DUBAL21

An IPCOMM gateway is used to couple six field devices (slave stations) with the power management system (PMS, master station).
The communication between gateway and PMS runs over DNP 3.0 protocol via Ethernet (TCP/IP). The gateway is configured as "slave".
The communication between gateway and field devices is processed by the Modbus protocol. Here, the gateway is configured as "master".
The hardware platform is our DIN-rail embedded controller MEC without rotating parts. It is equipped with four RS-232 and two Ethernet interfaces. The MEC is able to transmit up to 5,000 data points.
The gateways operate redundantly in "hot standby" mode. This means only one of the two devices is active at any time. The passive device monitors the active one and if the active one fails, the passive one automatically steps in and resumes communication.
The protocol Modbus doesn't support the transmission of a time stamp. However, the information may be time-stamped at gateway site. The gateway time can be synchronised by default via DNP 3.0 protocol or over NTP. In case of synchronisation via DNP 3.0 time must be sent from master station to gateway.