The CFEReader

e-terracontrol | Module 6

GRID
Topics

Front-End Communications Overview

CFEReader Overview
Protocols Supported
Hardware Architecture
Managing Communications in CFEReader
SOE Reporting
Path redundancy

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 Front-End Communications Overview
EMS Console

SCANNER CONTROL ALARM

The front-end SCADA
NETIO
e-terrabrowser
Client
server gathers and
PROXYSRV serves up information
from the CFEReader
SCADA
Communications
Front-End Front-End and other data
Alarms Displays
(ISD) sources.
Front-End
SCADA data and controls
ISDCtrl AlarmPager are sent via ISD to
SCADA
SCANNER and
CONTROL using
CFEReader PROXYSRV and
ISDCtrl.
Field Devices
SCADA alarms can be
sent to ALARM using
The e-terrabrowser clients connect directly
the PROXYSRV and
to the Front-End to access the
AlarmPager
communication status displays.
e-terracontrol | The CFEReader | P3 application.
CFEReader Overview (1 of 2)

The CFE Reader provides an interface between

e-terracontrol and the Streams-based Communications
Front End (CFE)
Interfaces with one, or several Communication Front Ends
(CFEs), which manage more specifically the network
layers of the communications, as well as all protocol-
specific processing.
This allows e-terracontrol to support the existing RTU
protocols that exist in the CFE environment.
Most protocols from the legacy VME CFEs have been
ported and a delivered as the *.dll files found in the
..\e_terracontrol\bin directory or as bit-to-byte converter
firmware.

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CFEReader Overview (2 of 2)

Capable of communicating with multiple RTUs, PLCs, and

IEDs via various protocols over redundant
communication paths
Supports communications for bit oriented protocols using
the
bit-to-byte converter hardware.
Note for legacy system users:
CFEReader is the replacement for the TFE application.

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CFEREADER
Telemetry

CFEREADERVB/ 1
CFECONTROL SCADA
3/4 DEVICE
2
SCADA
Controls/SetPoints SERVER
State Changes

CFE
6

Serial
8/10 Network
7/9 1: Log MessageS to SMP
2: Log States Changes
Log Control Requests
Log Timers
3: CFE control log
4: CFE Communication log
TCP/IP 5: CFE SPY
B2B
6: CFE Event log
7: Line Monitor
8: Socket Trace
11 9: Port Monitor
10: Network Sniffer
11: Other Tools

RTU RTU
CFEReader Functions (1 of 2)

Performs all communications to the RTUs, including

scanning, controls, initialization, and clock
synchronization
Schedule smart periodic scanning of the RTUs
Report data changes and errors to e-terracontrol
Handle control requests sent by e-terracontrol
Schedule accumulator freeze and read operations

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CFEReader Functions (2 of 2)

Report Sequence-of-Events Logs in the form of text files

Schedule exploratory scans on failed devices
Retrieve hourly communication statistics reports
Provide a User Interface to browse the communication
model and view the current raw values of
measurements, as well as several log reports

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CFEReader Protocol Support
See documentation. Not all protocols are implemented in
CFEReader (e.g., RelayReader for SEL Relays)
Conitel 2020, C300, C3000, and PERT 26/31
CDC 44-500 Type I, CDC 44-550 Type II
DNP 3.0
DTO
Harris 5000/5500/6000 and Micro1
IEC 870-5-101, IEC 870-5-103, IEC 870-5-104
Landis & Gyr 8979 and Landis & Gyr 8065
Modbus
PG&E
PMS-91
REDAC 70-H
SES-92
Tejas Series-V
TRW S9000 and S9550
VANCOMM
SDLC
BETAC/GETAC
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Communication Port Expanders

Communication port expansion hardware provides additional serial

communication ports beyond the standard COM1 and COM2.
Serial device drivers allow the engineer to assign a local port name to
them (ex. COM3 COM130) whether they are physically in the
computer or remotely located.
Transparent to the CFEReader and other applications.
Supported serial device drivers:
Comtrol NS Link Driver for Windows version 7.23 (tested with DeviceMaster
RTS servers)
Digi Accelport Xem device driver version 6.0.04
Stallion (Lantronix) EasyConnect version 5.6.11.B1
Digi TS 16 Terminal Servers
The number of communications ports supported is limited by operating
system and hardware.

