dnp3 user guide - cellwatch battery monitoring frontier dnp3 user...frontier using dnp3, the...

DNP3 User Guide REVISION 1.2

DNP3 USER GUIDE 2

T h i s a p p l i c a t i o n n o t e i s s u b j e c t t o c h a n g e w i t h o u t n o t i c e . V i s i t W W W . C E L L W A T C H . C O M f o r t h e l a t e s t c o n t a c t i n f o r m a t i o n f o r N D S L a n d C e l l w a t c h T e c h n i c a l S u p p o r t .

POWERING CONFIDENCE TM

Contents DNP3 User Guide .................................................................................................................................. 1

Introduction: DNP3 ................................................................................................................................. 3

Configuring the Frontier ......................................................................................................................... 4

General ...................................................................................................................................................... 4

Master ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Session ...................................................................................................................................................... 6

Events ........................................................................................................................................................ 8

Default Variations ..................................................................................................................................... 8

Files ......................................................................................................................................................... 10

Using the DNP3 Profile ........................................................................................................................ 12

Profile Section Overview ......................................................................................................................... 12

Section 5.1 – Binary Input Point List ....................................................................................................... 12

System ................................................................................................................................................. 13

Scan Status .......................................................................................................................................... 13

Battery Level Points ............................................................................................................................ 13

Other Alarms ....................................................................................................................................... 13

String Level Points ............................................................................................................................... 14

Channel Level Points ........................................................................................................................... 14

Jar Electrolyte Level Points ................................................................................................................. 15

Section 5.5 – Analogue Input Point List .................................................................................................. 15

Fixed Points ......................................................................................................................................... 15

String Points ........................................................................................................................................ 16

Channel Points .................................................................................................................................... 16

DNP3 USER GUIDE 3



Introduction: DNP3

Each version of Frontier after 3.10.0 is enabled for DNP3 communication. To communicate with a

Frontier using DNP3, the Frontier’s interface must be configured to point back to a DNP3 server. A

Primary Master is designated and a Secondary Master can also be set up on a separate network.

This document is intended to give the user a starting point for configuring DNP3 for use with the

Frontier system to monitor their battery. There are over 5000 potential points that can be monitored

with the Frontier system. This document describes some of the more common points and is not a

complete listing of every possible point.

It is important to note that each battery being monitored will have a different Battery Design which

will affect the DNP Profile for each system. The DNP Profile should be pulled from the Frontier after

the Battery Design is complete to get a true representation of the points available on that specific

system.

DNP3 USER GUIDE 4



Configuring the Frontier

Frontier supports the DNP3 (Distributed Network Protocol) communication standard for sending data

to a SCADA or other data acquisition system. To access DNP3 settings, choose DNP3 in the

Settings menu.

The DNP3 configuration page showing the General tab

General

To enable the DNP3 service, toggle the checkbox next to Enable DNP3 under the General tab.

Other configuration options under General include:

• Number of concurrent masters: Select how many master stations will connect to Frontier to

retrieve data. Frontier supports 1 or 2 master stations.

• Show advanced settings: To configure any “advanced” DNP3 settings, click the Show button to

display them.

To apply any changes to settings on this page, click the Save settings button. Modifying any DNP3

settings on this page will require a restart of the device.

Master

The Master tab contains options for configuring each specific master station (Primary and/or

Secondary), such as link and IP settings.

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The description for each option can be found in the table below.

Link Settings Description

Frontier link address

(Source address)

The local or “slave” DNP3 address of Frontier. The Frontier link

address should be unique on the user’s network. The address must

be from 0 to 65519.

Master link address

(Destination address)

The DNP3 address of the master station. The address must be

between 0 and 65519.

Validate master link

address

When enabled, only a master station indicating the Master link

address (Destination) may connect.

DNP3 USER GUIDE 6



Enable Frontier link self-

address

When enabled, Frontier will respond to DNP3 frames with

destination address 65532. This feature can be used to simplify

commissioning and troubleshooting, allowing the Master to

discover the Frontier’s true address and configure proper link

addresses accordingly. Frontier will reply with its own Link address

IP Settings Description

IP Mode The type of IP connection to establish with a master station.

Frontier presently supports TCP mode only.

