IEC 61850 Terminology

The following table defines some of the terms used in IEC 61850 standard. Refer to IEC 61850 standard for the complete list of terms.

Term	Definition
ACSI	Abstract Communications Service Interface is an interface to define how to model and organize the data of an IED independently from the communication stack.
CID	Configured IED Description is a ICD file that has been configured for a specific IED using IEC 61850 configuration tool. Refer to IEC 61850 Files.
Client	An IEC 61850 system terminal that receives data, reports, and controls MasterPacT MTZ circuit breaker, and may provide real-time data or event viewing, or similar functions. Only the client can initiate the requests.
Dataset	A predefined or user-selected set of data that can be reported via IEC 61850.
FTP	File Transfer Protocol is a method of transferring computer files over Ethernet. NOTE: FTP is used to transfer files to IFE/EIFE interface with firmware version ≤ V004.005.000.
FTPS	File Transfer Protocol Secure is a variant of FTP that adds a layer of security on the data in transit through a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol connection. FTPS enables encrypted communication and secure connection between a remote user and the IFE interface, EIFE interface, or IFE server. NOTE: FTPS is used to transfer files to IFE/EIFE interface with firmware version ≥ V004.006.000. FTPS is used to transfer files to IFE server with firmware version ≥ V005.001.000.
ICD	IED Capability Description is a file supplied by the vendor of the IED. Refer to IEC 61850 Files.
IED	Intelligent Electronic Device is a device with a microprocessor controller.
IID	Instantiated IED Description is a file that describes the project-specific configuration of a single IED in a system. It is used as an exchange file between the CET850 configuration tool and other IEC 61850 system configuration tools to exchange the configuration data for a single IED instantiated specifically for a project.
Logical device	The set of typical substation functions of the IED (such as protection, metering, measurement, and alerting) which are referred to as logical nodes.
Logical node	Logical node is one typical substation function of the IED. For example the MMTR logical node, which contains energy information. Refer to Device Information.
MMS	Manufacturing messaging specification is a standard that defines messaging systems to exchange real time data between networked devices. MMS is used for communication between an IED and a supervision system.
Physical device	The physical device Ethernet access point of the IED. In the context of IEC 61850, this is the same as an IED. The physical device contains one or more logical devices.
SCD	Substation Configuration Description is an integration of the CID files for a particular substation. Refer to IEC 61850 Files.
SCL	Substation Configuration Language is the XML-based language used to create the IEC 61850 description files. There are four types of SCL files required to define an IEC 61850 substation (ICD, CID, SCD, and SSD).
Self-description	The capability of the IED to provide the IEC 61850 system with information on the function and data of the device.
Server	The IEC 61850 IED that sends reports to clients and responds to commands. The server can only respond to requests. However, the server can not initiate any request.