IEC 60870 Client¶

Overview¶

This feature is available starting with PROCON-Connect v1.4.0.

The IEC 60870 client in PROCON-Connect enables connection to external IEC 60870 servers, such as control or protection devices, telecontrol stations, or network components. It is used to receive measured values, statuses, and events from connected IEC devices, as well as to transmit commands or setpoints in accordance with the IEC standard.

The telegrams sent by the connected IEC server are processed by the client, and their contents are automatically mapped to tags in PROCON-Connect. This makes all data available throughout the system for further processing. The tags can be used for process connections, logic and function modules, visualizations, data logging, and for transmission to other protocols.

Client Overview¶

Overview of managing existing clients and a starting point for adding new clients.

Name: The client’s unique name. This can be chosen freely when adding the client and is used solely for identification purposes in the overview.
Server type: The client can be of type 104 (TCP) or 101 (serial). The client type affects the configuration options when adding a client, as well as its communication protocol.
Status: Possible statuses are Active, Stopped, Error or Unlicensed. Only an active client can send and receive messages.
Options menu: The starting point for manually adding information objects, importing information objects, or editing and deleting the client.

Configure the client¶

You can add a new client and configure it directly using the button (1).

You can adjust the configuration of an existing client via the Options menu (2).

The following parameters can be configured in a client:

Client type: The client’s protocol type. Cannot be changed.
Name: The client’s name is displayed on the overview page and is intended to make it easier to identify them.
Origin address: The origin address is included when sending telegrams so that the origin of a request can be identified.

Configure the 104 client¶

These parameters are specific to 104:

Server address: The network address of the server to which the client should connect.
Port: The port to which the client should connect. The default port is 2404.
T0: Time limit for establishing a connection (in seconds).
T1: Timeout for transmitted APDUs in I/U format (in seconds). If the timeout expires without an acknowledgement, the connection is closed. This is used by the sender to determine whether the receiver has failed to acknowledge a message.
T2: Time limit for message acknowledgement (in seconds). This time limit is used by the recipient to determine the point in time by which the message acknowledgement must be sent.
T3: Time limit for sending test telegrams when the connection is inactive (in seconds).
K: Number of unacknowledged APDUs in I-format. The sender terminates the transmission after K unacknowledged I-messages.
W: Number of unacknowledged APDUs in I-format. The recipient will acknowledge them after no more than W messages.

Configure the 101 client¶

These parameters are specific to 101:

Serial Port: Specify the serial port to be used for communication, e.g., /dev/ttsS0. PROCON-Connect must be able to access the serial port. For container-based deployments, a corresponding assignment is required in the Docker environment. Ensure that the serial port is not being used by other components at the same time.
Baud rate: Transmission speed. The default is 9600 baud.
Data bits: Number of data bits [7, 8]. The default is 8 bits.
Stop bits: Number of stop bits [1, 2]. The default is 1 bit.
Parity: Use of a parity bit [even, odd, none]. The default is even parity.
Mode: Connection mode [unbalanced, balanced]. The default is unbalanced.
- The balanced mode supports communication between a single client and a single server via a dedicated serial line. This mode is balanced in that both sides can send messages spontaneously at any time.
- The unbalanced mode supports communication between a single client and multiple servers on a serial bus. Each server is addressed via its unique link-layer address. Servers are not permitted to send messages spontaneously; they only respond to requests from the client. The client can address multiple servers simultaneously via a broadcast address.
Poll interval (ms): Used only in unbalanced mode. The interval, in milliseconds, at which the connection layer is polled for new messages. The default is 1000 ms.
Address size: Length of the address in bytes [1, 2]. The default is 1 byte.
Ack timeout (ms): The connection layer’s timeout for acknowledgement, in milliseconds. The default is 200 ms.
Repeat timeout (ms): Timeout in milliseconds for retrying message transmission if no acknowledgement has been received. The default is 1000 ms.
Link state timeout (ms): The interval, in milliseconds, at which the connection status request (FunctionCode=0) is repeated after the response timeout has expired. The default is 5000 ms.
Use single char ACK: Use a single-character acknowledgement for ACK (FunctionCode=0) or RESP_NO_USER_DATA (FunctionCode=9). The default setting is enabled.
Own link-layer address: Used only in balanced mode. The client’s address at the link layer. The default is 0.
Server link layer address: The address of the server(s) in the link layer. The default is 1.
Size of common address (CA): Number of bytes in the Common Address (CA) [1, 2]. The default is 2 bytes.
Size of information object address (IOA): Number of bytes in the Information Object Addresses (IOA) [1, 2, 3]. The default is 3 bytes.
Size of cause of transmission (COT): Number of bytes in the Cause Of Transmission (COT) [1, 2]. The default is 2 bytes.