TCP listen port The port to listen on for incoming TCP requests. The port must be

from 1025 to 65535.

Accept connections from

any IP address When enabled, accept incoming connections from any IP address.

Only accept connections

from the following IP

address

When Accept connections from any IP address is unchecked,

specify the IP address that can connect to Frontier. The entry box

will only appear when the checkbox is unchecked. If the same port

is specified for two masters, BOTH must have this entry.


settings on this page will require a restart of the device. Note: it is only necessary to click "Save"

once all settings in all tabs have been made.

Session

The Session tab includes options for synchronizing time using DNP3 and various interval settings.

DNP3 USER GUIDE 7



The description for each option can be found in the table below.

Time Sync Description

Request sync time with

master

When enabled, request a periodic time synchronization from the

master station.

System clock renewal

period (minutes)

Specifies how long (in minutes) the system time will remain valid

until a time update request is sent. Note: Frontier only responds to

a Master Request with a Time Request flag when it boots, or when

the renewal period has passed and another communication with

the master occurs. Frontier never sends unsolicited messages

unless enabled by master.

Link Status Description

“Keep-alive” interval

(seconds)

The amount of time (in seconds) to keep connected sessions open.

Frontier will keep a session open for the specified amount of time

after losing connection with a master station.

Select/Execute Timer Description

Select-to-execute interval

(seconds)

The amount of time (in seconds) that a master station has to

perform an Execute operation following a Select operation on an

object index before the operation expires. Frontier always requires

DNP3 USER GUIDE 8



Select/Execute protocol when performing writes from the master.

This is a safeguard against accidental changes.



Events

The description for each option on the Events tab can be found in the table below.

Unsolicited Events Mask Description

Do not present or send

the following classes of

events

Select which classes (Class 1, Class 2, Class 3) to not send when

a class poll is requested by the master station. This feature is

included only for masters that do not automatically set the mask.

Event Class Queues

(Class 1, Class 2, Class 3) Description

Queuing Delay (seconds)

The number of seconds to hold an Event in the Unsolicited Event

queue before transmitting. This is the effective maximum delay

from occurrence to event transmission.

High Water (event

occurrences)

The maximum number of Events to collect in queue before

transmitting. If more than this number of events occurs within the

queuing delay period, they will be transmitted if enabled.

Otherwise any event(s) (even though fewer than this number,

including only one) will be transmitted (if enabled) by the end of the

queuing delay period.



Default Variations

The Default Variations tab contains fields allowing the user to configure the default variation used

when responding to class polls or reporting events to the master station.

DNP3 USER GUIDE 9



The description for each option can be found in the table below. These are Default Variations for

responses to Variation 0 Requests:

Object Type Description

Binary inputs

(1) packed format: Send binary inputs as a bit packed field of 8

Events. This may be more efficient for polling many Binary Inputs,

but does not include important information such as timestamp or

point status (offline, etc.)

(2) status with flags: Send binary inputs with status.

Binary input events

(1) without time: Send binary input change event without time.

(2) with absolute time: Send binary input change event with

absolute time.

(3) with relative time: Send binary input change event with

relative time.

Binary outputs (1) packed format: Send binary outputs as a packed bit field of 8

points.

DNP3 USER GUIDE 10



(2) status with flags: Send binary outputs with status.

Binary output events

(1) status without time: Send binary output change event without

time.

(2) status with time: Send binary output change event with time.

Binary command events

(1) command status without time: Send binary command event

without time.

(2) command status with time: Send binary command event with

time.

Analog inputs

(1) 32-bits with flag: Send analog inputs as 32-bits with flag. In

Frontier, most Analog Inputs are 16-bit numbers, but Currents are

signed 32-bit numbers.

(2) 16-bits with flag: Send analog inputs as 16-bits with flag.

(3) 32-bits without flag: Send analog inputs as 32-bits without

flag.

(4) 16-bits without flag: Send analog inputs as 16-bits without

flag.

Analog outputs

(1) 32-bits with flag: Send analog outputs as 32-bits with flag.

(2) 16-bits with flag: Send analog outputs as 16-bits with flag. In

Frontier, all points except Current Limits are 16-bits. An error will

be reported if a too-large number is requested in a smaller format.

