Configuration

Module Configuration

As shown in the previous screenshot, multiple connections can be created in the Model panel by clicking on the burger menu icon. Each connection is named Channel. See below for an explanation of the different configuration options.

Channel Configuration

A channel represents the physical medium that will be used for communication between N3uron and remote IEC 104 devices. Each channel has the following parameters: 

• Enable data collection: When Disabled, the connection will remain inactive and all associated tags will remain as Bad-Uninitialized. The default value is set to Enabled.
• Connection:
  • Host: Hostname/IP address of the target device.
  • TCP Port: TCP port number for the connection.
  • Reconnect delay: Delay before attempting to reopen the connection after a failed attempt, in milliseconds.
• Protocol settings:
  • Common address size: Determines the number of bytes (or octets) used for the common address. The default setting is 2.
    • If set to 1, the valid range for the Common Address is 0 to 254.
    • If set to 2, the valid range for the Common Address is 0 to 65534.
  • Cause of transmission size: This parameter specifies the number of bytes in the Cause of Transmission (COT) field of an IEC 60870-5-104 data packet. It can be 1 or 2 bytes. The second byte represents the originator's address. In this way, when the COT size is 2 it includes the originator address (the address of the IEC 60870 client) in the messages, while the originator address is not included in the messages when the size is set to 1. The default setting is 2 bytes.
  • Originator address: This parameter specifies the second byte of the Cause of Transmission (COT) field in an IEC 60870-5-104 data packet. The Originator Address is used to identify the source of the data packet. This is useful in systems with multiple controlling stations, or when there are dual-mode stations that can act as both a master and a slave. The valid range for the Originator Address parameter is 0 to 254. The default setting is 0.
  • K: The K parameter, also known as the maximum unacknowledged transmitted APDUs, defines the maximum number of unconfirmed APDUs transmitted to the other station without waiting for an acknowledgment (ACK) for each APDU. The default setting is 12. 
    • Example: With a K value of 12, the client can transmit up to 12 APDUs simultaneously without requiring an immediate acknowledgment from the server. 
      
      
  • W: The W parameter, also known as the maximum unacknowledged received APDUs, defines the maximum number of APDUs received from the remote station before it is required to send an acknowledgment (ACK) indicating that it has successfully received all the APDUs. This setting works in conjunction with T2 to limit how often the client acknowledges APDUs. The default setting is 8.
    • Example: With a W value of 8, the client will hold off on sending an ACK to the server until it has either received 8 unacknowledged APDUs or the T2 timeout period has elapsed. At that point, the client will transmit a supervisory APDU to acknowledge all the received APDUs.
      
• Timing:
  • T1: Maximum time to receive the acknowledge message (ACK) to a transmitted APDU (Application Protocol Data Unit). If the ACK is not received within the specified T1 timeout period, the sender assumes that the APDU has been lost or corrupted and attempts to retransmit. The default setting is 15000ms. 
    • Example: When the timeout is set to 15000 milliseconds, the server has a maximum window of 15000 milliseconds to acknowledge an interrogation command received from the client, regardless of the command's execution time. Failure to receive an ACK within this timeframe triggers retransmission procedures initiated by the sender.
  • T2: The T2 parameter, also known as the APDU acknowledgment timeout, defines the time to wait before sending a supervisory APDU ACK response indicating that it has successfully received the APDU. The default setting is 10000 ms.
    • Example: With a timeout set to 10000 milliseconds, the client will defer acknowledging received APDUs from the server until either the T2 timeout has elapsed or the K value has been reached. At that point, the client will send a supervisory APDU to acknowledge the received APDUs.
  • T3: The T3 parameter, also known as the idle timeout, defines the maximum amount of time that a communication link can remain idle before a TEST APDU frame is transmitted to verify the connection's integrity. The default setting is 20000 ms.
    • Example: With a timeout set to 20000 milliseconds, a test frame will be sent to the server if no APDUs are received within this timeframe. The receipt of any APDUs will reset this timer, ensuring that communication remains active.
  • T3 timeout: The T3 timeout defines de time to wait for the device to respond to a test frame. If the device does not respond in time, the connection will be terminated. The default setting is 20000 ms.

