The SMP Gateway provides utilities with a solution to simplify their automation projects and gain the benefits of integrating their base of installed IEDs.
Integratng IEDs: More Data Means a More Efficient Network
In substations, intelligent electronic devices (IED) are replacing legacy electro-mechanical protection relays to monitor substation equipment.
Integrating IEDs taps into their newly available data, bringing a wealth of benefits:
Increase engineering personnel efficiency by performing remote device maintenance and configuration
Improve fault analysis and service restoration by automatically retrieving event files for analysis
Improve asset management by analyzing operational data and gaining a better understanding of equipment operation
Reduce maintenance cost by analyzing historical data and performing predictive maintenance instead of periodic maintenance
IED Integration is not a Walk in the Park: Choose the Right Solution
To gain these benefits utilities need to choose a solution that helps them meet the following challenges:
Organizational—Most of the IEDs are being installed by equipment protection groups. Most of the data being produced by these IEDs will be useful to different organizational groups
Technological—In the traditional automation system, a SCADA center connects to a single RTU per substation, using a single protocol, over a single permanent and dedicated link, and collects simple analog and binary data. Modern IEDs use a variety of standard or proprietary protocols to generate data in a large variety of mostly non-standard data formats
Security—Devices used in a standalone manner, within an enclosed protected perimeter, are inherently secure. IED integration must be performed in a secure, NERC-compliant, manner
Get Your Data Out: Providing the Communication Infrastructure
To benefit from IED data, a suitable communication infrastructure must be provided to transport data from the devices to the appropriate control centers.
Port switches, terminal servers or frame relay access devices (FRAD) are often considered for the purpose of connecting IEDs to a control center. These simple devices basically provide a means to extend the communication link of each IED across the enterprise network, to the control center.