Overview of information objects¶

To access the information object overview, first navigate to the IEC 60870-5 client overview page. Clicking on a client entry opens its information object overview.To access the information object overview, first navigate to the IEC 60870-5 client overview page. Clicking on a client entry opens its information object overview.

Name: Name of the information object. Displayed in the information object overview. Optional.
IEC data type: The data type of the information object.
CA: The information object’s shared address in dual notation: integer and byte-by-byte.
IOA: Information object address in dual notation: integer and byte-by-byte.
Tags: A list of all tags assigned to the information object.
Options menu: The starting point for editing or deleting an existing information object.

When configuring information objects, multiple tags are assigned. The link between an information object and tags is established via dependencies. The configuration is automatically checked for consistency when the overview is opened. Any inconsistencies are indicated by a warning triangle in the first column of the information object overview. Further information is displayed in a tooltip when the mouse pointer is positioned over the warning triangle. During the check, the value ranges of the assigned tags are examined in conjunction with the IEC data type.

Configure information objects¶

You can add a new information object via the Options menu of the relevant client. There you will find the option Add information object (1).

You can edit an existing information object via its Options menu (2).

General parameters¶

The following parameters can always be configured in an information object. These parameters are not dependent on the IEC data type.

Name: Name of the information object. Displayed in the information object overview. Optional.
Common Address (CA): The CA can be entered in the left-hand field as a single number or in the right-hand field byte by byte. [1; 65534] are station addresses; 65535 is the global address.
Information Object Address (IOA): The IOA can be entered as a single number in the left-hand field or byte by byte in the right-hand field.
IEC data type: The IEC data type can be selected from a drop-down menu. The selection affects the configuration options below, such as the available tag mappings.

Parameters in the monitoring direction¶

The following parameters are available for all IEC data types in the monitoring direction:

General query: The information object is included in the response to the general query.
Group interrogation: Information objects in the monitoring direction can be assigned to groups. Any number of groups can be assigned in parallel. It is also possible to combine this with the general query.
Cyclic transmission (COT1): Information objects in the monitoring direction can be transmitted cyclically.
Event/Spontaneous Transmission (COT3): Information objects in the monitoring direction can be transmitted when their values change. Absolute and percentage thresholds can be defined, by which the value must have changed compared to the last transmission.

Depending on the IEC data type, the following tag mappings in the monitoring direction are possible:

Value: The tag whose value is to be transferred.
Quality: A field containing quality information. The quality information is represented as an integer. The quality information can be extracted bit by bit, for example at the Codesys level.
Transient: A Boolean tag indicating whether the information object is currently in a transitional state. true = transitional, false = steady-state.
Timestamp: The tag containing the timestamp. If no tag is selected, the most recent timestamp from the other tag assignments (Value, Quality, Transient) is used. The source of the timestamp depends on the driver. For driver-specific details, see Driver settings.

IEC data type	Value	Quality	Transient	Timestamp
[001] M_SP_NA_1 - Single Point Value	x	x
[003] M_DP_NA_1 - Double Point Value	x	x
[005] M_ST_NA_1 - Step Position Information	x	x	x
[009] M_ME_NA_1 - Measured Value, Normalized	x	x
[011] M_ME_NB_1 - Measured Value, Scaled	x	x
[013] M_ME_NC_1 - Measured Value, Short	x	x
[015] M_IT_NA_1 - Integrated Totals	x	x
[021] M_ME_ND_1 - Measured Value Without Quality	x
[030] M_SP_TB_1 - Single Point Value with CP56Time2a	x	x		x
[031] M_DP_TB_1 - Double Point Value with CP56Time2a	x	x		x
[032] M_ST_TB_1 - Step Position Information with CP56Time2a	x	x	x	x
[034] M_ME_TD_1 - Measured Value, Normalized with CP56Time2a	x	x		x
[035] M_ME_TE_1 - Measured Value, Scaled with CP56Time2a	x	x		x
[036] M_ME_TF_1 - Measured Value, Short with CP56Time2a	x	x		x
[037] M_IT_TB_1 - Integrated Totals with CP56Time2a	x	x		x

Parameters in the command direction¶

Depending on the IEC data type, the following tag mappings in the command direction are possible:

Value: The tag whose value is to be transferred.
Qualifier: A tag containing quality information. The quality information is represented by an integer.
Select/Execute: A Boolean tag that can be used to prepare messages. true = Execute, false = Select.
Transmission cause: A tag containing information on whether the command is an ACTIVATION or a DEACTIVATION. This can be evaluated in the PLC to cancel the execution of a command currently in progress.
Timestamp: The tag containing the timestamp. If no tag is selected, the most recent timestamp from the other tag assignments (Value, Quality, Transient) is used. The source of the timestamp depends on the driver. For driver-specific details, see Driver settings.

