Using the TOP Server DNP DriverPresenter: Boyce Baine, Sr. Applications Engineer
HMI/SCADA to RTU Connectivity for Water & Utilities via DNP 3.0
Agenda
Introduction DNP Overview TOP Server DNP Drivers Overview
What is TOP Server Overview of DNP and how it differs from
normal “polling” PLC drivers & protocols Overview of Driver settings & configuration Testing your configuration
Live Demo Q & A & other Resources
What is DNP and Who Uses It?
DNP3 (Distributed Network Protocol) is a set of communications protocols used between components in process automation systems
It is primarily used for communications between a master station and RTUs or IEDs.
Originally designed for power distribution and transmission, DNP has found a home in water/wastewater, oil/gas and transportation.
What is TOP Server?
TOP Server Gets You Connected!
http://www.toolboxopc.com/html/drivers_list.asp
TOP Server DNP Master Driver Suite Overview
Plugs in like any other TOP Server Driver Licensed as an individual suite based on
number of RTUs (10, 50, unlimited) Will be included in the Power Distribution Suite
(Coming in 2010) Serial RS-232/422/485 or Ethernet connections Supports DNP 3.0 Level 3 compliant slave
devices Ethernet Encapsulation supported which
allows use of Cellular Radios & other encapsulation devices
Supports standard TOP Server protocol diagnostics
Serial driver supports Dial-Up Modems
Key Differences from other TOP Server Drivers
Key differences DNP is a Synchronous Protocol Unsolicited Messages & report by exception really helps efficiency with
remote devices. In proper DNP3 usage
Decoupled scan rates & separate scan loops for client/server and DNP master/slave
No relation between client items configured and what gets scanned by the driver layer
Demand Polling option Allows for operation like a regular polling driver – however, you give up the
benefits of the DNP protocol in terms of bandwidth utilization and report by exception.
Ethernet Encapsulation done at Channel level, not device level Restart requirements Dependency on proper slave device configuration is greater
Important to Understand Timeout Settings DNP Polling Settings Your slave device configuration
Naming syntax of items and correlation with DNP slave documentation
DifferencesDNP is a Synchronous Protocol
Only one thing at a time can happen Each command requires an acknowledgement, confirmed failure,
or timeout before the master can move on to the next command So things may never be as fast as other protocols! Most serial protocols are this way- but DNP more so The DNP stack queues up messages to be sent, so a
command can spend time waiting in a queue inside the DNP stack- this is in addition to any internal TOP Server queues
Asking for too much too fast can be painful However, due to the report by exception nature of DNP
when properly used, it is very efficient for bandwidth utilization – only changes are sent
Proper use is: Avoiding demand polling Reasonable Integrity and Event Poll intervals for the amount of
data your device sends and your connection speed
Important Learning Topic: Decoupling of Scan Rates – How Normal PLC drivers work
How things work with most drivers Topic/Group scan rate drives the device polling rate
Tag PLCAddr
Tag1 40001
Tag2 40002
Tag3 40003
Tag4 40004
Tag5 40005
Tag6 40006
Tag7 40007
Tag8 40008
Tag9 40009
HMI or Client App.
Topic or Group Update Rate : 100 ms
Driver to PLC Scan Rate: 100 ms
DriverScan
of PLC
Important Learning Topic: Decoupling of Scan Rates – How it works in DNP if used properly
Scan Rates are Independent – Completely! If you use Demand Polling in DNP, then you end up making it work like a regular
driver (see prior slide) and give up the report by exception efficiency of DNP!
Tag PLCAddr
Tag1 40001
Tag2 40002
Tag3 40003
Tag4 40004
Tag5 40005
Tag6 40006
Tag7 40007
Tag8 40008
Tag9 40009
Topic or Group Update Rate: 100 ms
Driver to DNP Slave Scan Rates determined by Driver configuration
No linkage!
Driver does integrity and event polls of the DNP Slave or receives unsolicited messages and updates data buffer
Topic Group Update rate determines how fast data buffer is checked for changes
PLCAddr
40001
40002
40003
40004
40005
40006
40007
40008
40009
Driver LayerData Buffer
Client Interface Layer
Differences To insure full restart of driver stack, restart the
server
Title says it all Nature of the beast with the separate polling
cycles between driver and OPC side which is very different from the closer coupling that exists with other drivers
There can be outgoing messages queued that have not been sent, which means if you only reinitialize the client, the DNP stack will not be reinitialized.
