If required, you can use Profiles to enable a DNP3 SCADAPack point’s limit value(s) and/or current value to change at different times of the day or week.
Use Profiles to change a point’s limit value(s), in order to take into account expected variations on site. When a DNP3 SCADAPack point’s limits are profile-controlled:
- The level at which Geo SCADA Expert generates alarms varies during the course of each day.
The point’s limits vary according to the profile’s changes in value. Geo SCADA Expert generates alarms and/or events whenever those limits are transgressed.
- The level at which DNP3 events are generated by the outstation also varies during the course of the day.
The level of the point’s limits at the outstation varies according to the profile’s changes in value. The outstation can generate DNP3 events whenever one of those limits is transgressed—this is configurable on a per limit basis (see Specify Whether a Class n Event Triggers an Unsolicited Message).
With DNP3 SCADAPack points and pulse actions, profile-related configuration is downloaded to the outstation along with other configuration (see Download Configuration).
With DNP3 SCADAPack Counter points—and with DNP3 SCADAPack Analog and Binary points other than ‘Physical Input’ points—you can also use Profiles to change a point’s current value. You might want to do this, for instance, to automate any routine operations to control the point’s value at specific times of the day.
DNP3 SCADAPack points can use Geo SCADA Expert’s standard (‘core’) Time Profiles, or DNP3 SCADAPack Profiles. The points on a particular SCADAPack E outstation have to use the same type of Profile.
The two types of Profile differ in the way they are configured and how they change a point’s values:
- With Geo SCADA Expert’s standard Time Profiles, each Time Profile database item defines a single profile (for example, a ‘2 High’ limit profile) for the whole week.
On each DNP3 SCADAPack Point Form, you associate the relevant Time Profile database item with each point limit and/or current value that is to be profile-controlled. (Leave the fields blank for any point limits or current value that are not to be profile-controlled.)
- With DNP3 SCADAPack Profiles, each Profile database item defines all of the profiles (for example, 4 High, 3 High, 2 High, 1 High, 1 Low, 2 Low, 3 Low, 4 Low, and Current Value) for a single day of the week. (If required, specific limit profiles or the current value profile can be disabled on each Profile item, if those limits or current value are not to be profile-controlled.)
On the configuration Form of each DNP3 SCADAPack point that is to be profile-controlled, you need to associate the relevant DNP3 SCADAPack Profile database item with the relevant day of the week. Each day has to be assigned a Profile if that point is to be profile-controlled—a diagnostic message is generated if only some days are assigned a Profile.
The rest of this section explains how to configure DNP3 SCADAPack Profiles. For information on configuring Geo SCADA Expert’s standard Time Profiles, see Configuring Time Profiles in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Core Configuration.
With either type of Profile, to configure the Profile and associate it with a DNP3 SCADAPack point or pulse action, various Limitations and Restrictions need to be taken into account.
DNP3 SCADAPack Profiles have a daily span. You specify each Profile’s values using the SCADAPack Profile Editor. You enter the values in a tabular format. The DNP3 SCADAPack driver supports these DNP3 SCADAPack Profiles:
- DNP3 SCADAPack Analog Profile—Use to change a DNP3 SCADAPack analog point’s limits and/or current value. Each DNP3 SCADAPack Analog Profile database item can comprise up to nine profiles—one profile per point limit, and one profile for the point’s current value. (A DNP3 SCADAPack analog point’s current value can only be profile-controlled if the point’s Point Type is set to an option other than ‘Physical Input’.)
- DNP3 SCADAPack Binary Profile—Use to change a DNP3 SCADAPack binary point’s current value (providing that point has a Point Type other than ‘Physical Input’), or trigger a DNP3 SCADAPack pulse’s actions. Each DNP3 SCADAPack Binary Profile database item comprises a single profile for controlling the point’s current value.
- DNP3 SCADAPack Counter Profile—Use to change a DNP3 SCADAPack counter point’s High limit and/or current value. Each DNP3 SCADAPack Counter Profile database item can comprise up to two profiles—one profile for the point’s limit, and another profile for the point’s current value.
You add a DNP3 SCADAPack Profile to the database in the same way as any other DNP3 SCADAPack item (see Add an Item to the Database in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Core Configuration).
When configuring each Profile, ensure that you take into account the relevant Profile Limitations and Restrictions.
The rest of this section explains how to:
- Generate a DNP3 SCADAPack Profile’s Data Programmatically
- Manually Add one or More Rows of Vectors to a DNP3 SCADAPack Profile
- Remove one or more Rows of Vectors from a Profile
- Use Copy and Paste to Copy a DNP3 SCADAPack Profile’s Data
- Manually Edit the Vectors on a DNP3 SCADAPack Profile
- Disable or Enable the Profile for a Particular Limit or Current Value
- Validate a DNP3 SCADAPack Profile’s Configuration.
Use the Profile Type field on each DNP3 SCADAPack E Outstation Form to Specify the Profile Type that is used by the points on a particular outstation.
Use the fields within the Profiles section of each DNP3 SCADAPack Point Form to specify which Profiles apply to each point (see Specify Whether any Profiles are Used to Change a Point’s Limits or Current Value).