DNP3 Master

Distributed Network Protocol

The DNP3 Master protocol is used to communicate the inSCADA Platform with systems and devices using the DNP3 Outstation protocol. The inSCADA Platform is the perfect solution for typical central SCADA applications with the DNP3 Master protocol. In central SCADA applications, you manage your system(s) with a platform that maximizes your productivity with the combination of DNP3 protocol and inSCADA platform.

As shown in Figure 1, the left side of the figure is shown as inSCADA DNP3 Master and the right side is DNP3 outstation. Within the network, other manufacturers may also have devices that support the DNP3 outstation protocol.

First of all, when configuring a DNP3 Master, we need to know the DNP3 profiles of all outstation devices in the network or configure all devices in the same profile. In this example, we will use the profile we used in the DNP3 Outstation section. Thus, we will be able to communicate our DNP3 Master application that we will create in inSCADA with our DNP3 outstation application that we have previously configured on inSCADA platform.

The DNP3 Protocol is integrated into the inSCADA platform to work in harmony with the inSCADA communication architecture, so it is similar to the steps followed when configuring other protocols.

Now let's examine how the DNP3 Master protocol is configured on the inSCADA platform.

Step 1. Create a Connection

To connect to or accept a connection to a device, we must first create a connection channel.

As shown in Figure 2, we select the project we want to create a connection and give a name to our connection. We create a connection by entering parameters as follows:

  • Ip : 0.0.0.0,

  • Port : 20000,

  • Timeout : 2000,

  • Msg Timeout : 2000.

For our DNP3 Master protocol, we use 0.0.0.0 as the IP address and 20000 as the port number. In this way, we can communicate with our DNP3 Outstation example.

The Msg Timeout parameter has no effect now. It is shown only because it may be used in future developments.

Step 2. Create a Connected Device

Now let's create a device connected to our connection.

As shown in Figure 3, we create a device connected to the Connection we created in the previous step. We create a device by entering parameters as follows:

  • Protokol : DNP3,

  • Station Address : 1,

  • Remote Address / DNP3 Outstation Address : 1,

  • Unsolicated Events : Enable,

  • Integrity Scan Time : 2000,

  • Event Scan Time : 2000.

Integrity Scan Time determines the duration for DNP3 Master protocol to scan variables/static points of DNP3 Outstation devices.

Event Scan Time determines the duration for DNP3 Master protocol to scan events of DNP3 Outstation devices.

Step 3. Create a Frame

In this step we are now creating the data blocks of our DNP3 Master. The data blocks we have created here refer to the data array for our DNP3 Master. Our DNP3 protocol on our inSCADA Platform allows us to create 7 different types of Frames.They are;

  1. Frozen Counter,

  2. Binary Input,

  3. Double Input,

  4. Binary Output,

  5. Counter,

  6. Analog Input,

  7. Analog Output,

As shown in Figure 4, we create a Frame connected to the device we created in the previous step. We create our Frame by entering the parameters as follows:

  • Name : DNP3MASTER_FRM01,

  • Type : Analog Input,

  • Start Address : 0,

  • Quantity :20,

  • Minutes Offset : 0,

  • Point Class : Class 1,

  • Event Buffer Size : 100,

  • Static Variation : Group30Var2,

  • Event Variation : Group32Var2,

  • Dead Band : 0.

With the configuration settings we have done so far, we have now created our master. After this step, you can now go to the Control Panel and start the connection "DNP3MASTER_CONN". If you have not made any mistake, the status of your connection will be displayed as "Connected".

Last Step Create variable and read / write data

Once communication is established, we can now create our variables, read and write data of the outstation. To do this, we need to create a variable from the Development->Variables menu.

The variables we create for DNP3 in the inSCADA Platform correspond to the "Points" in the array in the DNP3 protocol. The address of the variables corresponds to the "Point Index".

As shown in Figure 6, we create a variable linked to our DNP3 Master, which we created in the previous steps. We created Variable/Point by entering our parameters in the form as follows:

  • Name : DNP3Master_Analog_Value_01

  • Start Addres (Point Index) : 0

  • Point Class : Class 1

  • Dead Band : 0

  • Expression Type : NONE

  • Log Type : NONE

Now we can go back to Control Panel and refresh our connection and see our Variable value.

Last updated