Traditionally, engineers have to arrange the slave IDs of all the Modbus serial devices when using multiple ports of Modbus-serial-to-Modbus-TCP gateways because it is restrained by only one TCP, connection with a slave ID range from 1 to 254. However, this is becoming a nightmare for engineers due to the increasing complexity of field devices, especially when dealing with an extension project. With the Moxa MGate MB3000 series, each serial port can be segmented by a dedicated TCP port, or an IP address, to create an independent connection to avoid slave ID conflicts.

Enabling Ethernet-based remote access and monitoring systems is a growing trend, however, a local operation still has significance in this transition period. With the Serial Redirector function, the local control devices such as HMI, which is connected to serial field devices, can be kept while implementing a TCP network.

One of the major challenges in commissioning is to simplify the system architecture. With the cascade feature, fewer switches are needed, and users also save on cabling costs as well as time and effort when setting up their system.