Versions of the Modbus protocol exist for serial port and for Ethernet and other protocols that support the Internet protocol suite. There are many variants of Modbus protocols:
Modbus RTU — This is used in serial communication and makes use of a compact, binary representation of the data for protocol communication. The RTU format follows the commands/data with a cyclic redundancy check checksum as an error check mechanism to ensure the reliability of data. Modbus RTU is the most common implementation available for Modbus. A Modbus RTU message must be transmitted continuously without inter-character hesitations. Modbus messages are framed (separated) by idle (silent) periods.
Modbus ASCII — This is used in serial communication and makes use of ASCII characters for protocol communication. The ASCII format uses a longitudinal redundancy check checksum. Modbus ASCII messages are framed by leading colon (":") and trailing newline (CR/LF).
Modbus TCP/IP or Modbus TCP — This is a Modbus variant used for communications over TCP/IP networks, connecting over port 502.[5] It does not require a checksum calculation, as lower layers already provide checksum protection.
Modbus over TCP/IP or Modbus over TCP or Modbus RTU/IP — This is a Modbus variant that differs from Modbus TCP in that a checksum is included in the payload as with Modbus RTU.
Modbus over UDP — Some have experimented with using Modbus over UDP on IP networks, which removes the overheads required for TCP.
Modbus Plus (Modbus+, MB+ or MBP) — Modbus Plus is proprietary to Schneider Electric and unlike the other variants, it supports peer-to-peer communications between multiple masters. It requires a dedicated co-processor to handle fast HDLC-like token rotation. It uses twisted pair at 1 Mbit/s and includes transformer isolation at each node, which makes it transition/edge-triggered instead of voltage/level-triggered. Special hardware is required to connect Modbus Plus to a computer, typically a card made for the ISA, PCI or PCMCIA bus.
Pemex Modbus — This is an extension of standard Modbus with support for historical and flow data. It was designed for the Pemex oil and gas company for use in process control and never gained widespread adoption.
Enron Modbus — This is another extension of standard Modbus developed by Enron Corporation with support for 32-bit integer and floating-point variables and historical and flow data. Data types are mapped using standard addresses. The historical data serves to meet an American Petroleum Institute (API) industry standard for how data should be stored.[citation needed]
Data model and function calls are identical for the first 4 variants of protocols; only the encapsulation is different. However the variants are not interoperable, nor are the frame formats.