The old 06-tests, with paths retargeted and both tools proven to run.
Verified end to end during the move - fake_plc.py served on a spare port
and verify_modbus.py read it:
read : 69/69 points OK
writable : 15/15 RW points OK
PASS : the runtime matches the register map
fake_plc.py --expect was BROKEN by the PS_* removal in the previous
commit: it fell back to the scada_tag column, which no longer exists, and
died with KeyError. It now uses ci_item, so the names it prints are the
CI Server items an operator actually sees. Regenerated
expected_readings.txt; fake_values.json came back byte-identical, which
confirms the seed really is deterministic as the docstring claims.
README corrections:
- default host was dev-ubuntu; now 10.0.0.17, with the container
fallback for when that address is not routable
- said 11 RW points; there are 15 (11 control + 4 simulation)
- the 'reading the output' section described the FIELD build - tripped
pumps, alarm word 16500, seeded %MW defaults - as though it were what
you would see. The deployed PLC runs the SIMULATION build. Both are
now shown side by side, with the simulation column marked as the one
that is live.
- says plainly that none of the 20 acceptance tests are implemented
here: this harness verifies the contract, not the behaviour
- adds a caution against running fake_plc.py on port 502 of the live
host, where the real PLC is serving and CI Server is polling
5.7 KiB
05-tests — Modbus verification harness
Two tools. One reads the PLC and checks it against the register map; the other is a PLC, serving deliberately distinctive values so the SCADA side can be tested on its own.
python verify_modbus.py --host 10.0.0.17 --port 502 --unit 1
python verify_modbus.py --write-test # also prove the 15 RW points accept writes
python verify_modbus.py --quiet # failures and summary only
Requires pymodbus (pip install pymodbus). Exit code is 0 only if everything
passed, so it works as a gate.
verify_modbus.py reads every row of ../03-plc/register-map.csv from the live
runtime, using the function code each object type implies — FC1 coils, FC2
discrete inputs, FC3 holding registers, FC4 input registers.
If you cannot reach 10.0.0.17
That address is only routable from inside the VNet or over the WireGuard VPN. From anywhere else, poll from a throwaway container on the host's own Docker network:
ssh lin001 "docker run --rm --network openplc-net python:3.12-alpine \
sh -c 'pip install -q pymodbus && python - <<EOF
from pymodbus.client import ModbusTcpClient
c = ModbusTcpClient(\"openplc-runtime\", port=502, timeout=5); c.connect()
print(c.read_holding_registers(0, count=21, slave=1).registers)
EOF'"
The container resolves openplc-runtime by service name, so no IP is needed.
What a pass proves, and what it does not
Proves: the runtime honours the register map — every mapped address exists and
responds, the %MW block really does start at holding register 1024, and the RW
points accept writes.
Does not prove: that the control logic is correct. None of the 20 acceptance
tests from 01-design/WRPS-CTL-003 (§7 and §8.4) are implemented here. A green
run against a completely wrong control program looks identical to a green run
against a right one.
That gap is the largest open item in the project. This harness verifies the contract, not the behaviour.
Reading the output
What you see depends on which build is running. The deployed PLC runs the simulation build, so expect the second column.
| Field build, nothing driving the inputs | Simulation build (deployed) | |
|---|---|---|
%IW / %IX |
all 0 / False | all 0 / False — the mux takes simulated values instead |
| Pumps | tripped (%QX1.4-1.6 True) — thermal-healthy reads FALSE |
running normally |
%QW17 alarm word |
16500 — thermals, mains and LSLL all reading unhealthy |
0 |
%QW5 / %QW6 |
32767, the CFG_NO_TIME sentinel |
32767 while drawing down, a real countdown while filling |
%QW11 |
720 — 120 m² × 6.0 m, the plant geometry | falls as the well fills |
%MW block |
the seeded defaults | whatever was last written — operators retune these live |
In the field build, tripped pumps and a non-zero alarm word are the program responding correctly to an all-zero field. It is not broken.
%MW is worth stressing: IO_MUX seeds the defaults once on first scan, and
nothing overwrites them afterwards, so a live system shows the tuning someone
last wrote — not the values in 03-plc/src/10_globals.st. See 03-plc/README.md.
fake_plc.py — testing the SCADA side without a PLC
python fake_plc.py --serve --port 502 # serve known values
python fake_plc.py --expect # print what CI Server should show
Why it exists. Everything downstream of the register map — CI Server's Modbus configuration, the conversions, the item bindings, the display masks — had only ever been checked against the simulation, whose values are plausible. Plausible is exactly what you cannot verify: a level of 70% looks right whether it came from the correct register or the one beside it.
So it serves distinctive values instead. Every register gets a different one;
none round, none equal to a neighbour, and the pattern is deterministic — the same
seed gives the same numbers, so expected_readings.txt can be printed on a
machine that cannot reach the server.
Stdlib only, deliberately: it writes the MBAP header by hand rather than requiring
pymodbus on a host you may not want to install packages on.
Speaks FC01, FC02, FC03, FC04, FC06 and FC16. Writes are accepted and stored, so a setpoint written from CI Server reads back.
| File | What |
|---|---|
fake_values.json |
the served values, so they can be regenerated or inspected |
expected_readings.txt |
what CI Server should display, item by item, seed 20260814 |
Caution
Do not run
fake_plc.pyon port 502 of the live host. The real PLC is serving there and CI Server is polling it. Use a spare port, or stop the container first and remember that stopping it stops the demo.
Notes
%QW17is decoded unsigned; bit 15 does not fit a signed INT. Every other register is treated as signed, per the map — including%QW7, which genuinely goes negative.--write-testwrites each RW point back with the value it already holds. No value changes. See the caveat in the script docstring about%MW1, the command word — a non-zero value there is a live command.- If everything fails to connect, the cause is usually not this harness. The
runtime opens its Modbus slave only while a program is running, and only if
the Editor project defines a Modbus Server. See
03-plc/DEPLOY.md§A3. A refusal looks like a firewall drop and is not: Docker DNATs to the container, which returns RST because nothing is bound inside.
Verified 2026-09-02
fake_plc.py served on a spare port and verify_modbus.py read it end to end:
read : 69/69 points OK
writable : 15/15 RW points OK
PASS : the runtime matches the register map
Both tools work against the current 69-point map.