IEC 61850 Driver

Overview

Discovery walks the model the IED publishes about itself, from logical devices through logical nodes such as XCBR, MMXU, PTOC, GGIO, and LLN0 to individual data attributes. Every readable attribute becomes a point addressed by its object reference and functional constraint, so status, measured values, configuration, and descriptions are all reachable. Booleans, integers, and floats become boolean and numeric points; strings, timestamps, and bit strings become string points, converted during discovery. Values are polled, each point at its own fast, normal, or slow rate, so a breaker position can be watched closely while settings are checked rarely. The model is cached after the first read to keep traffic down. This is an MMS client, read-only by design, and does not carry GOOSE or Sampled Values. Edition 1 and Edition 2 devices both work, as it uses the standard MMS services common to both. Runs on a JACE or a Supervisor, licensed perpetually against the Host ID.

List of FAQs

Do I need an SCD, ICD, or CID file to set it up? No, and that is the point. The driver asks the IED for its own model and walks it, so the point list comes from the device rather than from an engineering file that may or may not match what is installed. Connect to the IED and discovery produces the tree. Can the driver operate breakers or change settings? No. It is read-only by design, so a Niagara station cannot command an IED or alter its configuration. On a substation network that is usually what is wanted: monitoring, trending, and reporting added without opening a control path into protection equipment. If a project genuinely needs control, get in touch and we will discuss it. Does it support GOOSE or Sampled Values? No. This is an MMS client, which is the client-server half of IEC 61850. GOOSE and Sampled Values are peer-to-peer traffic on the station bus with quite different timing and network requirements, and they are not covered here. Does it use reports or polling? Polling. Each point is read at its own rate, fast, normal, or slow, so frequently changing values can be watched closely while settings and nameplate data are checked rarely. The driver does not subscribe to buffered or unbuffered report control blocks, so it suits monitoring, trending, and dashboards rather than capturing every individual protection event. IEC 61850 or IEC 60870-5-104, which do I need? 61850 for the IEDs inside a substation, where the object model gives you named logical nodes and attributes instead of bare addresses. 104 for RTUs and telecontrol gateways, where data arrives spontaneously against numeric addresses. If a gateway offers both, 104 is usually the simpler integration and 61850 the more descriptive one. We make a driver for each; tell us what the site has and we will say which fits. Does it work with Edition 1 and Edition 2 devices? Yes. It uses the standard MMS services that both editions share, so it is not tied to either.