M-bus

The M-bus (Meter Bus) was designed to enable remote reading of utility meters, for example, heat cost allocation devices, heat-, water-, gas- meters and with some restrictions also electricity meters and heating controllers. The main application purpose of M-bus systems is to read out a complete and consistent set of metering data from the connected meters for billing and visualization/diagnostics purposes. The M-bus manager data acquisition acts as client and the subordinates act as servers to exchange messages in a request-response messaging pattern.

The M-bus manager implementation of the PXC4/5/7 device will be restricted to few basic and common protocol features. The PXC4/5/7 device will not make use of all other special features, options and variants of the M-bus specification, since the support and interpretation of these protocol mechanisms are manufacturer specific.
More information can be found in the M-bus expert documentation A6V16039082 on SID.

The M-bus task allows you to create a network topology and integrate networked field devices for measurement. You can add networks, devices and data points.

1	Task selector	2	Plants navigation view
3	Toolbar	4	M-bus area
5	Library and Properties

① Task selector

Task	Description
I/O configuration	I/O configuration
Modbus	Modbus
M-bus	M-bus
KNX PL-Link	KNX PL-Link
BACnet references	BACnet references
BACnet objects	BACnet objects
Programming	Programming

② Plants navigation view

The Plants navigation view shows the hierarchy of devices in the plant. Select and right-click the plant to display the context menu commands.

Context menu command	Description
	Open/close folder structure.
	Hide/unhide plant information.
Filter	Enter letters to reduce the object view.
Add plant	Opens the Add plant window for creating a new plant.
Add folder	Opens the Add folder window for creating a new folder.
Delete	Deletes the selected element.
Duplicate	Creates a copy of the selected element.
Rename	Opens the Rename… window for entering a different name for the selected element.
Show in program	Opens the selected element in the Programming editor.
Open properties	Opens the Properties of the selected element.

③Toolbar

Command	Description
State	Indicates the state of the application. The green color indicates that the application is online and running or paused. Gray: Engineering session not active, Not connected Green: Application running Orange: Download required Red: Download in progress, Backup in progress or Busy
Check	Checks for duplicate names, number of I/Os, trend limits, etc. The check is performed automatically before loading a device. Showing data point limits when compiling
(Play)	Only visible when the device is online. Activates an online session and loads changes for the selected device. Note: When you delete the serial number of a M-bus device and click Play , the serial number is not visible after a delta download. Therefore, a full download is required to make the serial number visible. Using play/pause function
(Pause)	Only visible when the device is online and an online, session is started. Deactivates an active online session.
 (Alarming)	Temporarily suppresses all alarms for testing purposes. Suppressing alarms during commissioning or maintenance Note: If several alarms are triggered due to a field device status is “Device-Missing” (perform an alarm shower), only the “Device-Missing” alarm is sent to the corresponding recipients. This ensures that the user does not receive and have to acknowledge multiple alarms.

④ M-bus area

In the middle M-bus area, there is a tree to navigate through the elements of the M-bus network.

Command	Description
Expand/Contract all button	Expand or contracts the whole M-bus tree.
Hide network Show network	Hides the network tree. Displays the network tree.
Add network	Opens the Add network dialog box where you can create a new network.
Add device	Opens the Add device dialog box where you can create a new device.
Add data point	Opens the Add data point dialog box where you can create a new data point.

Property table

The property table provides an overview of the M-bus network. There are different columns depending on your selection.

If you select the Networks in offline mode, you can see the following elements in the workplace table:

Column	Description
Description	Description of the M-bus network.
Port	Virtual property. Current port to which the network is assigned.
Max. baud rate	Maximum baud rate.
Name	Network object Name.

If you select the M-bus device in offline mode, you can see the following elements in the workplace table:

Column	Description
Description	The description of the device.
Secondary address	Serial-Number property.
Primary address	Network-address property.
Baud rate	Enumeration selected via drop down menu. Default: Auto
Polling time	Enumeration selected via drop down menu. Default: T2.
Device type	Field device type property. There are 2 choices "M-bus device"(default), "M-bus level converter"
Name	Network object name. Name is shown from pant level.

If you select the M-bus data point in offline mode, you can see the following elements in the workplace table:

Column	Description
Description	Description of the data point.
Unit	Displays the BACnet object units.
Type	Displays the BACnet object type.
Measured value	Shows the current value of the preset used for the data point or custom if one cannot be found. Clicking it, opens a drop down menu with all available values for the given data type. NOTICE! For binary and multistate preset is always custom and cannot be clicked.
Data type	Data type property of an object. Grayed out if property not available on object type.
Function code	Shows the current value of function code.
Address	The port address within the M-bus network. Editable numeric field.
 (Alarming)	A checkbox allows to enable/disable the intrinsic alarm extension of the BACnet object. Select to activate the alarming function for the object. In the filter field, select True to filter for objects with activated alarming function. Note: If several alarms are triggered by the same object (performs an alarm shower), only one alarm is sent to the corresponding recipients. This ensures that the user does not receive and have to acknowledge multiple alarms.
 (Trending)	A checkbox allows to create/delete a trend log for an IO. Created trend log is automatically linked to the current value of the IO. Select to activate the trending function for the object. In the filter field, select True to filter for objects with activated trending function.
Name	Data point object Name. Name is shown from plant level.

