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Reserve Your Seat TodayModbus is the preferred protocol for generators, industrial control systems, and increasingly smart site equipment. SNMP is the standard for IP network management. When your monitoring system only speaks one of those languages, you lose visibility into part of your network.
A Modbus to SNMP converter solves that by collecting data from Modbus devices and translating it into SNMP traps or queries that your existing network management system can receive.
At DPS Telecom, we've deployed over 172,000 monitoring devices across 1,500+ organizations. We build both dedicated Modbus-to-SNMP converters and full RTUs that can handle Modbus input alongside contact closures, analogs, and more.
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A Modbus to SNMP converter (sometimes called a Modbus to SNMP gateway) reads Modbus RTU or Modbus TCP data from equipment at a remote site. It then re-transmits that data as SNMP traps, or makes it available for SNMP polling by a management station.
The most common use case is generator monitoring. Generators from Kohler, Cummins, Generac, and others typically output status data over Modbus. If your NOC or network operations center uses an SNMP manager like SolarWinds or IBM OpenView, those systems can't directly read Modbus. A converter bridges the gap.
Other common Modbus sources include:
| Dedicated Modbus-to-SNMP Converter | Multiprotocol RTU (e.g., NetGuardian) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Reads Modbus, outputs SNMP | Reads Modbus + discrete alarms + analogs, outputs SNMP and other protocols |
| Best for | Sites where you only need protocol translation, no physical I/O | Sites where you also need to monitor door contacts, temperature, battery voltage, etc. |
| Deployment cost | Lower upfront hardware cost | Higher, but consolidates multiple monitoring needs into one unit |
| Reporting | Sends to any SNMP manager | Sends to SNMP managers or DPS T/Mon master station |
DPS offers both. For clients who only need Modbus data collected and forwarded, we offer stripped-down builds designed specifically for that purpose. For sites that require a full monitoring solution, our NetGuardian RTUs handle Modbus input alongside physical I/O, giving you one device per site instead of several.
View the DPS Modbus to SNMP Converter
Modbus is a serial communication protocol developed for industrial devices. It defines how a controller (master) requests data from a device (slave) using register-based addressing. Most industrial equipment that "speaks" a protocol uses Modbus RTU (serial) or Modbus TCP (Ethernet).
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is the standard protocol for managing and monitoring IP network devices. Equipment reports status via SNMP traps (unsolicited alerts) or responds to SNMP polls from a manager. DPS supports SNMP v1, v2c, and v3, with v3 adding encryption and enhanced security.
For more on MIB files and how SNMP alarming works, see: SNMP MIB Overview
DPS Modbus-to-SNMP converters and NetGuardian RTUs report to whatever SNMP manager you already use. Common platforms our equipment integrates with include:
If you're managing a large network with equipment from multiple vendors using different protocols, the T/Mon master station can consolidate Modbus, SNMP, DNP3, TL1, and 30+ other protocols into a single alarm management interface.
A pure converter works well when Modbus-to-SNMP translation is the only requirement. But many sites also need to monitor things that don't output Modbus at all: door contacts, temperature sensors, water detection, fuel levels, AC power status.
DPS NetGuardian RTUs handle all of this in a single unit. They can collect:
One NetGuardian RTU per site means one IP address to manage and one SNMP MIB to load into your management system.
DPS has been building protocol conversion and remote monitoring equipment since 1986. Here's what distinguishes us:
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Yes. As long as your management platform supports standard SNMP (v1, v2c, or v3), it can receive traps from a DPS converter. We can provide the MIB file needed to decode alarm data correctly.
Both Modbus RTU (serial, RS-485) and Modbus TCP (Ethernet) are supported. If you're unsure which variant your equipment uses, our engineers can help you identify it before you order.
That's the typical scenario. A NetGuardian RTU handles mixed sites: Modbus protocol input, contact closure alarms, and analog measurements all from one unit. You get a single SNMP agent per site rather than separate devices for each input type.
Yes. Every DPS build is configured to your specific equipment. We map the Modbus registers you care about to the SNMP OIDs your management system expects.
Have a specific integration in mind? Tell us what you're trying to monitor and we'll recommend the right solution.