To apply any changes to DNP3 settings, click the Save settings button. You may modify settings on

other DNP3 tabs before saving but be sure to save before navigating away from the DNP3

Configuration page. Modifying any DNP3 settings will require a restart of the device.

Files

The Files tab provides access to two files:

• DNP Profile: Industry standard file used to configure your master station. The DNP profile

describes the available data points on this device and must be re-generated when you change

your battery configuration. This is an XML-formatted file with a .xml file extension.

• DNP Configuration file: This is an NDSL proprietary format file used to restore the settings on

this device or clone them to another device.

DNP3 USER GUIDE 11



Important: Before downloading the profile, confirm that the battery design matches your physical

hardware. If you have changed any settings, ensure that DNP is enabled and the device has been

restarted so that the profile is correctly regenerated.

Note: Be sure to save any changes to DNP3 settings before downloading the DNP3 configuration

file.

Restoring a DNP3 settings file

To restore your previously saved DNP3 settings file click the Upload button. Once a valid DNP3

configuration file is selected, the file will be automatically uploaded and the configuration will be

applied. If the file selected is not a valid DNP3 configuration, an upload error will occur and DNP3

settings will remain unchanged.

Once the DNP3 configuration file is uploaded, Frontier will require a restart to apply the new

configuration to the device.

DNP3 USER GUIDE 12



Using the DNP3 Profile

After the Battery Design is completed on the system and a reboot has been performed, the DNP3

Profile can be downloaded. It is this profile that describes the available data points on your system.

A sample DNP3 Profile was generated for use as an example throughout this guide. Note that the

profile pulled from your system will likely be different.

Profile Section Overview

The profile document is broken out into sections. Section 1.1 describes device information including

the Device Name and DNP3 version number. Section 1.3 gives IP Networking information taken

from the Frontier’s Network Settings page. Section 1.4 reports Address information from the DNP3

Settings page on the Frontier along with port settings. Note you will only see the Primary Master’s

information in this section.

Section 3 identifies the capabilities and current settings for each of the DNP3 data types. Details of

the data points available in the device are shown in part 5 of the Device Profile.

Section 5.1 – Binary Input Point List

Section 5.1 provides a table defining the Binary Input data points available in the device. There is a

description of each point along with the name for the state when the value is 0, or 1. Class

information is also defined. The far-right column indicates if the point is included in Class 0 polls,

while the third column indicates if the point is assigned to Event Class 1, 2, 3 or more polls. Class 0

polls will get all significant measurement points defined in one operation (both Analogue and Binary

inputs). Event Class 1, 2, and 3 polls retrieve change events (mainly Binary Inputs, i.e. Frontier

alarm changes) that have occurred since previous polls. This is in lieu of master-enabled unsolicited

events, where each entry would represent one unsolicited event. When unsolicited events are

enabled, these Event Class 1, 2, and 3 polls are unnecessary and will always be empty. Note that

Event queues are finite in size, and if not polled periodically will overflow in favor of most recent

data. No errors will occur as a result of this overflow, only the oldest events themselves will be lost.

DNP3 USER GUIDE 13



System

Points 0-27 are System points. They indicate any alarms, alerts or failures within the system. For

example, if a cell on the battery were to trip a high voltage alarm in Frontier, index point 0 would

return a 1 value (Alarm). If there are no alarms for high voltage on the system at the time of the poll,

the returned value would then be 0. There are some System Reserved Alarm points listed, these

should not be used.

Points 0-18 will return a value on each Class 0 poll. These points can be used to provide a high-

level indication of any alarms, alerts or failures on the system. Further investigation may be needed

to determine which cell is in alarm, etc.

Scan Status

Points 28-45 can be used to monitor the system for scanning issues. A returned value of zero

indicates the last scan completed successfully. A returned value of 1 would indicate some error has

occurred. Note that points 37-45 are reserved and should not be used. Only the Probe Read Error

and Ohmic Delayed are included in Class 0 polls. When set, Ohmic Delayed indicates that a

scheduled Ohmic Testing has been held off due to system conditions. This is most often due to a

discharging event occurring less than one hour prior to scheduled testing.

Battery Level Points

Most Frontier systems will be configured to monitor a single battery. Points 46-152 indicate alarms

or failures on up to four batteries. Using the example from above, if our system has one battery and

a cell went into high voltage alarm, point 46 would return a 1 value. None of the points in this

section are included in a Class 0 poll. Also note the reserved alarms presently should not be used.