Device Configuration

Once a Channel has been configured, a remote IEC 104 device can be added. 

To create a new Device, you can click on the Devices button under Channel and select New Device.

When selecting New Device, begin by assigning a name, as illustrated in the image below.

Once the device is created, you can configure the following parameters:

• Enable data collection: Enable or disable data collection on this device. When disabled, no data will be sent to the device and associated tags will remain as Bad - Uninitialized.
• Common address of ASDU: The Common Address of ASDU parameter, also known as the COA, specifies a unique identifier for the outstation or remote device from which APDUs are received. The valid range is 0 to 254 or 65534, depending on whether the Common address size setting is set to one or two octets. The default setting is 3.

• Interrogation:

  
  
  

  • Interrogation group: The Interrogation Group parameter, also known as the IG, defines a logical grouping of data objects within an outstation or remote device. This grouping facilitates efficient data retrieval by allowing a master station to request data from multiple data objects with a single interrogation command.
    • General
    • Interrogation group 1 
    • Interrogation group 2 
    • Interrogation group 3 
    • Interrogation group 4 
    • Interrogation group 5 
    • Interrogation group 6 
    • Interrogation group 7 
    • Interrogation group 8 
    • Interrogation group 9 
    • Interrogation group 10 
    • Interrogation group 11 
    • Interrogation group 12 
    • Interrogation group 13 
    • Interrogation group 14
    • Interrogation group 15 
    • Interrogation group 16 
  • Rate: Sets the rate at which interrogation APDUs are sent to the outstation. The default value is 60000ms.

Tag Configuration

The channel and device configuration parameters define the settings for establishing connections to slave devices. Once these elements are configured, users can proceed to create and configure tags associated with the data received from IEC 104 devices, as illustrated in the example below:

• Source:
  • Enabled: When Disabled, tags won't be updated with the values received from the server, but instead, will essentially act as memory tags. When set to Enabled, the tag value will be continuously updated with the values received. The default value is set to Disabled. 
  • Module type: The type of the module used to retrieve the tag's value, quality and timestamp.
  • Module name: Name of the module instance used to obtain the tag's value, quality and timestamp.
  • Config:
    • Device: Device that provides the data to this tag.
    • IOA: Information Object Address that provides data to this tag. The IOA defines a unique identifier for a specific data object within an outstation or remote device.
    • Data type: Selects the type of data received from the outstation.
      • Single point 
      • Double point
      • Step position 
      • Bit string 
      • Normalized value
      • Scaled value 
      • Floating point 
    • Variable: This variable defines the specific information to be extracted from the bit string data received and assigned to the tag value. Available options for all data types include:
      
      • Value: Reads the value of the data point.
      • Cause of transmission: Reads the cause of transmission of this APDU.
      • Qualifier: Reads the raw value of the qualifier, as an 8-bit number.
      • Qualifier (Invalid): Reads the "invalid" bit of the qualifier.
      • Qualifier (Not topical): Reads the "not topical" bit of the qualifier.
      • Qualifier (Substituted): Reads the "substituted" bit of the qualifier.
      • Qualifier (Blocked): Reads the "blocked" bit of the qualifier.
        
      • Qualifier (Overflow) (Only available if Step position, Bit string, Normalized value, Scaled value, or Floating point are selected): Reads the "overflow" bit of the qualifier. 
      • In transit flag (Only available if Step position is selected): Reads the value of the "In transit" flag of the data point.
      • Value (Raw) (Only available if Step position or Bit string are selected): Reads the raw value received from the server (containing both the "In transit" flag and the value of the data point).
      • Value (Normalized) (Only available if Normalized value is selected): Reads the value of the data point, after calculating the normalized value.

        
        

Refer to this link for more detailed information on creating tags.

IEC 104 Client Full Product Details