Substation Communications: Introduction

GRID
Technical Institute

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Communications : Why use it ?

Why would utilities/industry use communications to substation equipment?

To get power system data into a remote SCADA / DCS system To set IEDs, aid commissioning and extract data for analysis (local
access)

Remote control of plant

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Communication Requirements

Retrieval

Measurements

Plant status
Trip information Fault location Setting files Fault, event & disturbance records Maintenance information

Change settings Plant control (CB, disconnector, Tap Position, etc.) Peer-to-peer communications
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Digital Communications : Definitions

PROTOCOL: Rules and procedures that communications networks use to communicate on the communications medium HARDWARE CONNECTIONS

Physical shape Electrical characteristics

Protocols / Formats

DATA FLOW

Control transmitter/receiver rate Detection of data corruption Code information

Language

DATA CODING

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Serial Transmission : Definitions

Transmitter

11101010

00001101

Receiver

SERIAL TRANSMISSION

SIMPLEX

Transmission in one direction only

HALF DUPLEX

Two way means of transmission but data can only

travel in one direction at a time

FULL DUPLEX

Transmission in both directions simultaneously

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Transmission Systems

SYNCHRONOUS

Bit periods controlled by synchronizing the clocks at the

transmitter and at the receiver

Framing bits are added to blocks of data

ASYNCHRONOUS

Tansmitter and Receiver clocks run at approximately the same rate Framing bits are added to raw data bits

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Transmission Medium

EIA 232 (was RS232)

- 9/25 pin D connector - Maximum data rate ~19200 bps - Maximum distance 15m

EIA 485 (was RS485)

- 2 or 4 wires - Maximum data rate ~19200 bps - Maximum distance 1000m

Optical fibre - Immunity to electrical interference - Advantages in distance and speed Ethernet - Electrical and fibre media - Data rate 10Mbps, 100Mbps

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Data Security

Noise corruption of data

Parity bit check Checksums Cyclic redundancy check

Unauthorized access cybersecurity

Password protection
Modem dial back Firewalls Encryption Authentication

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Transmission Definitions : Client/Server

MASTER/SLAVE

Slave (IED) can only send when it receives a request

from the Master (e.g. RTU)

Slave sets flags to indicate functions need servicing by

the Master

CLIENT/SERVER

same relationship as Master/Slave but can have multiple Clients!

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Transmission Definitions : Point to point

REMOTE

LOCAL

Engineering Station Modem

Laptop

IED

Modem

IED

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Transmission Definitions : Shared Access

Star

Ring
Controller

Multidrop / Bus
Controller

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Network Terminology
Network An interconnected group of nodes or stations linked by communication channels The interface point where one or more functional units are connected Local area network (<5km) Wide area network Pattern of nodes and their interconnection Equipment which makes data from a separate subnetwork available to primary network

Node

LAN WAN Network topology Gateway

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Transmission Definitions : Network Access

CARRIER SENSE METHODS CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access) /CD (Collision Detection)

Medium Access Control (MAC)

TOKEN ACCESS METHOD The device that has the Token has access to transmit RESERVATION METHOD Each device has a predefined time slot to transmit

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Network Topology (serial communication)

Modem SCADA Client Engineering Station Modem Modem DNP3.0 Level 2 EIA485 DNP3.0 Level 2 IED DNP3.0 Level 3 Substation HMI EIA485 IED EIA232 Front Laptop Computer Gateway

Gateway EIA485 IED *

Modem

* proprietary protocol

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Network Topology (Ethernet communication)

SCADA Client Ethernet Switch Engineering Station

EIA232

WAN

Terminal Server

Gateway IEC61850 EIA485 IED * Ethernet IED

Substation HMI Ethernet IED EIA232 Front Laptop Computer

Terminal Server

Gateway

* proprietary protocol

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Open System Interconnection (OSI) 7 Layer Model

7 6 5 4

Application Application Specific Protocols Application Presentation

Message Format, Language Dialog Between Processes

Presentation
Session

6
5 4 3 2 1

Session

Transport Flow Control, Message sequence Transport

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2 1

Network
Data link Physical

Packets (Routing) Error Detection, Frames

Network

Data link
Physical

Tx and Rx of Raw Bits

Physical transmission medium

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Protocols: Analogy

Postal network service

ZG9948
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Serial Communications Protocols

Outside the substation Standard/independent: IEC60870-5-101, DNP3, MODBUS, etc. Proprietary RTU protocols
Master / Slave Speed 9.6 to 64 kbps +

SCADA

RTU / Bay Computer / Gateway

Within the substation

Standard/independent: IEC60870-5-103, DNP3, MODBUS, Profibus, etc. Proprietary: Courier, SPA-Bus, etc.
Master / Slave Speed 1200bps to 64 kbps

IEDs

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Current protocols : limitations

Designed 5-20 years ago to:

minimise the communication bandwidth minimise the processor/memory load make it implementable for non-communication expert
Few standards Slow communication: need for multiple links Difficult connection of a third party application - gateway Database absolute address, not flexible, no modelling Master-slave: long recovery time in case of master failure Peer-to-peer communication usually not possible

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Need for Standardisation

Lack of commonality between vendors Lack of standard SCADA / DCS protocols Existing industry protocols (e.g. Modbus, Profibus,..) not well suited to protection communications Cost of interface / gateway solutions Global market

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Changes in technology

Processor speeds have been multiplied by 30 (at least) in 15 years

Cost of Memory has dropped considerably

Ethernet is widely available

100 Mbit/s, 1 Gbit/s, etc.

Software technology allows easier implementation of complex concepts

For example, Object Oriented Design enabling the re-use of existing

software modules

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Recent Developments

UCA2

EPRI ( USA utilities ) project not tied to any particular vendor use of some existing standards (MMS protocol, Ethernet medium)
IEC 61850

based on UCA 2 concepts International Standard issued 2004

Edition 2 now partly issued Hundreds of substations commissioned

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Communications Interoperability is...

the ability of two or more IEDs or applications from the same vendor, or from different vendors, to exchange information and use that information for correct execution of specified functions

the goal of IEC 61850

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