Other Alarms

Points 159-182 are reserved for alarms triggered from external ambient temperature probes, current

probes, or digital input bits. Each of these points (except for Thermal Watch) will return a value in a

Class 0, and Class 1 poll. It is possible that some of these points will not be used as not every

DNP3 USER GUIDE 14



system has the corresponding hardware connected. Thermal Watch indicates that a preset

temperature limit has been exceeded and may be part of a Thermal Runaway solution (not presently

supported in Frontier) which is mainly applicable to VRLA storage cells.

Points 0-182 are the group of Fixed Points on each system. These points will not vary even with

different hardware connected to the Frontier or with different battery designs. The remaining Binary

Input points are not fixed and will vary depending on the number of Strings, Channels and

Electrolyte detectors configured on the system.

String Level Points

Points 183-208 are reserved for alarms on String 1. If multiple strings are configured on the system

these data points (as defined for each battery) would duplicate starting with point 209. The number

convention for String 1.1 indicates Battery #1, String #1. String 1.2 would indicate Battery #1, String

#2, etc. If multiple Batteries are configured on the system, the naming would then move to String 2.1

and String 2.2. Points 183-199 are reserved for alarms or failures on the first string. Each of these

points would return a value in a Class 0 poll. All but the last two points (Detached ELD and Low

Float Logical Current Alarm) are included in Class 1 polls. There are also reserved points for each

string that should not be used.

There is a group of points reserved for temperature probes, digital input bits, High Ripple Alarm, etc.

Channel Level Points

Each channel configured in the battery design has a set of points associated with it. The channel

point list will enumerate based on the number of channels configured. In the image below, we are

looking at Battery #1, String #1, Channel #3. Each channel has a high/low Voltage Alarm, high/low

Ohmic Value Alarm, high/low Temperature Alarm, and then Thermal Runaway Watches/Alarm.

Note that some of these points will be unused depending on the hardware monitoring the battery.

Points other than Thermal Watch will return values in Class 0 and Class 1 polls.

DNP3 USER GUIDE 15



Jar Electrolyte Level Points

If equipped, the final group of Binary Input Points will be the Electrolyte Level points. Each level

detector will be enumerated based on the battery design and the number of detectors installed on

the system. On our sample system below, we have four jars with detectors. They are configured

for Battery #1, String #1, Jars #1-4. The Low Level Alarm points will return a zero if there is no

alarm and a one if there is an alarm. For each detector, there is a Low Level Alarm which indicates

the electrolyte level on that jar is low. The Trouble Alarm is triggered if any other alarm occurs on

that jar (ie. falloff, no response). Each of these points will return a value in Class 0 and Class 1

polls.

Section 5.5 – Analogue Input Point List

Section 5.5 provides a table defining the Analogue Input data points available in the device. These

are primarily the measurement data, updated with each cycle. There is a description of each point

along with the maximum and minimum values. If a multiplier or offset is needed those values are

also indicated. The table also defines the units for each point and the Event Class Assignment.

Class 0 polls will get all points defined in one operation (both Analogue and Binary inputs).

Fixed Points

Points 0-54 are fixed points and will be the same regardless of the size of the battery the system is

attached to. These are the values returned for the system. Those devices that are not used will not

return a value. Class 0 points in this group include the following:

• 11-TP1 Value

• 14-TP2 Value

• 17-TP3 Value

• 20-TP4 Value

• 23-26-Physical CT Values for CT1 through CT4

DNP3 USER GUIDE 16



String Points

Starting with point 55 you will see String level values. If multiple strings are connected you will see

them listed after the first string. The strings will enumerate beginning with String 1.1 (Battery 1,

String1). Data available in this section includes String Voltage Value, String Current Value, String

Ripple Value, etc. Note that Thermal Runaway is not yet supported in Frontier but is normally

important in VRLA installations.

Channel Points

After the points for each string the Channel Points will begin to enumerate. The size of this section

will be determined by the number of monitoring points on the system. This section uses a similar

numbering system (Channel 1.1.5 represents Battery #1, String #1, Channel #5). For each channel,

the values for Voltage, Ohmic, and Temperature are available.

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