Industrial networks 路 Free
Industrial Communication: Serial, Fieldbus, Ethernet, Modbus, PROFINET and OPC UA
Every network a PLC engineer meets, from RS-485 and Modbus to PROFINET, EtherNet/IP and OPC UA, with hands-on PLC-to-PLC and Modbus configuration in TIA Portal.
Inside the course
From the lessons
Networks, the OSI Model, Ethernet, IP and Subnets
RealPars
Modbus RTU and TCP in Depth
RealTimeAutomation
PROFIBUS Wiring and Network Health
RealPars
Remote and Distributed I/O
RealPars
PLC to PLC: PUT and GET
Hegamurl
Modbus RTU on the S7-1200
iipd Global
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Explain the OSI model, Ethernet, IP and subnets, RS-232, RS-485 and Modbus RTU, ASCII and TCP, fieldbuses and industrial Ethernet, remote and distributed I/O, configure PROFINET devices and GSD files, PUT/GET and open user communication, Modbus RTU and TCP on an S7-1200, Modbus on other PLC families, OPC UA, industrial wireless and IIoT, and the web server, routing and backup tools.
- Explain the OSI model, Ethernet, IP addressing and subnets
- Wire RS-485 and read a Modbus frame, function code and address
- Place PROFIBUS DP and PA, DeviceNet, AS-i and IO-Link
- Compare PROFINET and EtherNet/IP and keep both healthy
- Configure PROFINET devices, distributed I/O, shared devices and GSD files
- Exchange data between PLCs with PUT/GET and TSEND_C/TRCV_C
- Run Modbus RTU and TCP as master, slave, client and server
- Explain OPC UA, industrial wireless, IIoT, MQTT and edge computing
- Place HART and EtherCAT, build MRP and DLR rings, and segment a plant network into zones
For you
Taking Industrial Communication: Serial, Fieldbus, Ethernet, Modbus, PROFINET and OPC UA from the United States
- Free in the United States, as everywhere, and self-paced: lessons, notes and the final assessment are open at any hour, so your time zone and shift pattern do not matter.
- The optional certificate for learners in the United States is a one-off US$28.99. What you get for it
- Plants across the Americas most often run Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Inductive Automation; each has its own free course to take next.
- See automation and engineering jobs in the United States, and what the industry looks like in Houston, Detroit and Chicago.
- EDWartens also has a regional site for the United States, for classroom training and local support: edwartens.com/us.
The course project 路 about 14 hours
Nine devices, three protocols, one SCADA: Modbus RTU meters, Modbus TCP drives and an S7-1200 at a moulding plant
Design, document and commission the network that brings six Modbus RTU energy meters, two Modbus TCP drives and a PROFINET S7-1200 into one SCADA at a plastics moulder: the RS-485 bus and its gateway, the IP plan, the register maps with function codes, data types, scaling and byte order, the MB_SERVER block on the PLC, and a commissioning report with real poll timing and error counters. You deliver your own device list, register map and test report, plus the TIA Portal project. The sample pack shows what an integrator hands over.
Sample document pack, 7 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Network designNetwork Design: Moulding Hall 1 Energy and Utility Integration
- IP planDevice List and IP Plan: Moulding Hall 1
- RegisterModbus Register Map: PM2120 Meters, ACS580 Drives and S7-1200 Server
- Network architectureNetwork Architecture: Moulding Hall 1 to Plant SCADA
- BOMBill of Materials: Comms Panel CP-MH1 and Network Materials
- Test reportCommissioning Test Report: Modbus Integration, Moulding Hall 1
- ProcedureProcedure: Adding a Device to the Moulding Hall 1 Network
Read inside the course and download as a workbook. The project is optional practice, marked when you submit it; the certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
Course content
18 modules 路 81 lessons 路 15h 52m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01Networks, the OSI Model, Ethernet, IP and Subnets4 lessons43m
- 02Serial: RS-232, RS-485 and Modbus4 lessons36m
- 03Modbus RTU and TCP in Depth2 lessons19m
- 04Fieldbuses: PROFIBUS, DeviceNet, AS-i, IO-Link7 lessons56m
- 05PROFIBUS Wiring and Network Health3 lessons20m
- 06Industrial Ethernet: PROFINET, EtherNet/IP and Network Design6 lessons52m
- 07Remote and Distributed I/O4 lessons33m
- 08PROFINET in TIA Portal5 lessons1h 25m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Intermediate. You should already program one PLC.
