Geo SCADA Expert can communicate with SCADAPack controllers using one of several drivers. The driver that you need to use depends on the type of SCADAPack device(s) with which Geo SCADA Expert is to communicate.
With the table below, the recommended driver for each range of SCADAPack controllers is shown at the top of the section for that particular range. Some ranges of SCADAPack controllers are designed to communicate using the DNP3 protocol, whereas other ranges are designed to communicate using the Modbus protocol, or a proprietary protocol (in the case of SCADAPack 50).
With some ranges of SCADAPack controllers, Geo SCADA Expert can also communicate with those controllers using certain other drivers or protocols, however these are not the preferred option as they do not provide support for extended functionality that is specific to those controllers. Information about these alternative drivers is shown in the shaded cells, however these drivers only provide generic support for those particular ranges of SCADAPack controllers.
| SCADAPack Range | Intended Use | Driver | Protocol | Further Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 386 eNET |
Monitoring and control Outstation configuration Download of device configuration Firmware download Remote Firmware Download Download of security configuration Configuration file upload |
DNP3 SCADAPack E | DNP3 (using an application-specific extension) |
Run the DNP3 driver along with the DNP3 SCADAPack E extension driver. This provides more feature-specific extended functionality for 386 eNET outstations than the Modbus drivers. |
|
Monitoring and control |
Advanced Modbus | Modbus |
Use the 'standard' and 'Generic' Modbus database items. (386 eNET outstations do not support the extended Modbus functionality of other ranges of SCADAPack controllers.) |
|
| Simple Modbus | Modbus | If both Modbus drivers provide the required functionality, consider using the Advanced Modbus driver rather than the Simple Modbus driver. This will give you more flexibility should your system requirements change in the future. | ||
| SCADAPack 50 |
Data retrieval Outstation configuration Download of device configuration |
SCADAPack 50 | SCADAPack 50 | Run the SCADAPack 50 driver. |
| SCADAPack E |
Monitoring and control Controller configuration Download of device configuration Firmware download Remote Firmware Download Download of security configuration Configuration file upload |
DNP3 SCADAPack E | DNP3 (using an application-specific extension) |
Run the DNP3 driver along with the DNP3 SCADAPack E extension driver. This provides more feature-specific extended functionality for SCADAPack E controllers than the Modbus drivers. |
|
Monitoring and control |
Advanced Modbus | Modbus |
Use the 'standard' and 'Generic' Modbus database items. (SCADAPack E controllers do not support the extended Modbus functionality of other ranges of SCADAPack controllers.) |
|
| Simple Modbus | Modbus | If both Modbus drivers provide the required functionality, consider using the Advanced Modbus driver rather than the Simple Modbus driver. This will give you more flexibility should your system requirements change in the future. | ||
| SCADAPack x70 |
Monitoring and control Device configuration Download of device configuration Firmware download Download of security configuration |
SCADAPack x70 | DNP3 (using an application-specific extension) |
Run the DNP3 driver along with the SCADAPack x70 extension driver. This provides more feature-specific extended functionality for SCADAPack x70 devices than the Modbus drivers. |
|
Monitoring and control |
Advanced Modbus | Modbus |
Use the 'standard' and 'Generic' Modbus database items. (SCADAPack x70 devices do not support the extended Modbus functionality of other ranges of SCADAPack controllers.) |
|
| Simple Modbus | Modbus | If both Modbus drivers provide the required functionality, consider using the Advanced Modbus driver rather than the Simple Modbus driver. This will give you more flexibility should your system requirements change in the future. | ||
| SCADAPack x70 (Realflo enabled) |
Monitoring and processing of flow measurement data Configuration of flow runs Read flow run configuration Write flow run configuration |
SCADAPack Modbus Realflo | Modbus (using an application-specific extension) | Run the Advanced Modbus driver along with the SCADAPack Modbus and SCADAPack Modbus Realflo extension drivers. |
|
Configuration of the SCADAPack x70 devices (to set up the mapping of the Modbus registers to the I/O) Optionally monitor and control the non-Realflo device functionality (if you want a hybrid between DNP3 and Modbus data retrieval) |
SCADAPack x70 | DNP3 (using an application-specific extension) |
Run the DNP3 driver along with the SCADAPack x70 extension driver. (To read and configure the flow runs, you need to use the Modbus protocol, using the SCADAPack Modbus Realflo driver.) |
|
| Other SCADAPack ranges not mentioned separately in this table | Monitoring and control | DNP3 | DNP3 |
Use the 'standard' and 'Generic' DNP3 database items. (Other SCADAPack ranges do not support the extended DNP3 functionality of 386 eNET, SCADAPack E controllers, and SCADAPack x70 devices.) |
| Monitoring and control | SCADAPack Modbus | Modbus (using an application-specific extension) | Run the Advanced Modbus driver along with the SCADAPack Modbus extension driver. | |
| Realflo enabled SCADAPack controllers |
Monitoring and processing of flow measurement data Configuration of flow runs Read flow run configuration Write flow run configuration |
SCADAPack Modbus Realflo | Modbus (using an application-specific extension) | Run the Advanced Modbus driver along with the SCADAPack Modbus and SCADAPack Modbus Realflo extension drivers. |
586 eNET outstations are now known as SCADAPack ES outstations and Magna eNET outstations are now known as SCADAPack ER outstations. Both types of outstation are models in the SCADAPack E range of outstations.
For further information about any of the above drivers, see the relevant driver-specific guide. For example, for information about Realflo, see the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to the SCADAPack Modbus Realflo Driver. With those drivers that are extensions of other drivers, the driver guide for the extension driver will reference the guide for the 'parent' driver, as required.
Further Information