300+ SCADA Protocol Articles & Guides
Deep dives on Modbus, DNP3, IEC 60870-5-101/104, IEC 61850, OPC UA, Profinet, MQTT, IEC 62443, and substation automation — written for practicing engineers.
IEC 61850 Report Control Blocks: BRCB and URCB Explained
IEC 61850 report control block reference: BRCB vs URCB, every attribute, TrgOps and OptFlds decoded, BufTm and IntgPd, and the write order that breaks clients.
Process Bus vs Station Bus: IEC 61850 Architecture
Process bus vs station bus in IEC 61850: which protocols run on each, time sync and hardware differences, redundancy, bandwidth, and procurement guidance.
PTP Power Profile Explained (IEC/IEEE 61850-9-3)
PTP Power Profile explained: the 1 microsecond budget, grandmaster and transparent clock requirements, holdover, PRP and HSR integration, and link rules.
What Is a Merging Unit? IEC 61850 Process Bus Explained
Merging unit explained: how it digitizes CT and VT signals and publishes Sampled Values, with TCTR and TVTR modeling, SAMU vs built-in, and sample rates.
IEC 61850 Logical Nodes Explained: Complete Reference
IEC 61850 logical nodes in full: all 13 LN groups, the ones you meet daily like XCBR, PTOC, MMXU, CSWI, and GGIO, plus data objects and object references.
IEC 61850 SCL File Types: ICD, SSD, SCD, IID, CID, SED
IEC 61850 SCL file types explained: what ICD, SSD, SCD, IID, CID, and SED each contain, who creates them, and how they connect in the engineering workflow.
IEC 61850 Security: Threats, IEC 62351, and Hardening
IEC 61850 security threats against GOOSE, MMS, and Sampled Values, and what IEC 62351 does about them: TLS profiles, HMAC, role-based access, and hardening.
IEC 61850-3 Ethernet Switch: Requirements and Testing
IEC 61850-3 Ethernet switch requirements in full: EMC and immunity limits, power supply ratings, climatic and seismic tests, VLAN setup, and IEEE 1613 compared.
IEC 61850 MMS Port 102 Explained
IEC 61850 MMS port 102 explained: why the ISO-on-TCP port was kept, what data rides on it, how GOOSE and SV differ, Wireshark filters, and firewall rules.
IEC 61850 Control Models: Direct, SBO, and Enhanced Security
IEC 61850 control models explained: all five ctlModel values, what enhanced security really means, the Select-Operate flow, and what happens after Operate.
IEC 61850 Data Types Explained: The Complete Practical Guide
IEC 61850 data types from the ground up: basic types, common data classes, data objects and attributes, and how each is encoded in MMS, GOOSE, and SV.
IEC 61850 Sampled Values (SV): Process Bus Reference
IEC 61850 Sampled Values reference: the 9-2 spec, frame structure and ASN.1 encoding, SmpSynch values, control blocks, IEC 62351-6 security, and PRP/HSR.
IEC 61850 GOOSE Explained: Complete Technical Guide
IEC 61850 GOOSE explained in depth: PDU structure, the GOOSE control block, stNum and sqNum behavior, retransmission timing, multicast, and data sets.
GOOSE vs Sampled Values in IEC 61850: Key Differences
GOOSE vs Sampled Values compared on five points: data type, transmission behavior, latency, Ethernet transport, and use cases, plus network requirements.
IEC 61850 Data Sets: Static vs Dynamic Explained
IEC 61850 data sets compared: static, persistent dynamic, and non-persistent dynamic. How each is stored, how they map to MMS, and when to use which one.
What Is IEC 61850? The Language of Power System Functions
IEC 61850 is a data model, not just a protocol. How logical nodes give the substation a vocabulary, how ACSI abstracts services, and what SCL actually does.
IEC 61850 MMS Explained: Reporting, Control, Services
IEC 61850 MMS explained end to end: the client-server model, how the object model maps to MMS, the service set, the communication stack, and real applications.