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Bit-to-Byte Converters (1 of 2)

The Bit-to-Byte converter has two main purposes:

To convert isochronous or synchronous streams to
asynchronous streams
To convert the baud rate of the communications to 19200
baud.
Use of the Bit-to-Byte converter is only a hard requirement
for isochronous or synchronous protocols since the PC
communication ports support only asynchronous
communications.

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Bit-to-Byte Converters (2 of 2)

Each port of the bit-to-byte converter has a PIC

microcontroller chip with integrated re-writable PROM
memory.
The PROMs for each port must be programmed with the
correct firmware to support the protocol being used on
that port.
Individual PROMs can be replaced with pre-programmed
PROMs or reprogrammed while still in the bit-to-byte
converter using a Tech Tools QuickWriter MCU
programmer (part number QW1) and PICTOOLS software.
Please refer to Release Notes for the list of supported Bit-
to-Byte converter versions.
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 Baud Rate Conversion

For asynchronous protocols, the use of a Bit-to-Byte

converter is not a hard requirement, but it has
been shown to produce shorter transmission
turnaround times when the PC communication
ports are run at a baud rate of 9600 or above.
Using the Bit-to byte converter as a baud rate
converter allows the PC communication ports to
communicate with the Bit-to-Byte converter at a
baud rate of 19200 rate, while the Bit-to-Byte
converter communicates to the RTUs using a
slower rate.
ud d
Ba Ba
u
00 0
1 92 12
0

OptiPlex 450/Le SD

Bit-to-Byte RTU
Converter
FEP
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Baud Rate Conversion Notes

If the asynchronous firmware is specified for a

communication port, model the communication rate
using the baud rate used to communicate with the RTU,
not the 19200 baud used to communicate between the
PC and the bit-to-byte converter.
Do not use the baud rate conversion with DNP 3.0 and
dialup applications.
Use the pass-through firmware or bypass the bit-to-byte
converter entirely. IE. The NOSMASH port dataset
parameter. In the emp60_rtus.sdb sample SCADA
database, this is incorrectly defined as NOBITSMASHER
(old versions parameter definition)

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CFEREADER User Interface Window
Provides the primary means of
analyzing and
troubleshooting CFEReader
communications.
Provides a view of the
communication model and
the status of data sets.
Provides a number of logging
functions for analysis and
troubleshooting.
Log Displays
Log Files
Communication Statistics
Error Buckets
Selecting an item on the CFE Reader display causes a window
containing information about the selected item to open.
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 Data Set Popup Windows

Each device type has its own window that displays its
configuration parameters.
These parameters represent static communication data; they are
usually read-only.
The only dynamic data available are the current status of the
device (Online, Offline), the measurement values, and some
logging/statistics configuration options.
Data in popup windows DO NOT update unless refreshed by a manual
action.

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CFEReader Model Changes (1 of 2)

For reasons of consistency, changes must be made in the

SCADA application.
Changes to SCADA dataset parameters are automatically
propagated from the SCADA application to the CFE
Reader.
A Data Source in SCADA identifies the sub-tree of the
communication model for which a CFE Reader is
responsible, and which must be downloaded to the CFE
Reader at startup.

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CFEReader Model Changes (2 of 2)

Some changes require that the CFE be re-initialized.

For e-terraplatform users, this is automatically handled by
the database update procedure initiated using the
Database Sequence (DBSEQ) application in e-
terraplatform.
Changes to SCADAMOM in e-terraplatform are
propagated to SCADA.
The CFEReader is exited and restarted causing it to
reload the updated database from SCADA and force re-
initialization of all CFEs on restart.