A MUST to keep in mind item if you are troubleshooting an issue!
TOP Server – User Interface Review, Configuring the DNP Driver
So let’s see how to configure the driver – we’ll highlight other key differences as we get to them in configuration
Configuration – Add a Channel
Configuration – Channel SetupEthernet Driver
In systems with more than one network card
and subnet, you can pick which card & subnet to
bind to using this combo box
In systems with more than one network card
and subnet, you can pick which card & subnet to
bind to using this combo box
Write Optimization settings and why you might change
them are covered in detail in the product help file – best to leave at default in most cases
Write Optimization settings and why you might change
them are covered in detail in the product help file – best to leave at default in most cases
Configuration – Channel SetupEthernet Example
Master Node Address must be configured at the slave as well and
these must match.
Must be unique for each channel.
Master Node Address must be configured at the slave as well and
these must match.
Must be unique for each channel.
IP Address, Slave Port and
Connection type are also
configurable at the slave and must
match these settings.
IP Address, Slave Port and
Connection type are also
configurable at the slave and must
match these settings.
If DNP Connection is set to UDP, you
also must configure the UDP
Listener port at the slave and
master.
If DNP Connection is set to UDP, you
also must configure the UDP
Listener port at the slave and
master.
Configuration – Channel SetupSerial Example
Set remaining serial port settings
to match your device
Set remaining serial port settings
to match your device
Pick your com port – any standard
Windows com port will work. COM1 through COM100
supported
Pick your com port – any standard
Windows com port will work. COM1 through COM100
supported
If your PC has a modem installed
(internal or external) this
checkbox will be available
If your PC has a modem installed
(internal or external) this
checkbox will be available
For use with serial/ethernet
converters, terminal server devices, and also with some cellular radios
For use with serial/ethernet
converters, terminal server devices, and also with some cellular radios
Configuration – Channel SetupSerial Example w/Modems
This checkbox can only be enabled if you have a Windows TAPI compliant Modem installed in the computer. If enabled you can check it to use your modem
This checkbox can only be enabled if you have a Windows TAPI compliant Modem installed in the computer. If enabled you can check it to use your modem
You can choose which modem you want to use here
You can choose which modem you want to use here
See product help file for full details
on how to configure
phonebook entries, special
dial,hangup tags, etc
See product help file for full details
on how to configure
phonebook entries, special
dial,hangup tags, etc
Configuration – Channel SetupSerial Ethernet Encapsulated Example
In systems with more than one
network card and subnet, you can
pick which card & subnet to bind to using this combo
box
In systems with more than one
network card and subnet, you can
pick which card & subnet to bind to using this combo
box
IP Address, Port and Protocol type must match
the settings in the encapsulation device.
IP Address, Port and Protocol type must match
the settings in the encapsulation device.
The amount of time allowed for a TCP socket connection to initially be established to the device. Non-relevant/ignored when using UDP connections.
The amount of time allowed for a TCP socket connection to initially be established to the device. Non-relevant/ignored when using UDP connections.
If the Ethernet Connection on your DNP Slave device is provided
by a serial/ethernet encapsulation
device/terminal server and the actual end
device is a DNP serial device you’ll check this
box
If the Ethernet Connection on your DNP Slave device is provided
by a serial/ethernet encapsulation
device/terminal server and the actual end
device is a DNP serial device you’ll check this
box
Configuration - ChannelImportant Considerations
DNP Master ID is at the channel level and must be unique for each Channel If you want unsolicited messaging to work,
you have to get this right so the Slaves know where the master is!
Encapsulation or Ethernet parameters are set at the channel level
If you have > 1 serial slave device but are using Ethernet/Serial convertors, each with it’s own Encapsulation device or if the slave is Ethernet capable, each device will be under it’s OWN channel
Probably a good thing for performance since each channel is a unique thread
Configuration – Channel Setup
Understanding Timeout Settings
DNP Channel Timeout (Channel Properties)
Channel Level Controls timeout for the time on the wire
between Master & Slave only – no queue time
DNP Connection Timeout – used with TCP only – non-relevant with UDP Time to get the TCP connection up and going
DNP Command Timeout (Device Properties)
Device Level Time On Wire + Time In Queue Should generally be > DNP Channel Timeout!