- Software
- TIA Portal (21-day trial from Siemens) for the hands-on modules; free Modbus simulators, Wireshark and the free UaExpert OPC UA client What to download, and how
- Hardware
- None required. Two S7-1200 or PLCSIM instances help for PLC-to-PLC.
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
TIA Portal is for the hands-on modules. pymodbus gives you a free Modbus simulator.
Required
- 01Free trial: 21 days
SIMATIC STEP 7 Professional and WinCC (TIA Portal) V21 Trial
Siemens
- Runs on
- Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise 64-bit (24H2), Windows 10 Enterprise 2021 LTSC, or Windows Server 2022/2025. Windows 11 Home is supported only for the Basic editions.
- Account
- A free Siemens account registered for Industry Online Support (SiePortal)
- Size
- about 8.1 GB for the main ISO, plus an optional 3.1 GB DVD 2 with hardware support packages
Siemens lets registered users download the V21 trial of STEP 7 (Basic and Professional), STEP 7 Safety and WinCC and test it for 21 days. The same package is used for the full product; after 21 days you need a purchased licence to keep working.
Steps
- 1.Open the Siemens trial page (entry 109989774) and sign in with your Siemens Industry Online Support account.
- 2.Download TIA_Portal_STEP7_Safety_WinCC_V21.iso (8.1 GB).
- 3.Download S7-PLCSIM_V21.iso (2.5 GB) from the same page: PLCSIM is a separate download.
- 4.Right-click each ISO, choose Mount, and run Start.exe as administrator. Install STEP 7 and WinCC first, then PLCSIM.
- 5.Follow the setup, accept the licence terms and restart the PC when asked.
- 6.Open TIA Portal V21 and create a new project to confirm it runs.
- Install from a local drive with plenty of free space; Siemens lists 20 GB free as the minimum and the ISOs alone are over 10 GB.
- You only need DVD 2 if you want extra hardware support packages.
- If you cannot install locally, Siemens also offers a 21-day TIA Portal Cloud trial in the browser (one-hour sessions, not in every country).
Official download pagesupport.industry.siemens.comAlternatives
- TIA Portal Cloud trial: 21 days free in a cloud virtual machine, no install. Sessions are limited to one hour and it is not available in every country.
- 02Free trial: 21 days
S7-PLCSIM V21 (TIA Portal) Trial
Siemens
- Runs on
- Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise 64-bit (24H2), Windows 10 Enterprise 2021 LTSC, or Windows Server 2022/2025. Windows 11 Home is supported only for the Basic editions.
- Account
- A free Siemens account registered for Industry Online Support (SiePortal)
- Size
- about 2.5 GB (ISO)
S7-PLCSIM V21 is offered as a 21-day trial on the same Siemens page as the STEP 7 and WinCC V21 trial. It needs STEP 7 V21 installed on the same PC.
Steps
- 1.Open the Siemens STEP 7 and WinCC V21 trial page (entry 109989774) and sign in.
- 2.Install STEP 7 V21 from the main TIA Portal ISO first.
- 3.Download S7-PLCSIM_V21.iso (2.5 GB) from the section Download S7-PLCSIM Standard V21.
- 4.Mount the ISO, run Start.exe as administrator and follow the setup.
- 5.In TIA Portal, select your CPU and click Start simulation to open PLCSIM.
- Siemens notes that the PLCSIM Standard V21 installation also includes S7-PLCSIM Advanced V8.0.
Official download pagesupport.industry.siemens.com - 03Free
Wireshark
Wireshark Foundation
- Runs on
- Windows 11 or 10 64-bit (x64 or Arm64), Windows Server 2016 or later, macOS (Universal disk image), Linux
- Account
- None needed
Free, open source software. No licence fee for any use.
