IEC 104 — IEC 60870–5‑104

What is IEC 104?
IEC 104 — IEC 60870–5‑104
IEC 60870–5 is a protocol standard for telecontrol, teleprotection, and other telecommunication functions for electric power systems.
IEC 60870–5‑104 (short IEC-104) is a companion standard defining how to extend the IEC 60870–5‑101 protocol to gain network access using standard transport profiles.
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IEC 60870–5‑101 (IEC101) is a standard for power system monitoring, control and other related communications to automate electric power systems.
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IEC 60870–5‑104 (IEC104) is an extension of the IEC 101 protocol, including transport, network, link & physical layer extensions to enable a full network access.
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For communications within Ethernet LANs (Local Area Networks) the data is channeled through TCP/IP.
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Two seperate link layers enable data transfer over of both Ethernet & serial media (PPP - Point-to-Point Protocol).
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IEC 104 contains various types of mechanisms to synchronize data in networks effectively.
IEC 104 vs 101
The IEC 60870–5‑101 (short IEC-101) and IEC 60870–5‑104 (short IEC-104) protocols are both used to transmit SCADA data in electric power systems. While IEC-104 uses data packets to transmit data via TCP/IP, IEC-101 is uses serial data communications (e.g. based on RS-232 and FSK interfaces) for transmission.
IEC 104 vs DNP3
DNP3 and IEC-104 have both been specifically developed for SCADA communication beyond the substation level, for instance in order to control a circuit breaker from a Control center.
However, there are a few advantages of DNP3 that make it superior in certain applications.
- For the transmission of larger data volumes over longer distances, DNP3 is preferred as it sends larger but fewer data packages than IEC-104, which sends a high number of small packages.
- DNP3 also enables faster data transmission by operating in higher baud rates (number of data bits transmitted in one second) than the IEC standards.
- At last, if the bandwidth is limited, DNP3’s data priority classes (Class 1,2,3) allow the controller to poll in various frequencies, as opposed to IEC-104, which only provides a constant polling frequency.
IEC 104 vs IEC 61850
Although both IEC standards define communication technology for the remote control and automation of electrical systems, there are several reasons that explain why it does not make much sense to oppose to the two standards.
IEC 61850 is actually a multidimensional standard comprising protocols and data models, as it not only defines how data is sent and received but also describes how data is executed and stored. IEC 104 is a common protocol based on the OSI reference model, whereas IEC-61850 is often used for data mapping of standard protocols such as DLMS, DNP3 or IEC-101/102/103/104 in order to take advantage of the efficient data transfer and execution of IEC 61850.
Furthermore, while IEC 104 is used to connect substations to control centers, IEC61850 is only used within the substation. So the higher the number of IEDs in a substation, the higher the benefit of introducing IEC 61850 to the SCADA system.

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Communication Protocols
IEC 60870–5 is a protocol standard for telecontrol, teleprotection, and other telecommunication functions for electric power systems.
IEC 60870–5‑104 (short IEC104) is a companion standard defining how to extend the IEC 60870–5‑101 protocol to gain network access using standard transport profiles.
DLMS/COSEM (or IEC 62056) is the main global standard for smart energy metering, control and management. It includes specifications for media-specific communication profiles, an object-oriented data model and an application layer protocol.
Modbus is a communications protocol based on master/slave (RTU) or client/server (TCP/IP) architectures that can operate on the 1st, 2nd, 7th level of the OSI Model.
Originally designed in 1979 by Modicon for its range of PLCs, it is now a de facto standard communications protocol in the industry, becomming the most widely available protocol for the connection of industrial electronic devices.
Distributed Network Protocol 3 (DNP3) is a set of communications protocols used between components for automation systems in electric, industrial and water sectors.
It is a key protocol in SCADA systems, where it is primarily used for communications between a master station and RTUs or IEDs.
ICCP (Inter-Control Center Communications Protocol) is a standard protocol for communications between control centers, which is part of the IEC 60870–6 standard under the name of TASE.2 Telecontrol Application Service Element 2.
It is being used around the world to exchange data over wide area networks (WANs) between grid operators, utilities, virtual power plants, regional control centers and other generators.
PROFIBUS (Process Field Bus) is an open standard for fieldbus communications in industrial automation systems that was first promoted in Germany in 1989.
The now most commonly found “Profibus DP” provides simple communications between Profibus masters and their remote I/O slaves.
IEC 104 & iGrid
We have collected, converted and transferred data using the IEC 60860–5‑104 protocol in projects all over the world. All of our systems are able to communicate with and convert the protocol according to project needs.

iRTU – With I/Os for Direct Data Acquisition

iGW‑S Substation Gateway

iControl SCADA
High-performance SCADA for the visualization and control of substation data. It is able to run either in client/server or standalone modes, providing advanced functionalities such as hot-standby redundancy, automatic line coloring, events notification (via e‑mail and sms), SQL logging, and reports generation.
The Slimmest Gateway
The iGWlite comes with 1 Ethernet, 1 RS485/RS422 and an optional RS-232 port (copper or fiber) or a 2G/3G/4G mode – taking little space on a DIN-Rail, but still employing the full iGrid protocol stack.
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