IEC 61850 Embedded Modules Comparison - KALKITECH and Beck

Feature	SC123-LF from Beck	SYNC2000-OEM from Kalkitech
Speed	96 MHz	190 MHz
RAM	8 MB	32 MB ( 64 MB option )
Flash	2 MB (8 MB on SC143)	256 MB
Serial ports	4 TTL (Rx, Tx, RTS, CTS signals on each)	4 TTL ( Full modem signals on port-1, Rx, Tx, RTS & CTS on other 3 ports) + Console port with RxD & TxD
Other interfaces	I2C SPI CAN 2.0 USB	I2C
Ethernet interfaces	1 - 10/100BaseT Phy signals 1 – MII interface signals	1- 10/100 Base T Ethernet connector
GPIOs	34 GPIOs	Upto 19 GPIO's and co-exist with TTL Lines
Analog inputs	NA	2 AIs
Type	BGA single chip	Board with 30 pin connector & Ethernet connector interface.
Form Factor	25 * 25 * 5 mms	55 * 63 * 18 mms
Power Consumption	2W maximum	2W maximum
Voltage needed	3.3 V	3.3 V
Protocol support	IEC 61850, IEC 104, DNP3.0, Modbus, IEC 101,103, Profibus etc.,	IEC 61850 and Supports another 24 protocols including IEC101,103,104, DNP 3.0 and Modbus
GOOSE Performance	Meets IEC 61850-5 requirements	Configurable for all GOOSE Performance Levels
Conversion Support	Available	Available
Logic Support	IEC 61131 programmable engine	Supports major functions only
Integration & Time to market	BGA solutions Needs more time. Board solution can be implemented in hours.	Easy integration through simple board within 2 weeks
Configuration & Diagnostics	Available	Available
NERC/CIP Compliance	Not Known	Compliant
IEC 61400-25 Compliance	Compliant	Compliant
Certifications	Planned	Products using Kalkitech OEM Board & Firmware has been Certified at KEMA, CPRI test labs by various customers
Development Kit	Avavailable (Pre-developed and only configuration required)	Available (Pre-developed and only configuration required)
SCL / IED Tool	ICD Designer; Configuration of client/server by SCL file	Available with Kalkitech ICD Manager and SCL Manager
TCO	$	$

Note: The specification of Beck IPC is based on publicly available content and inputs from Karlheinz Schwarz of Netted Automation. 

Communication Standards in Indian Power Sector - Coming of age

Time is a great leveler. 5 years back, we were struggling to get our standardization acts together in power system communications. Indian standards committees were more forced to accept international standards because, manufacturer's professed the greatness and customers evaluated and made themselves sure of its utility, rather than a collective, systematic and consistent effort at standard adoption, creation and implementation.

Last week as the BIS LITD10 seminar on standardization in control center and the subsequent LITD 10 sectional committee meeting drew to a close, i was atleast positive that even if we are slow, we are in the right direction. Combining this with how India went about adopting DLMS/COSEM as its national standard, with an India specific companion standard, things are slowly getting into place.

I was very impressed by the joint view point of the power industry players to not name all the new working groups created as smart grid groups, and there-by focusing on the bread-and-butter problems our Industry faces and make a road-map for the next 5-10 years, rooted in reality, and not rooted in problems of another market outside, and at the same time willing to incorporate the fundamental aspects of what is happening in the standardization space globally.