Create a New Module Instance

The first step when using a module after N3uron installation is to instantiate the relevant module:

• Open N3uron and navigate to the “Config” menu.

• Click on “Modules”, then create a new module. This instance can be given any name (except names with special characters like ‘.’, ‘/’, etc.), although users are recommended to name instances in a similar way to the name of the module being instantiated for easy identification. In this example, the ModbusClient module has been selected and has also been named ModbusClient.

By setting the module type to ModbusClient, the created instance will automatically become a Modbus Client instance. Once saved, the name should appear in bold in the module list because there are still some unsaved changes.

Each instance can also be configured according to the following options:

• Pause links while unavailable: When set to Enabled and when this module is receiving data from other N3uron nodes, all links will be paused whilst the module is offline to avoid data loss. During the pause, data is stored in the remote nodes providing they have the Store&Forward mechanism enabled. If Disabled, this module will have no effect on links when offline.
  

  Note:

  When Pause links while unavailable is enabled, the Module instance stops receiving data through Links while it is unavailable.

  If Store & Forward is enabled on the remote nodes, those nodes can buffer the data during the interruption. Once the Module instance becomes available again, data reception resumes automatically and the buffered values are sent with their original timestamps.

  Recommendation:

  Enable Pause links while unavailable only when all of the following conditions apply:

  • The Module instance receives data from remote nodes through Links.

  • Store & Forward is enabled on those remote nodes.

  • The receiving module can preserve or use the original timestamps of replayed data.

  This option is useful for modules that can process timestamped or historical values, such as OPC UA Server, MQTT Client, Derived Tags, UFL Exporter, and DNP Server.

  Important:

  Do not enable this option for modules where replaying pending values does not provide a meaningful benefit.

  For example, Modbus Server only exposes current register values, and the Modbus protocol does not provide timestamps to clients. If buffered values are replayed after the module becomes available again, they only update the current register values during the replay. In this case, pausing Links is not useful.

• Auto-start: This section controls how the module behaves when the N3uron service is started (which also includes service restarts).

  • Enabled: If True, the module will automatically start when the N3uron service starts. Otherwise, the module must be started manually.

  • Start delay: When automatic start is Enabled, this setting is used to control how much delay there should be between starting the N3uron service and starting the module. This value is displayed in milliseconds.

• Auto-restart: This section is used to monitor the status of each module, as well as to enable automatic restart if the module goes offline.

  • Enabled: If True,the module will automatically restart whenever the module goes offline (except when manually stopped by the user).

  • Restart delay: Determines the delay before restarting the module after it has gone offline.