NOTE: In addition to the outstations listed below, ClearSCADA can support other types of IEC 60870-5 outstations, using an IEC 60870-5 Extension Driver. For information on any IEC 60870-5 outstations not listed below, see the relevant IEC 60870-5 extension driver guide.
The IEC 60870-5 driver supports these types of outstation:
- IEC 60870-5 Direct Outstation—An outstation that is permanently connected to the ClearSCADA server via, for example, a cable, network, or a continuous radio signal.
- An IEC 60870-5 Direct Outstation has one Common Address, which ClearSCADA uses when it interrogates the outstation for data.
An IEC 60870-5 Direct Outstation can be independent, or can be a ‘parent’ outstation for one or more IEC 60870-5 Logical Outstations (see below). When an IEC 60870-5 Direct Outstation is a ‘parent’ outstation, ClearSCADA can issue a station interrogation command to interrogate both the ‘parent’ and associated Logical outstations simultaneously. However, when requesting point data, ClearSCADA interrogates each Logical outstation individually.
- IEC 60870-5 Direct Link— This database item represents the IEC 60870-5 Link layer. It is recommend that ‘Direct Link’ or ‘Shared Link’ items are used to communicate with IEC 60870-5 remote devices that contain multiple common addresses. Use Direct Link when the outstation is in a Direct Set and only has access to a single direct channel.
- IEC 60870-5 Shared Link—This database item represents the IEC 60870-5 Link layer. It is recommend that ‘Direct Link’ or ‘Shared Link’ items are used to communicate with IEC 60870-5 remote devices that contain multiple common addresses. Use Shared Link when the outstation is in a Shared Set and can communicate with either of two direct channels.
- IEC 60870-5 Shared Outstation—Supports communication with an IEC 60870-5 outstation that can use either of two channels. The outstation needs tobe associated with a IEC 60870-5 Shared Outstation Set (each outstation in a Shared Set can communicate with the server via either channel).
ATTENTION: Many IEC 60870-5 Shared outstations support ‘Heartbeating’. Heartbeating in IEC 60870-5 uses the Data Link command ‘Request Link Status’. Be aware that outstation devices need to support simultaneous communication on both channels from the same master (ClearSCADA) in order to support Heartbeating. Pleeartbeating onase consult the IEC 60870-5 outstation vendor’s documentation to check whether such simultaneous communication is supported, before using H the IEC 60870-5 outstations on your system. Attempts to use Heartbeating on outstations that do not support such simultaneous communication may cause erroneous behavior.
- IEC 60870-5 Logical Outstation—Represents a separate physical device or logical sector that is associated with an IEC 60870-5 Direct Outstation. Each IEC 60870-5 Logical Outstation has its own Common Address.
You need to configure one or more IEC 60870-5 Logical Outstations in ClearSCADA if the IEC 60870-5 Direct Outstation with which ClearSCADA communicates has more than one Common Address. You need to configure one IEC 60870-5 Logical Outstation for each additional Common Address that exists on the Direct outstation.
A device may have more than one Common Address to either:
- Separate the points on the outstation into sectors that a Controlling Station (such as ClearSCADA) can read independently from other sectors.
or:
- Represent multiple units from which the outstation itself retrieves data.
You use the Parent Outstation field on the Logical Outstation Form’s Remote tab to Specify a Logical Outstation’s Parent Outstation. The ‘parent’ outstation can be an:
- IEC 60870-5 Direct Outstation
- IEC 60870-5 Shared Outstation
- IEC 60870-5 Direct Link
- IEC 60870-5 Shared Link.
If your database structure is ‘modular’ and Group Templates are used to store ‘model’ IEC60870-5 configuration, in addition to the above types of outstation, you can add this driver-specific ‘abstract’ outstation item to your Group Templates:
- Abstract IEC 60870-5Outstation—Converts to any of the IEC 60870-5 Outstations listed above. If your system is running an IEC 60870-5 Extension Driver, this abstract item will also convert to any additional IEC 60870-5 Outstation items supported by that extension driver.
NOTE: You can only add Abstract Items to Group Templates. The abstract items appear as additional driver-specific entries when you display the context sensitive menu from a Group Template. As with other abstract items, in order to represent a ‘real’ outstation, you need to convert the abstract items into the required type of outstation within the Group Instances that reference the Group Template. For more information, see Add an Abstract Item to a Group Template in the ClearSCADA Guide to Core Configuration.
For each IEC 60870-5 outstation on your system, you need to configure an IEC 60870-5 Direct Outstation or IEC 60870-5 Logical Outstation (see above) in the ClearSCADA database.
You configure the properties of each outstation using the fields on the appropriate IEC 60870-5 Outstation Form.
Each Form has several tabs. This section explains the properties on the IEC 60870-5 tab on each Form, and the Remote tab on the IEC 60870-5 Logical Outstation Form.
For information on the other tabs, see Tabs on Outstation Forms in the ClearSCADA Guide to Advanced Drivers.
For information on the minimal amount of configuration that you can undertake to produce a functional IEC 60870-5 outstation in ClearSCADA, see Minimum Configuration.
With an IEC 60870-5 Direct Outstation, use the IEC 60870-5 tab to:
- Configure the Common Address
- Specify whether Scanning of the Outstation is Promoted while its Points are on Display (see Define Whether an Outstation is Promoted While its Points are on Display in the ClearSCADA Guide to Advanced Drivers)
- Configure the Station and Group Interrogation Intervals
- Configure the Counter Interrogation Intervals
- Specify the Operations Performed on Communications Establishment
- Specify any Local Pre- or Post-Amble Settings (see Define any Pre- and Post-Ambles for an Individual Outstation in the ClearSCADA Guide to Advanced Drivers).
For outstations that communicate using the IEC 60870-5-101 protocol, also use the tab to:
With an IEC 60870-5 Logical Outstation, use the IEC 60870-5 tab to:
- Configure the Common Address
- Configure the Station and Group Interrogation Intervals
- Configure the Counter Interrogation Intervals
- Specify the Operations Performed on Communications Establishment.
The Form for an IEC 60870-5 Logical Outstation also has a Remote tab—use this tab to Specify a Logical Outstation’s Parent Outstation.