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Quality Assurance for Utility

Communications
Testing UCATM GOMSFE and IEC 61850 substation
communication

In a substation several components and devices of different manufacturers have to

interoperate flawlessly. They have to be able to mutually exchange data without any problems.
The current standards for this data communication between metering, protection, control and
switch devices within a substation are UCA GOMSFE and IEC 61850. But how can you tell
whether these devices actually do communicate flawlessly with one another? Or, if they keep
doing so in situations other than normal operation? And if failure occurs, how can you find out
where it started and what caused it? KEMA Consultings UniCA tool can answer these and
many other frequently asked questions for you.
UniCA makes it possible to monitor and analyze all data communication within the substation
not only prior to, but also during operation. The ultimate goal is optimum operational security
of the substation.

WHY KEMA C O N S U LT I N G ?
KEMA Consulting -an independant, not vendor related company - is familiar with the latest
protocol developments. And KEMA Consulting is so much more than an IT consultant. Our
knowledge of the power industry is unrivaled. This means we understand your priorities. We
participate in IEC and IEEE working groups that define the standards and test procedures. We
also have extensive experience testing data protocol implementations and providing related
consulting services. This experience is built into the UniCA analyzer software. Since 1999 over
70 companies have used UniCA and experienced that UniCA actually reduces communication
risks to a minimum.

KEMA C O N S U LT I N G
KEMA C O N S U LT I N G

W AT H IS UNICA?
KEMAs UniCA enables you to capture and analyze UCA
GOMSFE and IEC 61850 communication traffic on Ethernet
networks in substations. UniCA is the tool for:
Interoperability and performance protocol testing;
Network event recording and (health) monitoring;
Verifying protocol implementations and device
configurations.

The UniCA Analyzer plays an important role in identifying and
minimizing interoperability risks in todays UCA GOMSFE
and IEC 61850-based substation networks and allows
fasterroll out of projects (by verifying performance and
interoperability). These cost-savers are important in todays
liberalized environment. UniCA not only displays
communication packets in human-readable format and
comprehensible text, but also automatically analyses the
packets and reports the detected errors, because it
understands all UCA GOMSFE and IEC 61850 (and
lowerlayer) protocol definitions. This also enables engineers
without detailed protocol knowledge to use and understand
the output of this analyzer. Naturally, you can also e-mail
UniCA traces to KEMA or your vendor to get an expert opinion
and discuss results.
Try it yourself!
The UniCA Analyzer is easy to install and
easy to use. Why dont you try it yourself? All
you have to do is download a demo version of
the UniCA Analyzer from our site:
www.kemaconsulting.nl. If you would first
like to know more about the UniCA Analyzer
or about our other protocol services, please
contact us by e-mail at: sales@kema.com

F E AT U R E S
All protocol information from link layer up to application
layer is decoded into comprehensible text or can be
summarized in one line per layer;
The display of a protocol layer can be switched on or off;
Task-oriented user interface, designed by Human-Machine-
Interface expert;
Easy search & filter on errors, specific text or device;
On-line context-sensitive help;
Automatic analysis and error report;
Fast capture, in parallel with user interface tasks;
Timestamp accuracy 1 millisecond;
Start/stop capture manually or at specific time;
Capture from all devices or only between specific devices;
Runs on any Windows 95/98/ME or Windows NT4/2000/XP
system with a 10 or 100 Mbps Ethernet Card.

W H AT S NEW
Monitor the actual value of data objects;
Cyclic buffering for continuous monitoring including event

recording to disc;
Network load graph.

W H AT S NEW FOR MORE I N F O R M AT I O N :

UniCA supports both the OSI and the TCP/IP transport profiles KEMA C O N S U LT I N G
and the UCA GOMSFE and IEC 61850 specific multicast, Protocol Competence & Test Center
GOOSE and TimeSync enhancements. Utrechtseweg 310, 6812 AR Arnhem, The Netherlands
P.O. Box 9035, 6800 ET, Arnhem, The Netherlands
Telephone: +31 26 3 56 60 43
Telefax: +31 26 3 51 54 56
E-mail: sales@kema.com
KCE.3010
R&H.01

Internet: www.kema.com