Serial Device Packet Data Monitoring. MODBUS Protocol Recording and Decoding

Serial Devices Monitoring

The Serial Monitor automatically detects all installed serial ports and PnP or virtual serial devices and displays them, grouping by device class. For each device, device's friendly name, description, location information and manufacturer's name are displayed. The list is automatically updated every time you plug or unplug a serial device.

The special "Next connected device" item allows you to monitor the next device you plug into your computer.

Obtaining Additional Information

Click on the device in a list to get its capabilities information, which is displayed in the Serial Device Information window.

Controlling Serial Devices

You can restart the selected serial device or view its properties. These and other options are easily accessed through the popup menu.

Packet View Visualizer (Serial)

The Packet View visualizer provides the combination of brief packet information for each monitored packet and in-depth analyzis for an individually selected packet. It is structurally divided into two panes.

The upper pane displays brief information for each monitored packet in several columns in a table. Use the mouse to change the columns' size and position as well as to change the relative size of the upper and lower panes.

To locate the specific packet use either the Go to Packet or Find commands. Use the Copy and Export commands to copy/export all or some of the monitored packets in the same way you see them on the screen.

The lower pane lists all other supported and installed visualizers which are used to display the individual packet information. Once you select the packet in the upper pane, all its internal fields are decoded and displayed in the visualizers in the lower pane. For example, select a MODBUS protocol packet to see it decoded in Request View and MODBUS View visualizers.

Request View Visualizer (Serial)

The Request View visualizer displays each monitored packet. It decodes the packet's internal fields, and works in two modes - Basic and Complete. In Basic mode only the main packet fields are decoded and displayed, while some others being available as popup hints. In Complete mode the entire packet is decoded and all accompanying data is provided in Hex/ASCII view. You can switch between two modes at any time and, moreover, you can switch the mode for individual packets.

The contents of the visualizer can be copied into the Clipboard or exported into the file in various formats. Use the mouse to select the portion to copy/export or leave the selection empty to copy the entire visualizer contents.

Use the powerful Find and Go to Packet commands to locate the information you need.

With outstanding performance at the first place, the Request View visualizer is your best tool to analyze monitored data.

Data View Visualizer (Serial)

The Data View visualizer has two panes. It displays incoming data in one pane and outgoing data in another one.

The contents of each pane can be copied into the Clipboard or exported into the file in various formats. Use the mouse to select the portion to copy/export or leave the selection empty to copy the entire pane.

Use the powerful Find and Go to Packet commands to locate the information you need.

Its unique data filtering capabilities make this visualizer a very handy protocol analyzis tool.

Console View Visualizer (Serial)

Console View visualizer is especially useful while monitoring a text-based protocol. It displays incoming and outgoing text data. Instead of exposing data as individual packets, as most other visualizers do, it groups data according to the underlying text protocol. You will easily see the request sent to the device as well as device's response.

The visualizer supports line numbering, copying and exporting functions as well as Find and Go To Packet commands.

Line View Visualizer (Serial)

When monitoring a modem connection, the Line View visualizer may reproduce the well-known modem "lamps", which they used to have on older modems. Most modern modems and all kind of internal or software-based modems do not have these lamps now. Taking into account the fact that those lamps used to depict the state of corresponding signal "lines", it sometimes maybe important to control their state. The Line View visualizer is the feature that shows you the required information.

General Filtering Feature

Device Monitoring Studio offers a generic filtering feature, which allows you to configure filtering for different visualizers and create filtering schemes and quickly apply them to different visualizer windows.

Statistics Visualizer

This is the most exciting visualizer the Device Monitoring Studio has! It is capable of displaying the graphical relationship for various monitored data statistics. It has a large number of counters: Packets Total/sec, Bytes Total/sec, Bytes Read/sec, Bytes Written/sec, IO Packets/sec.

You can configure this visualizer in an outstanding number of ways: you can scroll horizontally to view any portion of data, change the horizontal scale, change the vertical scale or use the auto fit option to automatically fit all data on the screen. You can even change the scale for each variable individually!

You can switch the graphic from polyline to curves with gradient fill to make the visual appearance more comfortable. Use the Copy or Export commands to copy the bitmap or export it to the file in various formats, including PNG and JPEG.

This visualizer also displays variable statistics in the table, which is visible below the plot data. It displays the maximum, average, total and last values for each variable.

Click anywhere on the plot to place a measuring line, which will scan the monitored data, displaying the momentary values for you.

Session Recording

All Device Monitoring Studio visualizers work in real time - you monitor the device and see the packets in visualizers. If you need to record a session and analyze it later, use the session recording!