⑤ Library and Properties

The Library and Properties area on the right have an option of toggle. The Library view contains elements which can be dragged directly to the working area.
Library

The Property view shows the properties of the selected element. The items displayed in the Property view depend on the selected object type.

Context menu

M-bus editor context menu

Command		M-bus Offline	M-bus Online	Description
Networks	Add network	Yes	No	Opens the Add network dialog box to add a network.
Network	Add device	Yes	No	Opens the Add device dialog box to add an M-bus device.
	Delete	Yes	No	Deletes the selected object.
	Rename	Yes	No	Opens the Rename device dialog box where you can change the name and description of the selected object.
	Acknowledge alarm	No	Yes	Acknowledges the alarm state.
	Start tracing	No	Yes	Opens the Traces –Network view window where you can view transmitted and received M-bus telegrams with date and time stamp. Available only for a single device or the whole network.
	Import	Yes	No	Opens a local path in the user's PC to import a .csv file.
	Show in program	Yes	Yes	Opens the Programming editor.
	Open properties	Yes	Yes	Opens the properties of the selected object.
Device	Add data point	Yes	No	Opens the Add data point dialog box where you can create a new data point.
	Delete	Yes	No	Deletes the selected object.
	Duplicate	Yes	No	Creates a copy of the selected object.
	Rename	Yes	No	Opens the Rename device dialog box where you can change the name and description of the selected object.
	Unassign	No	Yes	Removes the assigned device to the M-bus network.
	Acknowledge alarm	No	Yes	Acknowledges the alarm state.
	Start tracing	No	Yes	Only available when online. Opens the Traces –Network view window where you can view transmitted and received M-bus telegrams with date and time stamp. Available only for a single device or the whole network.
	Show in program	Yes	Yes	Opens the Programming editor.
	Open properties	Yes	Yes	Opens the properties of the selected object.

PNV context menu

Command		M-bus Offline	M-bus Online	Description
Plant	Add plant	Yes	No	Opens the Add plant dialog box to add a new plant in the PNV.
	Add folder	Yes	No	Opens the Add folder dialog box to add a new folder under the selected plant in the PNV.
	Delete	Yes	No	Deletes the selected object.
	Duplicate	Yes	No	Creates a copy of the selected object.
	Rename	Yes	No	Opens the Rename device dialog box where you can change the name and description of the selected object.
	Show in program	Yes	Yes	Opens the Programming editor.
	Show properties	Yes	Yes	Opens the properties of the selected object.
Data point	Add plant	Yes	No	Opens the Add plant dialog box to add a new plant.
	Delete	Yes	No	Deletes the selected object.
	Duplicate	Yes	No	Creates a copy of the selected object.
	Move to device	Yes	No	Moves the selected data point to the device.
	Rename	Yes	No	Opens the Rename device dialog box where you can change the name and description of the selected object.
	Show in program	Yes	Yes	Opens the Programming editor.
	Show in device	Yes	Yes	Highlights the data point in the workplace table, below the M-bus editor area.
	Show properties	Yes	Yes	Opens the properties of the selected object.
Empty space	Add plant	Yes	No	Opens the Add plant dialog box to add a new plant.
Device	Add plant	Yes	No	Opens the Add plant dialog box to add a new plant.
	Add data point	Yes	No	Opens the Add data point dialog box where you can create a new data point.
	Delete	Yes	No	Deletes the selected object.
	Duplicate	Yes	No	Creates a copy of the selected object.
	Rename	Yes	No	Opens the Rename device dialog box where you can change the name and description of the selected object.
	Show in program	Yes	Yes	Opens the Programming editor.
	Open device	Yes	Yes	Displays the device data points in the workplace table, below the M-bus editor work area.
	Show properties	Yes	Yes	Opens the properties of the selected object.
Folder	Add plant	Yes	No	Opens the Add plant dialog box to add a new plant.
	Add folder	Yes	No	Opens the Add folder dialog box to add a new folder under the selected plant in the PNV.
	Delete	Yes	No	Deletes the selected object.
	Rename	Yes	No	Opens the Rename device dialog box where you can change the name and description of the selected object.
	Open properties	Yes	Yes	Opens the properties of the selected object.

The response rate for M-bus devices is slow.