IEC data type	Value	Qualifier	Select/Execute	Cause of transmission	Timestamp
[045] C_SC_NA_1 - Single Command	x	x	x	x
[046] C_DC_NA_1 - Double Command	x	x	x	x
[047] C_RC_NA_1 - Step Command	x	x	x	x
[048] C_SE_NA_1 - Setpoint Command, Normalized	x	x	x	x
[049] C_SE_NB_1 - Setpoint Command, Scaled	x	x	x	x
[050] C_SE_NC_1 - Setpoint Command, Short	x	x	x	x
[058] C_SC_TA_1 - Single Command with CP56Time2a	x	x	x	x	x
[059] C_DC_TA_1 - Double Command with CP56Time2a	x	x	x	x	x
[060] C_RC_TA_1 - Step Command with CP56Time2a	x	x	x	x	x
[061] C_SE_TA_1 - Setpoint Command, Normalized with CP56Time2a	x	x	x	x	x
[062] C_SE_TB_1 - Setpoint Command, Scaled with CP56Time2a	x	x	x	x	x
[063] C_SE_TC_1 - Setpoint Command, Short with CP56Time2a	x	x	x	x	x

Writing feedback tag assignment¶

In the command direction, additional tag mappings are required in order to be able to associate a controller’s responses with a specific command.

Request counter: The value of this numeric tag is automatically incremented as soon as the associated command is received. Connected controllers can monitor changes to this value to determine whether the command has been triggered.
Response counter: Connected controllers should increment the response counter to the value of the request counter once the command has been processed. This informs the IEC 60870 server that processing has been completed. The server then acknowledges the completion of processing to the client with COT_ACTIVATION_TERMINATION (COT10).
Response status: Connected controllers should set this Boolean tag to true if the command was executed successfully. Otherwise, the value should be set to false. The response status must be set before the response counter is set. If the status is false, COT_ACTIVATION_TERMINATION (COT10) is sent with the negative flag set.

The Write Feedback Tag Assignment block is used to link a command and its response on the 60870 server:

The command is sent to the PLC and the request counter for the PLC is incremented.
The PLC executes the command in accordance with its internal logic.
The result can be written to the response status.
The PLC can then set the response counter equal to the request counter.
The 60870 can now evaluate the response Status and forward it to the client.

Import Information Objects¶

The configuration of 60870 clients is often based on Excel-based lists of data points provided by energy suppliers on a facility-specific basis. The CSV-based import of information objects is designed to facilitate the efficient transfer of this information into the system.

The edited CSV file can then be imported into two systems: Codesys and PROCON-Connect.

An import script is available for Codesys that creates a corresponding variable in the global variable list (GVL) based on the specified variable name and IEC data type. The script is provided as a Codesys package and can be installed accordingly.

For the 60870 client, you can use the “Import Information Objects” option to create the information objects.

During the import process, you can select a previously created Codesys connection. If the CSV file contains tag names, these variable names are automatically imported into the variable list of the selected Codesys connection and mapped to the information object.

For all other drivers, the corresponding tags must first be imported manually. During import, PROCON-Connect searches for tags with the same name and automatically assigns them to the information object.

Although this mechanism is based on the tag name, tags in information objects are referenced by their technical ID; in other words, renaming a tag does not remove the association.

Import Start Point¶

The starting point is the Client Overview. From the Options menu of an existing 60870 client, you can select the Import Information Objects option. A dialog box will open. From this dialog box, you can download the required CSV template or upload a file that has already been prepared for import.

Configuring the CSV file¶

The field separator is the character ;
The file and import support the UTF-8 character set.
The CSV file contains the following columns (* = required field):