There are variety of options available for you: you can use Auto Start Recording feature to automatically start recording of new monitoring session; use Start/Stop Recording command to selectively start and stop recording. You can even name the individual data stream!

If you forgot to start recording, use the Save to Log command to save monitored data to a log.

Log File Playback

The Playback tool window lists all recorded log files, grouping them either by device name or by recording date. For each log file various information is displayed, including the log file size and the list of streams. To playback the log file, select the stream, configure the visualizers, select the time range and playback speed and start the monitoring session.

You can change the speed of playback at any time later as well. The unique Continuous mode allows you to quickly transfer stream data into visualizers.

Device Monitoring Studio provides you with a way to manage the recorded logs via the commands in the menu and popup menu.

Serial Bridge

Serial Bridge ("Protocol Analyzer" in the previous product versions) is used to monitor the serial connection between two distinct serial devices. In this case, the existing connection between devices is broken and both devices are connected to two computer serial ports. The Serial Monitor then establishes a virtual link between them and monitors the resulting virtual connection.

You provide connection settings (such as baud rate, parity etc.) for both ends of the link and you are even allowed to specify different settings for both ends, if you need to.

Request View Visualizer (Bridge)

The Request View visualizer displays each monitored packet. It decodes the packet's internal fields, and works in two modes - Basic and Complete. In Basic mode only the main packet fields are decoded and displayed, while some others are available as popup hints. In Complete mode the entire packet is decoded and all accompanying data is provided in Hex/ASCII view. You can switch between two modes at any time and, moreover, you can switch the mode for individual packets.

Use the powerful Find and Go to Packet commands to locate the information you need.

With outstanding performance at the first place, the Request View visualizer is your best tool to analyze monitored data.

Data View Visualizer (Bridge)

The Data View visualizer has two panes. It displays data that comes from one end of the virtual link in the top pane and data that comes from another end in the bottom pane.

Use the powerful Find and Go to Packet commands to locate the information you need.

Its unique data filtering capabilities make this visualizer a very handy protocol analyzis tool.

PPP View Visualizer

The Serial PPP View visualizer can be used to decode Point-to-Point Protocol packets, as well as a number of packets that can be encapsulated in PPP packets.

The current version of the visualizer supports the following protocols:

Novell IPX
OSI Network Layer Control Protocol
DECnet Phase IV Control Protocol
Appletalk Control Protocol
Link Control Protocol
Password Authentication Protocol
Link Quality Report
Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol
Multilink Protocol
Compression Control Protocol
Extensible Authentication Protocol
NETBIOS Protocol

MODBUS View Visualizer (Serial&Bridge)

MODBUS is an application layer messaging protocol, positioned at level 7 of the OSI model, that provides client/server communication between devices connected on different types of buses or networks.

MODBUS View visualizer is compliant with MODBUS APPLICATION PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION V1.1a.

MODBUS View visualizer parses MODBUS protocol requests and responses, while the MODBUS Send Module can be used to construct and send MODBUS requests only. The visualizer is part of the monitoring infrastructure, that is you can use it to monitor the existing connection between the application and a serial device. The MODBUS Send Module, on the other hand, allows you to control the MODBUS-compliant device without the need of any third party controlling application. In this case the MODBUS View visualizer, if configured, can be used to see the requests sent by the MODBUS Send Module and packets the device respond with.

Serial Terminal

The built-in Serial Terminal module is used to create serial terminal sessions. Once created, the session can be used to send text or binary data to a connected serial device and to receive device's responses.

Combined with Serial Monitor's monitoring capabilities, it becomes a powerful debugging and protocol testing tool. Combined with built-in scripting support, it delivers even more power and becomes the versatile debugging tool.

MODBUS Send

MODBUS Send window provides a really easy way to control a MODBUS-compatible device. It can come of greate help when you need to debug your device, for example, to verify its responses. You can set all parameters for any standard or user-defined MODBUS function visually and then just click on the Send button. Result rollout will dynamically reflect the changes you make.

It is convenient to use a MODBUS View visualizer in conjunction with a MODBUS Send window for two-way debugging (to view both requests and responses).

Scripting Module

The built-in scripting support offers the possibility to control several in-application objects with user-written scripts. All standard scripting engines, including Javascript and VBScript are supported.

Serial Terminal and MODBUS Send objects are exposed to scripts in the current release, with more to come in future versions.

Event handling gives scripts the capability to take part in monitoring process.

· Windows Vista (x86)

· Windows Vista (x64)

· Windows Server 2003 (x86)

· Windows Server 2003 (x64)