Case: project opened with another software version

The case

Mariana is a protection engineer. At the office she has a project with several SIPROTEC relays for a 34.5 kV bay, built months ago by a colleague. On a Friday she has to change an overcurrent setting. She installs the Siemens tool on a new computer, copies the project folder and opens it. Two things stop her: a warning that the device type is not in the catalog and, on another relay, an offer to “update the parameter set”.

The names are invented. The pattern is real and keeps coming back: the file is healthy, but the versions of the software, the device type and the relay do not match. What follows is the order we recommend for solving it without damaging anything. To understand the tool itself, see DIGSI, the Siemens software for SIPROTEC relays.

First, touch nothing

Before accepting any warning:

1. Copy the whole project folder somewhere else and work on the copy. If the project is converted to a newer version, nobody guarantees the older tool will open it again; with the copy there is no risk.
2. Write down three versions: the installed tool, the relay (firmware) and the project’s parameter set.
3. Do not load anything to the relay until it is clear which side, the project or the device, is the right one.

This last rule prevents the most errors. The file in the office does not always match what is in the field, as the guide on patches and firmware in relays and IEDs explains.

What the manufacturer says

Everything below comes from the Siemens manuals we have on file. They are the source for verifying, not for repeating: if you are going to make the change, consult the manual for your version.

SIPROTEC 4 and DIGSI 4. The system manual states that device types are updated with each new DIGSI 4 version and that those that appear later can be installed afterwards in the device catalog. Relays already inside a project do not change by themselves: DIGSI 4 offers a separate function, “Update parameter set”, which updates the device’s parameter set and texts. The parameter set carries a version number, visible in the device properties, on the installation management tab. To go further: SIPROTEC 4: DIGSI 4, matrix and CFC.

The most important rule is this: if the first decimal of the version number changes when the parameter set is updated, the relay firmware must also be updated. The reverse is not necessary: loading new firmware does not force you to change the parameter set.

SIPROTEC 5 and DIGSI 5. Here the relay shows on its display its firmware version (FW) and that of the loaded parameterization, which the manual calls configuration (CFG). The device drivers (DDD files) contain the firmware and the configuration data, and they are related to each other. If a configured function has a version incompatible with the firmware, the relay reports a configuration error and asks you to load a parameter set suitable for the device. The manual also asks you to secure the device’s data and parameter set with DIGSI 5 before updating the firmware, and warns that during the update the device performs no function.

What Mariana did

With that information the case is solved in five steps.

1. She identified the cause of the first warning. The device type was missing from the new computer’s catalog. It was not a project error. She installed the missing device type and the warning disappeared.

2. She read the parameter set version. In the device properties she saw that the project had an older version than the catalog. DIGSI offered her the update, but she did not accept it yet.

3. She compared with the relay. When opening the device online, DIGSI 4 compares the settings saved on the computer with those in the relay and, if they do not match, asks which ones to work with. The manual clarifies that this choice does not alter the saved data. Mariana chose the device’s data, because it was what was in service, and saved a copy under another name.

4. She decided whether to convert. The relay had firmware whose version number matched the project’s. To change a single setting she did not need to upgrade anything. She left the parameter set as it was and worked with the catalog that already recognized her device.

5. She kept a record. She logged the three versions, the backed-up file and the time of the change, so that anyone could reconstruct what was done.

When converting does make sense

Converting a project or updating firmware makes sense when a new function is needed, when the manufacturer recommends it to fix a problem, or when the relay fleet is already on a newer version and keeping the old one complicates the work. In those cases:

• Back up the project and read the relay first.
• Do the update locally and not over a slow link: the SIPROTEC 5 manual speaks of a connection of at least 1 Mbit/s.
• After the change, check the critical settings against the approved study, not against memory.
• Run a functional test with secondary injection if the change touches protection functions.

What cannot be confirmed without the software

The exact compatibility between a DIGSI version and a specific firmware version is confirmed in the Siemens release notes and, in practice, by opening the project with the tool. This guide gives no compatibility table because it cannot be verified without them.

We help you change versions without risk

If you have a project that won’t open, a relay in the field with firmware different from your file, or a pending upgrade, at Tiza Group we do it remotely, with a backup before and after. See remote configuration of Siemens SIPROTEC relays or write to us through contact.

Related guides

• DIGSI, the Siemens software for SIPROTEC relays
• Patches and firmware in relays and IEDs
• Protection relay commissioning
• Siemens SIPROTEC 4 7SJ6 relay
• SIPROTEC 4: DIGSI 4, configuration matrix and CFC

References

• Siemens, SIPROTEC 4, System Description (E50417-H1178-C151), chapter 4: device catalog and updating of device types and parameter sets.
• Siemens, SIPROTEC 5, Operating Manual (C53000-G5078-C003), chapters on first commissioning and on updating firmware and the parameter set.

Frequently asked questions