DLMS over TCP

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By Usman , 27 August, 2014

Hi;
I just wanna discuss Smart meter communication over TCP. Is TCP communication is reliable when number of meters are greater? What should be the strategy when you are communicating with more than one meters? Lets assume that you are communicating with 30 meters and you send request for 20 different requests. How to handle the 20 different responses coming from 30 meters through one port? How on client side responses should be handled? Can you suggest some effective algorithm or some example???

BR:
Usman.

Kurumi

11 years 9 months ago

Hello Usman,

Usually we are using TCP/IP connection where client makes different connection to the each meter. Our clients are reading a large numbers of meters using TCP/IP connection without problems.

BR,

Mikko

Thnxxx Kurumi, thats what I wanted to hear, just wanted to be sure about TCP... Coz now we are going to introduce large number of meters in our network...
One thing more, what do you suggest What should be the minimum interval between two polling? Will it be feasible to poll meter every after 2 minutes when a large number of meters are there in the network???

BR,
Usman

Kurumi

11 years 9 months ago

Hi,

Polling depends from the meter. We are polling some meters every second. Some meters work without problems, but with some meters can't do that.

We are reading simultaneously usually less that 50 meters with one PC with TCP/IP connection.

Basically you can read more at the same time, but CPU load might be quite high when data is parsed and you can't get any more data to the database.

Of course it depends from your TCP/IP connection speed. You can read more if your connection is slower.

Example if you are reading only few values from the meter with 10 MB TCP/IP network you can read those values with 2 seconds from one meter.

So in one hour you can read 50 meter * 60 seconds / 2 seconds * 60 minutes = 90 000 meters/ hour with one PC. Realistic value is that you can read about 20 to 30 000 meters / hour because all meters do not answer (if connection or meter is broken). This drops amount of read meters a lot.

BR,

Mikko

Usman

11 years 9 months ago

Great Mikko, You have excellently explained it.

BR;
Usman