Data Protocols; Courier; Physical Connection And Link Layer; Courier Database - GE P24DM Technical Manual

P24xM
6

DATA PROTOCOLS

The products supports a wide range of protocols to make them applicable to many industries and applications.
The exact data protocols supported by a particular product depend on its chosen application, but the following
table gives a list of the data protocols that are typically available.
SCADA data protocols
Data Protocol

Courier

K-Bus, RS485, Ethernet, USB
MODBUS RS485
IEC 60870-5-103 RS485
DNP 3.0 RS485, Ethernet
IEC 61850 Ethernet
The relationship of these protocols to the lower level physical layer protocols are as follows:
IEC 60870-5-103
MODBUS

Data Protocols

Data Link Layer EIA(RS)485
Physical Layer
6.1 COURIER
This section should provide sufficient detail to enable understanding of the Courier protocol at a level required by
most users. For situations where the level of information contained in this manual is insufficient, further
publications (R6511 and R6512) containing in-depth details about the protocol and its use, are available on
request.
Courier is an General Electric proprietary communication protocol. Courier uses a standard set of commands to
access a database of settings and data in the IED. This allows a master to communicate with a number of slave
devices. The application-specific elements are contained in the database rather than in the commands used to
interrogate it, meaning that the master station does not need to be preconfigured. Courier also provides a
sequence of event (SOE) and disturbance record extraction mechanism.
6.1.1

PHYSICAL CONNECTION AND LINK LAYER

In the P40 Agile products, Courier can be used with three physical layer protocols: K-Bus, EIA(RS)485 and USB.
Three connection options are available for Courier:
The front USB port - for connection to Settings application software on, for example, a laptop
●
Rear serial port 1 - for permanent SCADA connection via RS485 or K-Bus
●
The optional rear serial port 2 - for permanent SCADA connection via RS485 or K-Bus
●
The IED address and baud rate can be selected using the front panel menu or by a suitable application such as
MiCOM S1 Agile.
6.1.2

COURIER DATABASE

The Courier database is two-dimensional and resembles a table. Each cell in the database is referenced by a row
and column address. Both the column and the row can take a range from 0 to 255 (0000 to FFFF Hexadecimal.
P24xM-TM-EN-2.1
Layer 1 protocol
Standard for SCADA communications developed by General Electric.
Standard for SCADA communications developed by Modicon.
IEC standard for SCADA communications
Standard for SCADA communications developed by Harris. Used mainly in
North America.
IEC standard for substation automation. Facilitates interoperability.
IEC 61850
DNP3.0 DNP3.0
Courier Courier
Ethernet
Description
Courier
USB
Copper or Optical Fibre
Chapter 16 - Communications
Courier
K-Bus
317