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. 

Smart Grid Interoperability Panel & Grid Interop

Smart Grid Interoperability Panel and Governing Board were elected and put in place to kick-start the ambitious smart grid project. The US Government grant for smart grid of 3.4 Billion were announced last month. The stimulus money, the SGIP and the Grid Interoperability Conference and the Smart Grd Cybersecurity report and the grands announced together with an equivalent or more contribution from Utilities really have put on schedule the Smart Grid roll out in US.

The Smart Grid support as part of Stimulus and the enhanced interest in the stakeholder community is pushing the standards initiative like never before. The time consuming and often diverse and duplicate efforts of various standards bodies is suddenly finding their activities being brought under a common umbrella. Always standardization that is driven more by regulation and government interest of a bigger goal brings about faster and better results, compared to efforts that are driven by the manufacturer community and perceived needs of a given segment. The Grid Interop agenda and meeting is a good indicator on how under the Smart Grid umbrella most of the protocol bodies and stakeholders participated and discussed common issues, which earlier would have got discussed at separate forums.

The Smart Grid after effects are being seen in the R-APDRP program in India, where one hears about how this program can lead to a future Smart Grid. The Smart Grid definition being so broad, wide and vague, it is very difficult to re-orient a program that has very specific objectives as in India, to drive towards a future of Smart Grid, without specific thought being put from a goal perspective into the program. However CIM / 61850 and Cyber Security focus will surely help this program