PcVue, Ignition and Survalent SCADA: What Each Is

What it is and where it is used

A SCADA is the software the operator uses to see and control the network: statuses, measurements, alarms, trends and open and close commands. PcVue, Ignition and SurvalentONE are three platforms found around the world. They are used in utility control centers, transmission substations, generation plants and industry. This sheet explains what each one is, without comparing them: the choice depends on the project and on who operates it.

For the general concept, see substation SCADA and HMI system.

Variants: PcVue, Ignition and SurvalentONE

PcVue also has associated products (WebVue for the web interface, among others). At Survalent, SmartVU appears as its graphical interface in customer references. In Ignition, the drivers are installed as modules on the server.

Main features

• PcVue: data collection and exchange, HMI, alarms, reports from databases, local, cloud or mobile deployment, and built-in cybersecurity, according to the manufacturer. There are public references of its use in high-voltage substations around the world.

• Ignition: the manufacturer licenses it per server, with clients included, and sells the modules that are needed. Unlicensed modules run in trial mode for two-hour periods.

• SurvalentONE: SCADA, OMS (outage management, call handling), DMS (fault location, isolation and service restoration FLISR, Volt/VAR) and DERMS for distributed resources.

• Common to all three: point database, prioritized alarms, time-stamped event log, historical trends and control with per-user permissions. The quality of the result depends less on the brand than on a well-organized, well-tested database.

Communications and integration

• PcVue: native drivers for IEC 61850 (the manufacturer states DNV KEMA certification), IEC 60870-5-104, DNP3 (IEEE 1815), Modbus TCP and OPC, plus IEC 61400-25 for wind.
• Ignition 8.3: DNP3 driver included in the installation (without DNP3 secure authentication, according to its documentation) and IEC 61850 driver for devices over MMS; both depend on the OPC UA module.
• SurvalentONE: field integration through standard protocols such as DNP3 and IEC 60870-5-104.

In all three cases, the SCADA almost never talks directly to each relay: between them there is usually an RTU or a gateway, such as a SEL RTAC or a SICAM RTU. See DNP3, IEC 60870-5-104 and IEC 61850 MMS.

Frequent technical questions

• Ignition download and training: the manufacturer allows installing and evaluating in trial mode; a project in operation needs a license.
• PcVue license: it is sized according to the manufacturer’s options; it is best done with the real substation database and not with an estimate.
• Signals arriving without a correct time stamp: synchronization of the gateway and the relays; see time synchronization in substations.
• A command that does not execute: select-before-operate, local/remote selector or operator permissions.
• IEC 61850 straight to SCADA or through a gateway: it depends on the number of devices, the architecture and the cybersecurity required.

IEC 61850 in Ignition: what the documentation says

The manufacturer’s documentation (Inductive Automation, in English) describes the IEC 61850 driver as an MMS client that was introduced in version 8.1.25. These are the limits and conditions that most affect an electrical project:

• No GOOSE or sampled values. The driver does not support GOOSE or Sampled Values. If the substation scheme depends on GOOSE for interlocking or tripping, that function is not solved by the SCADA; it is solved between relays, and the SCADA only receives the result through reports.
• One device, one connection. Each IED needs its own device connection; the default port is 102 and the default timeout is 2000 ms.
• SCD file recommended. Ignition accepts only SCD files as the description of the substation and recommends always using them: it limits browsing queries to the device and helps resolve quality and time stamps. Without an SCD, each connection restart requests all logical nodes, which can generate high network traffic.
• Buffered and unbuffered reports. Both types of report control blocks are supported. A block can only be enabled by one connection at a time; to share it among several gateways, it is replicated in the IED. One of the options allows preferring the report time stamp over that of each value.
• Commands. The driver offers select, operate and cancel, with control models from status-only to select-before-operate with enhanced security. The documentation warns that writing to a substation device can have serious consequences and that a value of 00 in the check parameter makes the IED skip the CILO and RSYN interlocks. That warning is the reason why commands are designed with user permissions and testing.
• Platform. It runs on Windows and Linux x64, not on ARM or macOS.

The sources consulted correspond to version 8.1; confirm in the version 8.3 manual and release notes whether anything has changed.

IEC 61850 in PcVue: what the certificates show

The UCAIug certificate registry includes a DNV certificate for ARC Informatique: PcVue version 15.1.3, as a client on Windows Server 2019, with edition 2 of parts 6, 7-1 to 7-4 and 8-1. The conformance blocks tested include basic exchange, data sets, buffered and unbuffered reports, the four control models, time synchronization and file transfer. The certificate’s block list does not include GOOSE, so it is not a GOOSE conformance test for PcVue. To check the current status, consult the UCA International Users Group database; the current product version is later than the certified one.

Origin of each platform and scope of the engineering

The three platforms were born in different environments and that shows in the engineering. A SCADA designed for utility control centers (such as SurvalentONE, which includes outage management and distribution automation) comes with network models, topology and reconfiguration functions. One designed for plants (such as Ignition) comes with very flexible tags, databases and visualization modules, but the electrical model is built by whoever does the engineering. That is why, before choosing, it pays to define what is asked of the SCADA: only to see and control a substation, or to manage a network with topology, switching and automatic restoration. These are different projects. What each ICCP conformance block, 1 to 5, includes is in ICCP: Conformance Blocks 1 to 5 and What Each Does.

Points to watch in commissioning and maintenance

• Point database. Build the signal list with name, address, scaling, alarm text, priority and control permission before configuring. It is the document that is tested and audited.
• Quality and time. Define how bad-quality data or data without a valid time are displayed; an old value shown as current is worse than an empty field. See time synchronization in substations.
• Control. Select-before-operate, interlocking and the local/remote selector must be respected; see control levels and local/remote selector.
• Security. Per-user accounts, segmentation and operations log; see IEC 62351.
• Testing. Each signal, from the device to the screen; see FAT and SAT tests.

How we help

At Tiza Group we configure the substation integration into SCADA: databases, signal mapping, screens, alarms, gateways and point-to-point tests with the control center, remotely worldwide, or on site in Colombia or elsewhere on request. See SCADA integration and gateways and control, protection and communications configuration. Write to us through the contact page. If the signal exists in the relay but does not show up in the SCADA, the checking chain is in Case: the signal is in the relay but not in SCADA.

Related guides

• Substation SCADA and HMI system
• Substation RTU and gateway
• SCADA and PMU monitoring for renewable plants
• IEC 61850: overview
• Modbus RTU and TCP
• IEC 62351: security
• Case: the signal is in the relay but not in SCADA
• ICCP: Conformance Blocks 1 to 5 and What Each Does

References

• IEC 60870-5-104; IEC 61850 (series); IEEE 1815 (DNP3); IEC 62351.
• ARC Informatique / PcVue Solutions, PcVue product site and release notes.
• Inductive Automation, Ignition 8.1 and 8.3 documentation (licensing, DNP3 and IEC 61850 drivers).
• Survalent, SurvalentONE product site.

Frequently asked questions