The first step in Cloud Logging is setting up a data source. This is done by selecting a communication protocol and defining the variables. This article shows you how to do this for communication via Modbus TCP/IP.
- Select a communication protocol
- Add variables (new, import)
- Test variables
- Manage variables (export, duplicate, remove)
Select a communication protocol
You first have to select a communication protocol. This is the protocol that the x500 IoT gateway will use to communicate with the PLC.
- Go to [Devices]
in the main menu, select the concerning device
, open its [Services]
tab, and press [Add service]
.

- Name
the PLC, enter the PLC’s IP address
, and press [Next]
.

- Select your service type: [Data source]
.

- Select the communication protocol “Modbus“
. The port number, slave number, and byte order will automatically be filled based on the selected protocol (port 502, slave 1 and byte order CDAB). You can manually edit these if needed. Press [Add]
.

Available datatypes
X4 Remote supports the following datatypes when using the Modbus protocol:
- BOOLEAN
- INT8 / INT16 / INT32
- UINT8 / UINT16 / UINT32
- FLOAT32 / FLOAT64
Add variables
Once you’ve added a Data Source and selected a communication protocol, you can start adding variables. This is done in the configurator tool, specifically designed to quickly add, duplicate, import, export, and remove variables.
- Go to [Devices]
in the main menu, select the concerning device
, open its [Services]
tab, and edit the target’s services
.

- Select [Data source]
and press [Open configurator]
.


- To add a variable press [Add variable]
.


You can choose to:
Manually add new variables
“Number” notation | “Address” notation | |
---|---|---|
Number | Function code | Address |
000011 | 1 – Coil | 10 |
100381 | 2 – Discrete input | 380 |
400093 | 3 – Holding register | 92 |
300135 | 4 – Input register | 134 |
- Enter the variable’s name, type, full address, additional information, and press [Add]. The image below contains explanatory text for each text field.

- Finally, press [Push changes] in the config tab to complete the setup.

Import variables from a file (or device)
You can easily and effortlessly copy variables from one device to another by exporting the concerning variables (view the “Manage variables” part of this article) and then importing them in your new device. Alternatively, you can manually prepare your variables in the required CSV format to load them all at once into your configurator. The CSV file structure is explained in our “Import variables: CSV file structure“-article.
When you press [Import from CSV-file], you’ll see a browse window.
- Select a CSV file to import and press [Open].
- When the file has been read, press [Add] to add all variables to your data source.
- Finally, press [Push changes] in the config tab to complete the setup.

Test variables
The test utility is used to check if all the added variables are set correctly. It shows the status of every variable and displays the variables’ latest values if everything is configured correctly. If not, it’ll show an error message.
- In the configurator press [Run test]
.

A connection will now be set up to stream the data directly to your computer, using:
Port | Transport protocol | Application protocol |
---|---|---|
443 | TCP | WebSocket |
When the connection is set up and all variables are set correctly, it should look like this:

Manage variables
You can view all defined variables in a list view or table view. Multiple variables can be selected by pressing the icon on the left, or you can select all by pressing […]. These can then be removed, duplicated, or exported to a CSV file.
