Practical communications considerations for protection engineers

Very few devices are currently installed in substations without some form of communications connection. There is a clear trend toward establishing data connectivity via Ethernet due to generally higher data rates, and cost effective connections. Whether an application is for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), line relaying, remote engineering access or Synchrophasors, the Intelligent Electronic Device (IED) is manufactured featuring a variety of communication ports including RS-232, RS-485, Ethernet, and fiber that are connected to, and communicating with at least one other remote device. Protection engineers typically have a limited role in communication applications, thus they may not have a full understanding of a communication networks' capabilities.