SICAM I/O-Unit: IEC 61850 Mapping Tool and GOOSE

Short answer

The Siemens SICAM I/O-Unit 7XV5673 is integrated into an IEC 61850 substation with its own ICD file and a mapping tool that generates its GOOSE configuration from the system SCD file. This guide describes what the ICD contains, what the tool does and which versions must match.

What the SICAM 7XV5673 I/O unit is

Short answer. The SICAM I/O-Unit (reference 7XV5673) is a Siemens binary input and output unit that communicates over IEC 61850. It publishes its inputs and outputs through MMS reports and GOOSE, and it can receive GOOSE from other devices. To integrate it into the system, a mapping tool (SICAM IO Mapping Tool) and an ICD file describing the unit are used.

What the ICD file describes

Siemens supplies two ICD files for the unit: one for edition 1 and one for edition 2 of IEC 61850. The edition 2 file describes a single logical device named CTRL with these elements:

Element	What it is
Data sets	Inputs, outputs, indications and GOOSE supervision for reports; inputs and outputs for GOOSE
Buffered reports	Four blocks: binary inputs, binary outputs, indications and GOOSE supervision
GOOSE blocks	Two: one publishes the inputs and the other the outputs
GGIO nodes	Binary inputs, binary outputs, the unit’s own indications, and a group of remote indications
LGOS nodes	Six GOOSE subscriptions, numbered 1 to 6
Other nodes	LLN0, LPHD (device information) and ZBAT (battery)

The reports defined in the ICD have a grouping time of 1000 ms and use no integrity period. For how buffered reports behave see buffered and unbuffered MMS reports.

What the mapping tool does

According to the manufacturer’s release notes, the tool:

Creates the unit’s IEC 61850 parameter set. Since version 01.14, the edition is taken from the edition declared in the namespace of the logical device, inside the nameplate (NamPlt) of logical node LLN0. Before, it was taken from the edition of the SCL file, which produced wrong parameters.
Generates the GOOSE subscriber configuration from the station SCD file. Version 01.14 fixed a defect in which that configuration contained unnecessary SCD elements, which caused extra processing and error entries in the unit log.
Includes the tool’s open-source software list, available for download.

The unit manual and the IEC 61850 PIXIT document are published on the Siemens support portal.

Integration flow

From station engineering to the I/O unit

Import the unit ICD. It is added to the station project as one more IED
Configure the system. The configurator defines reports, published GOOSE and subscribed GOOSE
Export the SCD file. It contains all IEDs and their links
Generate with the mapping tool. IEC 61850 parameters and GOOSE subscription for the unit
Load into the unit and test. Verify reports, published and received GOOSE

The system configurator is the same as in any IEC 61850 project; see system configurator and SCL files.

Versions: what must match

Tool 01.14.00 (July 2020): requires the SICAM I/O-Unit in version 02.17.
The ICD files are numbered with the same version (2.17).
Systems tested by the manufacturer for the tool: Windows 7 Professional and Windows 10 version 1903.

An ICD or a tool of a different version than the firmware is the most likely reason the unit rejects the configuration.

What to verify at commissioning

That each GOOSE published by the unit reaches the intended relay with the expected quality. See GOOSE does not arrive or arrives late.
That the six subscription slots cover the GOOSE the unit must receive.
That the SCADA receives the input and output reports and recovers events after an outage.

SICAM I/O-Unit with Tiza Group

Are you going to integrate remote I/O units in an IEC 61850 substation? At Tiza Group we add them to the SCD and test their GOOSE and reports with our IEC 61850 engineering and end-to-end tests. The engineering workflow with acSELerator Architect and an RTAC is described step by step in SEL Architect: IEC 61850 Engineering Step by Step.

References

Siemens, release notes of the SICAM IO Mapping Tool V01.14 (July 22, 2020) and ICD files of the SICAM I/O-Unit 7XV5673, version 2.17.
IEC 61850-6: SCL configuration language (ICD, SCD).
IEC 61850-8-1: GOOSE and reports over MMS.

Frequently asked questions

What is the SICAM I/O-Unit mapping tool for?

It takes the substation SCD file and generates the unit configuration: IEC 61850 parameters and the subscription to the GOOSE messages the unit must receive. The integrator therefore does not write that configuration by hand.

What must match between the tool and the unit?

The tool version must correspond to the unit firmware version. Tool version 01.14 states that it needs the SICAM I/O-Unit in version 02.17.

Does the unit use reports or GOOSE?

Both. The unit ICD defines four buffered report blocks (inputs, outputs, indications and GOOSE supervision) and two GOOSE blocks, one for inputs and one for outputs.