Difference between RS485 & Modbus Protocol http://www.edaboard.com/thread180181.

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Difference between RS485 & Modbus Protocol

RS485 is hardware serial-interface standard that defines the hardware for carrying a message.
Modbus is a messaging protocol that defines the content of that message.
So far, so good: the two do not 'differ' at all. BUT, there is one hardware requirement for Modbus
over a SERIAL-line: the message ends when no character has been sent for 3.5(?) character-
times.
That requirement is meaningless for Ethernet because a message 'ends' when its packet ends.

Another potential problem is that Modbus defines a CRC for its messages and Ethernet already
has a CRC on its packets.

You need to know how your converter works: how it knows when an output-packet starts and
when it ends.

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