CSV column	Parameter	Description
name	Name	Purpose of the signal. Displayed in the UI to aid identification. Data type: String.
datatype *	IEC data type	IEC data type number, e.g. 20 for general query. Data type: Numeric, [0; 126].
caLow *	CA Low	Low byte of the Common Address of the ASDU (Application Service Data Unit). If, in serial configurations, a CA is selected using only one byte, only the CA L field should be used for import. The CA H field remains empty and is not a mandatory field. Data type: Numeric, [0, 127].
caHigh *	CA High	Highest byte of the ASDU (Application Service Data Unit) shared address. Data type: Numeric, [0, 127].
ioaLow *	IOA Low	Low byte of the Information Object Address (IOA). Data type: Numeric, [0; 127].
ioaMid *	IOA Mid	Middle byte of the Information Object Address (IOA). If, in serial configurations, the IOA is selected using only two bytes, IOA L and IOA H must be used for the import. In this case, IAM M remains empty and is not a mandatory field. Data type: Numeric, [0; 127].
ioaHigh *	IOA High	High byte of the Information Object Address (IOA). Data type: Numeric, [0; 127].
valueTagName	Value	A tag representing the value. Data type: String.
valueTagComment	Value comment	Comment on the tag. When imported into Codesys, this is written as a source code comment after the variable. Data type: String.
timestampTagName	Timestamp	Name of the tag representing the CP56Time2a timestamp. Data type: String (CP56Time2a timestamp).
timestampTagComment	Timestamp comment	Comment on the tag. When imported into Codesys, this is written as a source code comment after the variable. Data type: String.
qualityTagName	Quality	Name of the tag that represents the quality information in the monitoring direction. Data type: Numeric.
qualityTagComment	Quality comment	Comment on the tag. When imported into Codesys, this is written as a source code comment after the variable. Data type: String.
qualifierTagName	Qualifier	Name of the tag that represents the quality information in the command direction. Data type: Numeric.
qualifierTagComment	Qualifier comment	Comment on the tag. When imported into Codesys, this is written as a source code comment after the variable. Data type: String.
selectExecuteTagName	Select/Execute	Name of the tag used to prepare messages. Data type: String.
selectExecuteTagComment	Select/execute comment	Comment on the tag. When imported into Codesys, this is written as a source code comment after the variable. Data type: String.
transientTagName	Transient	Name of the tag representing the transition state. Data type: String.
transientTagComment	Transient comment	Comment on the tag. When imported into Codesys, this is written as a source code comment after the variable. Data type: String.
causeOfTransmissionTagName	Cause of transmission	Name of the tag that determines whether the command is an ACTIVATION or a DEACTIVATION. Data type: String.
causeOfTransmissionTagComment	Cause of transmission comment	Comment on the tag. When imported into Codesys, this is written as a source code comment after the variable. Data type: String.
requestCounterTagName	Request counter	Name of the tag representing the request counter. Data type: String.
requestCounterTagComment	Request counter comment	Comment on the tag. When imported into Codesys, this is written as a source code comment after the variable. Data type: String.
responseCounterTagName	Response counter	Name of the tag representing the response counter. Data type: String.
responseCounterTagComment	Response counter comment	Comment on the tag. When imported into Codesys, this is written as a source code comment after the variable. Data type: String.
responseStatusTagName	Response status	Name of the tag representing the response status. Data type: String.
responseStatusTagComment	Response status comment	Comment on the tag. When imported into Codesys, this is written as a source code comment after the variable. Data type: String.
spontaneousEnabled	Event/Spontaneous transmission (COT3)	`TRUE` = Spontaneous transmission enabled. `FALSE` or `[empty]` = Spontaneous transmission disabled. Data type: Boolean.
spontaneousThresholdType	Threshold type	The threshold check can be performed as ‘not at all’, ‘absolutely’ or ‘relatively’. Data type: Enum. The following keywords are available during import: `Procentual` - Enables percentage-based threshold checking based on the most recently transmitted value. A threshold value must be entered. `Absolute` – Enables percentage-based threshold checking based on the most recently transmitted value. A threshold value must be entered. `[empty]` - No threshold check is performed.
spontaneousThresholdValue	Threshold	This value must be specified if the threshold type has been set to percentage or absolute. A full stop must be used as the decimal separator, for example: `3.75`. Data type: Numeric, positive numbers.
stationInterrogationEnabled	Group interrogation	`TRUE` = General interrogation (COT 20) or general counter interrogation (COT 37) enabled. `False` or `[empty]` = General query/general counter intorrogation disabled. Data type: Boolean.
interrogationGroups	Groups	Configuration for group queries. `1–16` for measured values. `1–4` for counters. Multiple groups can be specified separated by commas, e.g. `1, 16`. Data type: String.
cyclicPublishIntervalSec	Cyclic transmission (COT1)	A positive integer can be entered. The unit is seconds. The import automatically enables cyclic transmission if a value is specified. If the field is left blank, cyclic transmission is not enabled. Data type: Numeric, positive numbers.

Import trends¶

Information objects in the event log¶

The event log allows you to track the communication of the 60870 server.

Filter: The event log can be filtered to 60870, as shown in the screenshot, so that only relevant events are displayed.
Level: To display communication messages, the log level of the 60870-5 service must be set to debug in the event log configuration.
Content: Details regarding the transmission of the information object and the values transferred are displayed. The information shown depends on the IEC data type. In addition to the parameters already defined, the following parameters may also appear in the log:
- OA (Origin Address): When updating measured values, the origin address is set to 0. When responding to commands, the origin address of the command is used.
- Negative: Error bit for responses to commands. 0 = no error, 1 = error. Errors may occur, for example, if the PLC is unreachable or returns an error.