System and method for simultaneous communication on modbus and dnp 3.0 over ethernet for electronic power meter

Abstract

A system and method is provided for simultaneous communications on Modbus and DNP 3.0 over Ethernet for an electronic power meter. The system incorporates one or more protocol wrappers to provide compatibility with both Modbus and DNP based applications. The system removes the appropriate wrappers and routes the incoming data packet to its destination. Additionally, the system also wraps outgoing response packets with the appropriate protocol wrapper based on the related data packet wrappers.

1 . A system for providing simultaneous communications to a plurality of applications, the system comprising:
 an interface configured to receive a message using at least one network protocol over a network connection, the interface configured to determine the at least one network protocol used by the message by inspecting the message and the interface configured to route the message to at least one intelligent electronic device based on the determined at least one network protocol and a network protocol associated with the at least one intelligent electronic device; and   the at least one intelligent electronic device including a digital sampler for sampling a voltage and a current at a sampling point of an electrical distribution system, the digital sampler coupled to at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is operative to perform the multiple metering tasks related to the sampled voltage and current.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with a Modbus protocol. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with a DNP (Distributed Network Protocol) protocol. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with Modbus Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with RS-485. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with an e-mail protocol. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with File Transfer Protocol (FTP). 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the multiple metering tasks include executing revenue calculations. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one intelligent electronic device further comprises an external device interface for connecting an external device to the at least one intelligent electronic device, wherein said external device transmits packet data to the at least one intelligent electronic device to be processed by the at least one processor and provided through the interface. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the interface supports one of 100 base-T and 10 base-T communications. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). 
     
     
         13 . A method for providing communications between an intelligent electronic device and a plurality of applications over a network, the network including an interface for coupling the intelligent electronic device to the network, the intelligent electronic device operating under a predetermined network protocol, the method comprising the steps of:
 receiving a message over a network connection via the interface;   determining a network protocol used by the message by inspecting the message; and   routing the message to the intelligent electronic device based on the step of determining the network protocol and the predetermined network protocol of the intelligent electronic device.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with a Modbus protocol. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with a DNP (Distributed Network Protocol) protocol. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with Modbus Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with RS-485. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with File Transfer Protocol (FTP). 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one network protocol is in accordance with a utility metering protocol. 
     
     
         20 . A system for evaluating a message on a single network, said network including a plurality of network devices communicating messages using various different protocols, wherein a portion of each message includes a specific sequence, the system comprising:
 an interface with a specific messaging protocol and another specific messaging protocol, the interface adapted to evaluate a sequence of a portion of a message on the network, and   a network device coupled to the interface, wherein the interface is adapted to transmit the message to the network device if the sequence of a portion of the message is in accordance with the specific messaging protocol or with the another specific messaging protocol.   
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the specific messaging protocol is associated with a messaging protocol used in an electric power system. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the specific messaging protocol is selected from the group consisting of DNP, MODBUS, and unstructured messaging protocols. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the network is selected from a group consisting of a local area network, a wide area network, and a SCADA system. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the interface is part of the network device. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the network device is selected from a group consisting of a power meter, a remote terminal unit (RTU), and a SCADA master. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the network device is an intelligent electronic device including a digital sampler for sampling a voltage and a current at a sampling point of an electrical distribution system and at least one processor coupled to the digital sampler, wherein the at least one processor is operative to perform the multiple metering tasks related to the sampled voltage and current. 
     
     
         27 . A system for evaluating a message on a single network, said network including a plurality of network devices communicating messages using various different protocols, wherein a portion of each message includes a specific sequence, the system comprising:
 a plurality of network devices; and   a protocol evaluation apparatus coupled to one of the network devices, said protocol evaluation apparatus including a first protocol identifier module associated with a specific messaging protocol, a second protocol identifier module associated with another specific messaging protocol and a claim control module,   said first protocol identifier module configured to evaluate the sequence of a portion of a message on the network, wherein the first protocol identifier module transmits the message to the claim control module if the sequence of the portion of the message on the network is in accordance with the specific messaging protocol associated with the first protocol identifier module, and wherein the first protocol identifier module signals the second protocol identifier module to evaluate the message if the sequence of the portion of the message on the network is not in accordance with the specific messaging protocol of the first protocol identifier module,   said second protocol identifier module configured to evaluate the sequence of a portion of the message if signaled by the first protocol identifier module, wherein the second protocol identifier module transmits the portion of the message to the claim control module if the sequence of the portion of the message on the network is in accordance with the specific messaging protocol associated with the second protocol identifier module,   said claim control module configured to claim the portions of the message transmitted by either the first protocol identifier module or the second protocol identifier module and transmit the claimed portions of the message to the network device of the associated protocol coupled to the protocol evaluation apparatus.