Understanding Timeout Settings
Talking to multiple devices will take time if you have multiple slaves off of one channel
In Ethernet or Encapsulated Cellular radio scenarios, a non-issue since it’s 1 device per channel
Rule for timeouts if multiple devices under one channel: DNP Command Timeout =
(# Devices under Channel +1 ) * DNP Channel Timeout
Example: DNP Channel timeout = 10 seconds ( default ) 1 Device, 1 Channel DNP Command timeout = (1+1) * 10 = 20 seconds
Configuration – Channel Summary
Configuration – Device Settings
Give your device a name that is useful to you.
Give your device a name that is useful to you.
This is the DNP Slave ID of your device – it is required
for Ethernet or Serial Device. This MUST match your
slave device!
This is the DNP Slave ID of your device – it is required
for Ethernet or Serial Device. This MUST match your
slave device!
You’ll see this under the channel you just configured – click it to start the Device
Configuration Wizard
You’ll see this under the channel you just configured – click it to start the Device
Configuration Wizard
DNP Polling Types
Integrity Gets All the data from the device – usually done at startup and infrequently
Event Supplies changes since last Event or Integrity Poll, including buffered events
if configured on slave Make sure your slave is configured to send timestamps! Many are by default,
but if you aren’t getting the timestamps you expect….check the slave device settings
Unsolicited Slave sends changes to Master based on policy configured in slave What is sent and when, plus retry policy & timing is set on the slave If you depend on unsolicited messages, beware of your firewall! Unsolicited
TCP/IP and UDP packets will be rejected unless you’ve planned for them Demand (configured at the tag/item level)
Traditional master polling of slave – gets data whether changed or not. Bypasses DNP efficiencies. Not recommended unless you have to! Polling rate driven by Topic or Group Update Rate
DNP Polling Typical Use Cases
With DNP you can connect and initialize the session and: Do an Integrity Poll, Then sit and listen for unsolicited messages and never do an Event Poll
Or…Most Commonly…. after the initial Integrity Poll You can do an Event Poll at some interval to get just items
changed since last report from the slave & change history if enabled at slave and master
You can do an Integrity Poll at a regular interval to ask for an update of ALL items
And receive unsolicited messages, if configured in slave
Sometimes devices have data that can only be read by doing explicit reads (“Demand Polling”)
Configuration – Device SettingsPolling Settings
Controls how often driver will ask DNP Slave for a report of all changes since last Event Poll or last Unsolicited Message. Three event classes in DNP can be configured with different event poll rates. See your DNP slave documentation for what points are in each class – it may be configurable.
0 = do no Event Polls, ever, rely on period integrity polls, unsolicited messages or explicit reads only for updates. Max value = 86,400 seconds (24 hours)
Controls how often driver will ask DNP Slave for a report of all changes since last Event Poll or last Unsolicited Message. Three event classes in DNP can be configured with different event poll rates. See your DNP slave documentation for what points are in each class – it may be configurable.
0 = do no Event Polls, ever, rely on period integrity polls, unsolicited messages or explicit reads only for updates. Max value = 86,400 seconds (24 hours)
• Controls how often driver will ask DNP slave for values of ALL items in the slave, regardless of whether you have OPC items setup for them, regardless of whether values have changes
• 0 = do no Integrity polls, ever – not recommended• Max Value = 2,592,000 seconds (30 days)• We recommend no more than once per hour, especially
in radio or wireless networks. Most applications even less frequent, every 8 hours or 24 hours is sufficient. The max is 30 days.
• Controls how often driver will ask DNP slave for values of ALL items in the slave, regardless of whether you have OPC items setup for them, regardless of whether values have changes
• 0 = do no Integrity polls, ever – not recommended• Max Value = 2,592,000 seconds (30 days)• We recommend no more than once per hour, especially
in radio or wireless networks. Most applications even less frequent, every 8 hours or 24 hours is sufficient. The max is 30 days.