Steps
- 1.Open wireshark.org/download.html.
- 2.Download the Windows x64 Installer (or Arm64, or the macOS Universal Disk Image).
- 3.Run the installer and keep the Npcap option ticked on Windows.
- 4.Open Wireshark, pick your network interface and click the blue fin to start capturing.
- Npcap is needed for live capture on Windows. The Windows installer includes it.
- Only capture traffic on networks you own or have written permission to monitor.
Official download pagewireshark.org
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 04Free
PyModbus
pymodbus-dev (open source project), a Python or npm package
- Runs on
- Windows, macOS and Linux with Python 3.10 or later
- Account
- None needed
Free, open source under the BSD 3-Clause licence.
Steps
- 1.Install Python 3.10 or later and create a virtual environment.
- 2.Run: pip install "pymodbus==3.8.6" (the version the course code is written and tested for; 3.10 renamed slave= to device_id=)
- 3.For serial (RS-485) devices, run: pip install "pymodbus[serial]==3.8.6"
- 4.Follow the client examples in the documentation to read holding registers from a device or the built-in simulator.
- PyModbus includes a server simulator with a web interface, so you can practise without real hardware.
- Only write registers on lab equipment. Writes can move real machines.
Official download pagegithub.com
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Industrial Communication: Serial, Fieldbus, Ethernet, Modbus, PROFINET and OPC UA at a glance
Industrial Communication: Serial, Fieldbus, Ethernet, Modbus, PROFINET and OPC UA is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, ITI and diploma holders, and working engineers in automation. It has 18 modules and 15h 52m of video lessons by RealPars, Hegamurl, iipd Global and others, with written notes and worked problems, a practical project with a document pack and a 15-question final assessment (pass mark 60%). Learning is free with an account; an optional certificate with a public verification code is issued when you pass. Last updated 27 September 2026.
All course factsHide course facts
- Price
- Free, for good. No trial, no card. The only paid item is the optional certificate, a small one-off fee.
- Who it is for
- Engineering students, ITI and diploma holders, and working engineers in automation
- Format
- 18 self-paced modules, 15h 52m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Intermediate. Intermediate. You should already program one PLC.
- Brand
- Vendor-neutral
- Software
- TIA Portal (21-day trial from Siemens) for the hands-on modules; free Modbus simulators, Wireshark and the free UaExpert OPC UA client
- Hardware
- None required. Two S7-1200 or PLCSIM instances help for PLC-to-PLC.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- RealPars, Hegamurl, iipd Global, ACC Automation, ProSoft, a Belden brand, RealTimeAutomation, Instrumentation Tools, AMCI : Advanced Micro Controls Inc., AutomationDirect.com, LEARNACON, IT and Automation Academy (independent creators, credited below)
- Language
- English
- Last updated
- 27 September 2026
A shareable EDWartens certificate
Finish every module and pass the final assessment, and the optional EDWartens certificate is yours. It carries a unique verification code on a public page anyone can check, so it stands up when a recruiter looks it up. See it below.
The course itself stays free whether or not you ever buy one.
Stuck? Ask a practising engineer
A free course usually means a comment section and hope. This one does not. Every module has an Ask-your-trainer panel that reaches the same engineers who teach our paid programme: people who commission panels for a living, not moderators.
Pairs well with
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA PortalFrom zero electrical knowledge to a working, simulated S7-1200 program, for nothing.
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA Portal in Three HoursThe first three hours of the Siemens TIA Portal course, cut to end on a win: what a PLC is, how it is wired, a project configured in TIA Portal, and your first ladder program running in simulation. Finish it in an evening or two, earn a certificate, and carry straight on into the full course.
PLC programming 路 FreeTIA Portal: Build a MachineOne machine, start to finish. Take a bottle filling line from a written specification and an I/O list to a structured S7-1200 program with a fill station, a capper, a reject sorter and an operator screen with alarms, then test it against a written record and archive it for hand-over. The lessons are the reference; the machine is yours, and it is what you submit.
