DNP3 (Distributed Network Protocol) is a SCADA protocol for utilities, standardized as IEEE 1815 and supported by the DNP Users Group. Outstations keep time-stamped events until the master confirms them.
DNP3
DNP3 (Distributed Network Protocol) is used by electric, water and other utilities to connect control centres with remote outstations. It is standardized as IEEE 1815, and the DNP Users Group supports the protocol and its ongoing refinements.
- Event buffering - Outstations keep time-stamped events until the master confirms them, so history survives a lost link.
- Polling and unsolicited responses - A master can poll for data, and an outstation can report changes on its own, still expecting a confirmation.
- Classes of data - Points are grouped into event classes so a master can ask for what changed rather than everything.
- Secure Authentication - The standard defines authentication for critical operations.
DNP3 is a good example of an industrial protocol where the history of what happened matters as much as the current value, which is worth carrying into any API built on top of it.
It is one of fourteen protocols mapped to five communication patterns in OT Fabric’s software architect’s guide to OT.
Industry: Energy