DNP Command Timeout should be greater than the channel timeoutThe DNP Command timeout covers time on the wire (Channel timeout) and time
in the queue
Formula:
DNP Command Timeout should be >= (# of DNP Devices Under a Channel + 1) * DNP Channel Timeout Setting
(set on your channel properties)
DNP Command Timeout should be greater than the channel timeoutThe DNP Command timeout covers time on the wire (Channel timeout) and time
in the queue
Formula:
DNP Command Timeout should be >= (# of DNP Devices Under a Channel + 1) * DNP Channel Timeout Setting
(set on your channel properties)
Configuration – Device SettingsAdvanced Settings
Two Options:
LANSerial
Two Options:
LANSerialTwo Options:
Direct OperateSelect then Operate
Two Options:
Direct OperateSelect then OperateTwo Options:
UTCLocal Time
Two Options:
UTCLocal TimeDetermines
action after write from Master to
Slave
Determines action after write from Master to
SlaveIf the slave can
report an I/O point as offline, this
allows the server to set the quality to
bad for the .Value and .Explicit
subtypes
If the slave can report an I/O point
as offline, this allows the server to
set the quality to bad for the .Value
and .Explicit subtypes
Configuration – Device SettingsUnsolicited Messaging Setup and
Considerations
Unsolicited messages update master with changes in the device
Slave device controls settings on item deadbands and Unsolicited messages (number and frequency), NOT THE MASTER!
Deadband settings in a slave can prevent you from receiving EVERY change – a good or bad thing based on your needs
Our Master CAN control which classes of Unsolicited Messages get sent, IF the SLAVE will accept our command messages… they aren’t required to!
But the Master can’t control unsolicited message settings at the slave any more granurally than this
If the slave accepts unsolicited setting commands from the master, this tells the slave to
enable unsolicited messaging.
If the slave accepts unsolicited setting commands from the master, this tells the slave to
enable unsolicited messaging.
If the slave accepts unsolicited setting commands from the master, this tells the slave to
disable unsolicited messaging.
If the slave accepts unsolicited setting commands from the master, this tells the slave to
disable unsolicited messaging.
No Action accepts the settings from the slave. If the slave does not
accept unsolicited messaging
commands from the master, the other two settings are
irrelevant.
No Action accepts the settings from the slave. If the slave does not
accept unsolicited messaging
commands from the master, the other two settings are
irrelevant.
Configuration – Device SettingsDNP Event Buffering: Overview
What happens when communications are lost? Most non DNP devices/protocols miss out on that data. DNP slaves can buffer data and then send the events when
communications are established. Whether or not your slave buffers, how much it buffers, how it
handles a buffer overrun, are all your slave hardware’s settings outside the scope of the TOP Server and it’s support.
When communications comes back A properly configured DNP system will have the slave replay the
old events with the timestamps of when the event happened! TOP Server can
Buffer up to a specified # of events Play them back at a user configurable rate that your client/Historian
can handle for logging The events play back in the same order we receive them from the
slave – provided the slave delivers them in FIFO timestamp order, then our delivery to HMI/SCADA will be the same.
Configuration – Device SettingsDNP Event Buffering: Supported Objects
Event Buffering applies to DNP objects 1 – Binary Input 3 – Double Bit Input 10 – Binary Output 20 – Binary Counter 21 – Frozen Counter 30 – Analog Input See driver help file for more details
Configuration – Device SettingsDNP Event Buffering: Important
Considerations
Event Buffering introduces latency into the tags for those affected objects. Even after the initial burst of events is played out
of the buffer, newly incoming updates will only be reported at the Playback Rate.
Buffering should only be used when preservation of the event stream is more important than timely delivery of point updates.
Event Buffering is enabled at the device level If a tag's event buffer should fill up, new reports
will displace the oldest reports in the queue.
Configuration – Device SettingsDNP Event Buffering: Configuration
There are three settings to configure when you use event buffering.
First, we must
enable event
buffering.
First, we must
enable event
buffering.
Configure the max
events per tag, 1-1000.
Configure the max
events per tag, 1-1000.
Configure the
playback rate.
Configure the
playback rate.
In this example the buffer will
retain 100 updates per tag and make the next update
available to the client once every 2000
milliseconds.
In this example the buffer will
retain 100 updates per tag and make the next update
available to the client once every 2000
milliseconds.
To insure retrieval of all the buffered events, the client must
have an update rate at least
twice as fast as the Playback
Rate (less than 1000
milliseconds in this example).
To insure retrieval of all the buffered events, the client must
have an update rate at least
twice as fast as the Playback
Rate (less than 1000
milliseconds in this example).
Configuration – Device Settings
Click “Finish” and you’re
Done!
Click “Finish” and you’re
Done!
