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IEC 61850-8-3 Ed.1 defines the direct mapping of the client/server services of the ACSI (Abstract Communication Service Interface) defined in IEC 61850-7-2. Direct mapping means that for every abstract client/server service of the ACSI a concrete message schema (for the request and the response) is defined in ASN.1 (Abstract Syntax Notation One).
Note: IEC 61850-8-1 (Mapping to MMS) uses ASN.1 for the MMS Message Schema and ASN.1 Basic Encoding Rule (BER) for the encoding. The services of ACSI and the MMS services are very different – the mapping of the ACSI to MMS is therefore very complex and illogical. The underlying approaches are completely different.
The encoding of the messages according to IEC 61850-8-3 is using the ASN.1 JER (JSON Encoding Rule, ISO/IEC 8825-8:2021); optionally ASN.1 BER (Basic Encoding Rule, ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021) can be used.
The JSON encoding rules (JER), compared to XER (used in IEC 61850-8-2; MMS messages encoded in XER), provide a modern, more compact, and easy-to-use encoding method.
The ASN.1 JER combines the advantages of the popular JSON data format and the benefits of ASN.1: ASN.1 schemas are easy to read and can be used to validate regular JSON messages, ASN.1 endpoints can communicate with JSON endpoints (the encoding of primitive types matches the encoding of JSON messages), etc. JER enables ASN.1 users to easily debug and troubleshoot ASN.1 protocols.
The messages are exchanged through WebSocket (RFC 6455, The WebSocket Protocol). WebSocket is a communication protocol that enables a persistent, full-duplex communication channel over a single TCP connection, allowing both the client and server to send data to each other at any time. This differs from the standard HTTP request-response model, making it ideal for real-time applications.
This mapping is mainly intended for the real-time information exchange between Control Centers of DSOs (Distribution System Operators) and a huge number of modern (web-based) control devices in Distributed Energy Resources (PV, Wind, …). The use-cases are in principle the same as for IEC 61850 in general.
The huge amount of information models, corresponding information exchange services, and the System Configuration Language (SCL) defined in the series of IEC 61850 are a cornerstone in the electric power systems of the future. While IEC 61850 is used in all three aspects in all kinds of substations, its application in a huge number of controllers in DER systems is lacking.
There is a strong wish to use the benefits of IEC 61850 in terms of the strong data model defined in various parts of IEC 61850, data exchange services (IEC 61850-7-2), and SCL (IEC 61850-6). Outside substations it is obvious that MMS (and therefore IEC 61850-8-2) is questioned to be used because the MMS implementations are costly and complicated. Many market groups decided to use the comprehensive information models of the IEC 61850 series and use their own (proprietary or standardized) communication protocols – which leads to non-interoperable and -interpretational solutions.
The IEC TR 61850-80-3:2015 “COMMUNICATION NETWORKS AND SYSTEMS FOR POWER UTILITY AUTOMATION – Part 80-3: Mapping to web protocols – Requirements and technical choices” stated already in 2015: “Therefore, it becomes imperative to provide an integration strategy that allows the integration of IEC 61850 into these various disparate protocols and information. In this context, Web Protocols are considered the most appropriate technology for communication with backend systems and possibly field devices.”
IEC 61850-8-2 (MMS, XML mapping, and XMPP; as result of the IEC 61850-80-3) has not fulfilled the expected result. To date, there is no real market penetration of that mapping visible.
IEC 61850-8-3 uses the well-known and modern Web-based approach (JSON, WebSocket) that allows easy integration in all modern software tools. That way, the IEC 61850 series covers all market domains in the electric power systems with one huge set of models, one abstract service model, two service mappings, and one system configuration language – supporting a high degree of interoperation.
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