New PROFIBUS DP Bus Monitor with USB interface

The development of products for PROFIBUS as well as the implementation, diagnostics and maintenance of PROFIBUS networks are the fields of application of COMSOFT's Bus Monitor.

The new version of the PROFIBUS diagnosis tool Bus Monitor has the size of a standard PROFIBUS plug. The otherwise necessary active probe head is deleted without substitution. The USB 2.0 interface provides fast and reliable plug and play PC connection. The low power requirement (approx. 40 mA) through the USB interface allows long run-time battery option of modern notebooks. The handling is user-friendly without time consuming training.

In online operation, the PROFIBUS Bus Monitor records the telegram data traffic up to a baud rate of 12 Mbit/s with single bit accuracy. The passive RS485 interface integrated in the plug guarantees a measurement at the bus without interfering with the bus physics. During the tests a list is generated showing all existing devices/stations with their respective addresses, inactive work stations are identified immediately. Significant values are presented in a bar chart. The logging function for long-term supervision of networks records changes of the bus configuration and evaluates the bus characteristics statistically.

The integrated remote control feature applies to any arbitrary network PC. Recording conditions, such as for filtering and triggering, can thus be set, the recording process started and stopped and the recorded data be stored.

In offline mode, the recorded messages are displayed. They are decoded on different levels for L2, DP and FMS. A precise time stamp in milliseconds or bit times distinguishes between absolute time and time difference of succeeding messages. A network configuration database is used for the interpretation of user data. Stations and variables are displayed with their names, variable values are assigned according to their corresponding data type.

The additional, separately available software modules for long-term recording, DP Slave status analysis and OPC based access extend the Bus Monitor's field of application substantially.