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CFEREADER Configuration Tab

Local Items are parameters that the CFE Reader uses to manage its
communications with CFEs, RTUs, and the Time Device.
Unlike the other communication data, these parameters are local
to the application, they can be modified at anytime, and they can
be saved as default parameters for the current Data Source.
Provides controls for enabling and disabling logging options for the
following logs:
CFE Reader Log
Communication Log
Spy Log
SMP Log Options add additional messages to the CFE Reader
application log.

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 CFE Logging Overview

Processing Events .exe Messages

CFEReader Log
CFEReader

CFE & RTU

Comm Log Comm
Spy Log
.dll (CFE-to-TFE protocol)

CFE Event Log CFE

Communication Errors RTU Comm
(ComStats, Buckets)
Line Analyzer
(RTU protocol interpreted or not)
RTU

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 CFE Logging to Files

Processing Events .exe Messages

CFEReader Log CFEReader
CfeControl<date>_<time>.log

Comm Log
CFE & RTU
COMMLOG<date>_<time>.log Comm
Spy Log
(CFE-to-TFE protocol)
.dll Cfe_spy.dat
CFE Event Log
Cfe_n_EventLog_yyyymmdd_HhMmSs.log CFE
Communication Errors
(ComStats, Buckets) RTU Comm
HOURLY COMM STATS yyyymmdd V2.CSV
Line Analyzer
(RTU protocol interpreted or not)
Cfe_line_monitor_CFEnum_LINEnum.dat

RTU

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Notes on Line Analyzer Logs

The data retrieved from each line is stored in a separate

file named cfe_line_monitor_<CFE number>_<Line
number>.dat.
Note: No time in name.
If the file already exists, new line analyzer data to be
APPENDED to the file.
Note: To start a new file, rename or delete the old one.

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Notes on Spy Logs

The Spy Log takes the form of a file named Cfe_spy.dat.

If a Cfe_spy.dat file already exists, the old one is renamed
Cfe_spy.log.
Once activated, the Spy Log cannot be deactivated.
Note: The spy log file is written only when the buffered
information reaches a certain volume. Many messages
must be logged before the file is even created.

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 Sequence Of Events Processing
CFE Reader periodically produces SOE
files.
SOE Compiler processes the SOE files.
Can merge and sorts events from
multiple SOE files into a common
*.CSV file.
Two output options:
Analog-Limit-Excursion files
Sequence-of-Event files.
ALE Viewer and SOE Viewer allows the
user to view the processed ALE or
SOE files.
The SOE Viewer is for viewing
SOE Status data.
The ALE Viewer is for viewing
SOE Analog Limit Excursion data.

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 SOE Compiler Work Order Processing
(1 of 2)
CFEReader 1
.soe compile .soc sort .sos

CFEReader 2 distribute
compile sort merge
.soe .soc .sos .csv .csv

CFEReader 3
.soe compile .soc sort .sos

The SOE Compiler is controlled by command line parameters

that control how and when it processes the SOE files.
Can designate how often and how long it runs to
distribute load.
Can designate output file naming conventions.
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 SOE Compiler Work Order Processing
(2 of 2)
Clean
Deletes all output and intermediate files on startup when
the -c command line argument is supplied.
Compile
Translates the communication topology names into the
substation topology equivalents, and numeric state values
into more meaningful text.
Sort
Sorts the file contents by time and date.
Merge
Combines the files for multiple CFE Readers for any given
day.
Distribute
Places copies of the produced output files in one or more
folders on one or more machines.
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Path Redundancy
Open-ended redundant path concept manages valid
paths to identically configured communications
ports.
fep1 fep2
SCADA SCADA Note: CommState
.sdb .sdb display only lists the
A name but the
CFEreader process
datasource=Cfereader_fep_winstrms (A path) on the B side MUST
datasource=Cfereader_FepB_B (B path) call out the B named
datasource
CFEReader CFEReader

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 End of module 6
Next module :
EMSP009_07_H_eterracontrol_datasource_Alstom_2011.03.08_.pptx

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