Official Factory Discussion

Official discussion thread for Factory. Please do not post any spoilers or big hints.

Thanks @diogt for this fun challenge!!! Really fun to solve!

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@shazz said:
Thanks @diogt for this fun challenge!!! Really fun to solve!

could you dm me some pointers? i have a vague idea of how the protocols work, but i am not getting any feedback to suggest i’m on the right track.

edit: nevermind. i just needed to read closer. fun challenge.

Type your comment> @shazz said:

Thanks @diogt for this fun challenge!!! Really fun to solve!

Glad you enjoyed it!

For those of you who are stuck on this one: Wikipedia has nice articles about the things you want to know more about. One keyword is mentioned in the material, the other keyword (well, two words) almost rhyme with “adder magic”. Read the articles carefully, especially the one about a certain bus, and then the challenge is much easier.

The learning curve for this challenge is very steep, but once you get it, it’s pretty simple actually.

Need a little help here. I’m running a server/client and I’m tracing the packets for modbus RTU. I’m then turning around and putting those in hex back into the prompt… but I keep getting “command is not the right length”

been trying different things but I can never get it to say anything other than invalid length. tips?

@stev0 said:
Need a little help here. I’m running a server/client and I’m tracing the packets for modbus RTU. I’m then turning around and putting those in hex back into the prompt… but I keep getting “command is not the right length”

been trying different things but I can never get it to say anything other than invalid length. tips?

Look at the interface setup and pay attention to what it says about CRC. That might fix the issue you are having.

Type your comment> @snuggles said:

@stev0 said:
Need a little help here. I’m running a server/client and I’m tracing the packets for modbus RTU. I’m then turning around and putting those in hex back into the prompt… but I keep getting “command is not the right length”

been trying different things but I can never get it to say anything other than invalid length. tips?

Look at the interface setup and pay attention to what it says about CRC. That might fix the issue you are having.

@snuggles Thanks for the tip! I finally got it :slight_smile:

Type your comment> @stev0 said:

Need a little help here. I’m running a server/client and I’m tracing the packets for modbus RTU. I’m then turning around and putting those in hex back into the prompt… but I keep getting “command is not the right length”

been trying different things but I can never get it to say anything other than invalid length. tips?

I’m stuck at same stage, tried several modbus commands but having same length error
I calculated the CRC for the read/write command but not working
52 XX AAAA BBBB YYYY I might have something wrong with the addresses AAAA BBBB
Any hint ?

@NS9 said:

I’m stuck at same stage, tried several modbus commands but having same length error
I calculated the CRC for the read/write command but not working
52 XX AAAA BBBB YYYY I might have something wrong with the addresses AAAA BBBB
Any hint ?

Look at the diagram. Who is handling the CRC?

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I haven’t been able to solve many challenges here, but this was one of the funniest challenges I have tried.
I learned something completely new to me.

Thanks @diogt

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Hello, Hope someone who has solved the challenge can read this. I’m confused because I cannot access the remote network connection by using a web browser, telnet or programs like curl. It’s just stuck at loading. I’m suspecting this is intended but I’m not completely sure, could be a bug. Can someone point me if I am right?

Hi everyone,

I am trying this challenge but could’nt find the right documentation in order to start it. I am new in the hardware domain.

I was stuck yesterday when I first tried to do this challenge because, even across multiple instances, when I would connect there was no output. Wasted a good amount of time thinking it wanted raw Modbus over TCP. Kept expecting some sort of result until I went to try again today and received the prompt after connecting. Was very quick once it actually worked even though I’ve never dealt with Modbus before. I now have a bunch of Modbus tools to uninstall :joy:

Im stumped on how to connect… obviously it’s getting pushed over network, but after trying a few tools Ive found from googling I’m convinced im on the wrong track… any tips?

edit: nvm. i got it. takin a break from last attempt had me trying a much simpler, lower level tool…

I have literally no idea how to even connect, it is just constantly loading. Is this part of the challenge? There is no real pointers on where to start

Feel free DM me on Discord if you need on Factory:

mathysEthical#1861

Nice one, the network configuration saved us some headaches on the CRC.
Don’t get stuck on Wiki, there are many other valid articles out there.
Feel free to DM for nudges.

Really cool challenge, thank you @diogt !

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Well, as an introductory challenge, the point is for the user to get familiarized with reading the diagram and understanding how the protocol works; this is why I have used a netcat connection (like many challenges) instead of an actual Modbus network since there are plenty of libraries and tools that would automate everything, thus not giving that “in-depth” look into the protocol itself. Nevertheless sorry for the inconvenience, and I hope you enjoyed the challenge!