IEC 61850 Network - SCL Files

An SCL file is an Xml file whose content is based on the Substation Configuration Language format as defined in the IEC 61850-6 standard.

SCL files are a basic brick of IEC 61850 system engineering and come in a variety of forms: Scd, Cid, Ssd, Sed, Iid etc.
Although all may contain information about IED's that PcVue is able to extract, each file type has a particular purpose and the use of Scd files is recommended.

In PcVue, you can use SCL files to define a variety of configuration elements:

  • Data acquisition: Devices, dataset groups, data report groups and data groups,
  • Variable mapping: On Data Objects and Data Attributes.

SCL files can be added to an IEC 61850 network configuration in PcVue using the SCL Files tab of the IEC 61850 Network Properties dialog. ClosedShow picture

How to add an SCL file

  1. Open the IEC 61850 Network properties dialog and select the SCL Files tab.
  2. Click the Add tool. A file browser dialog opens. By default, the contents of the project TP folder is displayed but you can navigate anywhere visible to the host PC.
  3. Select the SCL file to be added and click Open. The IEC 61850 SCL file creation dialog opens. ClosedShow picture
  4. The reference Name under which the file will be added to the network configuration defaults to that of the SCL file but you can edit it to choose one of your own.
  5. Click Apply to read the SCL file and extract the information pertinent to PcVue. This can take a few seconds if the file is large. The information that is extracted is displayed in the Content tab. ClosedShow picture
  6. Click OK to complete the process of adding the SCL file to the network.
  7. Repeat steps 2 to 6 to reference additional SCL files (if using Cid files for example).

When associating SCL files with the IEC 61850 network for offline configuration, it is strongly recommended to store the SCL files in the TP folder of the project and to add them to the list of files managed as part of Central Project Management (if in use).

In particular, when the setting Enable discovery services is disabled, PcVue requires the access to the SCL files at runtime to check the configuration consistency (Report Control Block configuration, Dataset members, variable mapping etc.). If in such circumstances, SCL files are not accessible, then the communication with the IEC 61850 devices will be aborted to avoid updating variables without being sure of the configuration consistency.