Instrumentation 路 FreeInstrumentation for PLC EngineersThe half of the loop that is not code. Follow one measurement from the transmitter in the field, down the 4-20 mA loop, into the analog card, through NORM_X and SCALE_X into engineering units, out again to a valve, and back to the control room when the reading is wrong.More free courses: Free industrial networking courses
Learning paths with this course
- PLC foundations 路 4 coursesOne PLC from scratch, the networks it talks over, the HMI on the door and the panel it lives in. The four things a maintenance engineer meets on day one.
- IIoT and OT security 路 3 coursesIndustrial networks, Node-RED for data and dashboards, and ISA/IEC 62443 to keep the plant safe once it is connected.
Learner reviews
No reviews yet
Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of Industrial Communication: Serial, Fieldbus, Ethernet, Modbus, PROFINET and OPC UA, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
Is this a Siemens course?
The hands-on modules use TIA Portal because two of the source series do, but the protocols, Modbus map design and network principles apply to every brand. One module shows Modbus on AutomationDirect PLCs for contrast.
Do I need hardware?
No. The concept modules need nothing; the TIA modules can be followed with the trial and PLCSIM, and Modbus can be tested against a free simulator on your PC.
Do I need to know a PLC already?
Yes, at least one. This course teaches how PLCs talk, not how to program them. Any of the free PLC courses on this site is enough.
What is covered in the wireless and IIoT modules?
Industrial wireless, modulation, Wi-Fi versus industrial wireless, ISA100, IIoT, edge computing, OPC UA and its security, MQTT, Node-RED, network segmentation into zones, and single-pair Ethernet.
What computer do I need for the Industrial Communication course?
A 64-bit Windows 10 machine with 8 GB of RAM if you install TIA Portal; any machine for the rest.
Is the Industrial Communication course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it a Siemens or any vendor qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a Siemens or any vendor credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the Industrial Communication course?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
What you walk away with
Your certificate for Industrial Communication: Serial, Fieldbus, Ethernet, Modbus, PROFINET and OPC UA
Finish the course, pass the final, and this is the document with your name on it.
Verifiable by anyone
Adds to LinkedIn in one click
QR code on the certificate
Names what you can do
A permanent link
Earned, not attended
Learning is free. The certificate is optional.
Add it now and pay only when you have finished the course, or come back for it later. One-off, US$28.99, with a receipt.
Issued by EDWartens, the training division of Wartens, as a Certificate of Completion for this self-paced course. Sold by Wartens Ltd (England and Wales). It is not a vendor certification, a university award or a CPD-accredited activity, and it does not certify competence on live equipment. Delivered electronically; see the refund policy.
Credits
Who made the video lessons
The video lessons in this course were created by the people below, not by EDWartens. Every lesson streams from its creator's own YouTube channel; EDWartens neither hosts nor sells that footage, and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens and do not endorse this course. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
- RealParsthe Industrial Networks series
- Hegamurlthe TIA Portal Industrial Communication series
- iipd Globalthe S7-1200 Modbus RTU and TCP tutorials
- ACC Automationthe Learn Modbus Protocol series
- ProSoft, a Belden branda lesson in "Serial: RS-232, RS-485 and Modbus"
- RealTimeAutomation3 lessons in "Modbus RTU and TCP in Depth" and "Industrial Ethernet: PROFINET, EtherNet/IP and Network Design"
- Instrumentation Tools2 lessons in "Fieldbuses: PROFIBUS, DeviceNet, AS-i, IO-Link" and "Wireless, IIoT, MQTT and Network Security"
- AMCI : Advanced Micro Controls Inc.a lesson in "Industrial Ethernet: PROFINET, EtherNet/IP and Network Design"
- AutomationDirect.coma lesson in "Industrial Ethernet: PROFINET, EtherNet/IP and Network Design"
- LEARNACON2 lessons in "OPC UA"
- IT and Automation Academya lesson in "Wireless, IIoT, MQTT and Network Security"
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.