ConfigurationSetting up DNP Tags/Items
Must have DNP slave profile document Slave profile is not some file you load into the
driver! But it is a key document that a DNP3 compliant
slave device must provide! User must read over it and be responsible for
interfacing with their h/w vendor on questions about their document
Understand the basics of the DNP standard item naming syntax
ConfigurationAddressing DNP Items
Address follows OBJ.VAR.IDX.SUB syntax: OBJ=Data object group (i.e. analog inputs,
analog outputs, etc) VAR=Variation (equates to data type) IDX=Data object within a group (OBJ) – i.e.
IDX 4 would be the 5th point in a group SUB=Specific attribute of a point
Most commonly used is “Value” Use “Explicit” to cause the tag to be “Demand
Polled” – makes that tag work just like traditional polling PLC driver – use with care!
Example – Multitrode Multismart Chapter 3 gives you list of Object #s (OBJ) Chapter 4 gives you the IDX but they call
it “Default DNP ID” Depending on the quality of your DNP
slave documentation, this might take some trial & error or you may have to ask the hardware supplier for clarification
ConfigurationSetting up DNP Tags/Items: Example
ConfigurationDNP Addressing Examples
Analog Input 30.0.51.Value
30 = Analog inputs object 0 = Variation = default data type 3 = index, sometimes called Default DNP ID Value = report the value of the input
Binary Input 1.0.2.Timestamp
1 = Binary inputs object 0 = Variation = default data type 42 = index, sometimes called Default DNP ID Timestamp = report the time of the event currently
reported by the .Value sub-attribute
Configuration: DNP AddressingImportant Subtleties to Know
In proper DNP implementation, the # of tags or OPC items you configure in the OPC server has no effect on what gets scanned or updated from the DNP slave – that’s how DNP works!
The driver abstracts a lot of DNP Slave profile details for you – so try not to get bogged down in the details.
Focus on finding the OBJ.VAR.IDX.SUB lists for the tags you want in the DNP Slave profile
If you don’t see an object # from your slave profile listed in the driver help file, does not mean it’s not supported – some object #s are implied when you use the base object. Change Event objects are used “under the hood” automatically Same with writing objects See “Address Descriptions->Object Definitions” in help file – a list of
objects whose data is reflected in other objects is provided there! Example:
Object 30 – Analog Inputs – using object 30 will also cause object 32 to be used “under the hood” for analog input change events.
When in doubt, try the base object # for the Object Group (i.e analog ins, analog outs, etc) for the OBJ part of the address and try the things you want to do
Live Demonstration
TOP Server DNP Suite OPC Server
MultitrodeMultiSmart RTU
Ethernet
HMI/SCADA/DCS SystemsRSViewWonderwareIntellution iFixCitectIndusoftClearSCADA
Any OPC Client
ABB DCS
Honeywell DCS
Foxboro DCS
DeltaV DCS
Visual Studio.NET (custom apps)
Integration OptionsRedundancy
TOP Server Multitrode DNP Suite
TOP Server Multitrode DNP Suite
OPC Redundancy Master Software
$1295
Redundancy Master sits at the HMI Client system
Switches primary to backup and back on loss of comms
User configurable timing on what constitutes “down”
Tags exposed to HMI let the HMI know system status
HMI, SCADA, or DCS System
Integration Options OPC Data Hub
http://www.softwaretoolbox.com/opcdatahub
Integration Options OPC Data Logger
Cost-effective yet powerful solution for collecting process data and logging
Easy-to-setup Works with local or remote
OPC Servers OPC Interoperability tested Connect to 1 to N OPC
servers No tag count limits Licensed per computer
based on type of target logging
Licenses from $495-$995
Integration Options OPC Client Development Tools
Rapid, reliable connections from Visual Basic and .NET to OPC
Integration Options Graphics and HMI Development
Development Products for smaller systems
Tips & Tricks
Loads of free help at: http://www.toolboxopc.com/html/support.asp Quick Start Guide Training Videos Papers and Utilities – Trouble Shooting Guide
More information on the Product Details tab http://www.toolboxopc.com/html/product_details.html
Contact Software Toolbox [email protected] while you are in the planning stage, so we can help
Contact Information & Other Learning Opportunities
Questions later? Boyce Baine
[email protected] 888-665-3678 or 704-849-2773
[email protected] www.toolboxopc.com www.softwaretoolbox.com
Other learning opportunities Visit www.softwaretoolbox.com/webinars