets assigned for all channels.

I tried using FactoryTalk Live Data Test Client, with static registers (no random values) and I was able to read and write values from OPC and FT test client.

The KepServer Enterprise 6.18 and the monitoring client (FTView SE 16) are running on the same virtual machine.

As soon as I run random values in the register, the Test Client values get zeroed. I also read on another thread, that the advanced tags were not included in some license package, which is why the Modbus clients only output zeros after 2 hours.

Is it possible to setup multiple instances of PyModbus TCP device simulators, and create lots of tags with cell data in KepServer to read it on FTview SE on the same machine?

MKhatri · Answer

Greetings!

Yes, it is possible to set up multiple PyModbus TCP simulators and read their data in Kepware and FTView SE on the same machine. However, you’ll need to carefully manage port assignments, ensure proper channel configurations in Kepware, and verify your license supports advanced tag features.

Recommended Solutions: -
1. Multiple PyModbus Instances
Yes, you can run multiple PyModbus TCP simulators on the same machine:

Use different ports for each instance.
Launch each simulator in a separate terminal or script with unique port assignments.
Ensure Kepware channels are configured to match these ports.

2. Kepware Configuration Tips

Create separate channels for each simulator group (Battery, PCS, FIP).
Assign unique ports manually in each channel.
If Kepware overrides ports globally, consider:

Using different IPs via virtual adapters.
Running simulators on separate VMs or containers to isolate port bindings.

3. Licensing Check

Verify if your Kepware license includes Advanced Tags.
If not, consider upgrading or using static tags only.
You can check license details in the Kepware UI or via the https://my.kepware.com/s/login/.

4. FactoryTalk View SE Setup

Ensure FTView SE is configured to read from correct OPC tags.
Use static tag groups if random values cause issues.
Consider using FactoryTalk Historian for better tag management and logging.

Regards,
Mohit

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