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Our Mission

We actively develop and support measures to improve interoperability and cybersecurity in DNP systems by developing technologies and standards, implementing a conformance program, and providing education to the industry.

 

Activities of the Users Group

DNP3 has grown to be the most widely used protocol for electric transmission and distribution communications in North America and other regions of the world, and is a named standard for DER communications. DNP3 is also broadly adopted in adjacent industries such as water / wastewater, transportation and the oil and gas industry. 

The DNP Users Group (DNP-UG) owns and maintains DNP3 and supports our user community and the industry by enhancing and promoting DNP3 (Distributed Network Protocol), also known as IEEE Std. 1815TM. Our members include utilities, suppliers, consultants, and individuals (including students). Many of our initiatives support greater interoperability between supplier’s products and systems and/or enhance cyber security. On-going refinements also add new features and time-saving capabilities which are then included in the next update of IEEE 1815. Our growing library of Standards, Application Notes, Guides, Security Notices, and Technical Bulletins provide essential information for our members. The leadership team and technical team members provide periodic educational opportunities including tutorials, white papers, and conference presentations. Our Conformance Certification Program manages the Conformance Test Review process and publishes conformance certificates which are publicly posted. The DNP-UG is governed by our Board of Directors in accordance with our bylaws. The technical teams are involved with four different groups as follows:

  • Technical Committee
  • Cybersecurity Task Force
  • Test Management Committee
  • Test Procedure Committee.

 

Recent and current developments include new:

  • Update to the IEEE Std. 1815TM standard.
  • DER communications standard – IEEE 1815.2TM (draft) – joint effort with MESA.
  • Secure Authentication v6 (SAv6).
  • Authorization Management Protocol (AMP).
  • Test procedures.
  • Device profile guide.
  • Expanded Conformance Certification Program (CCP).

 

Membership in the Users Group

Join us! To participate and receive DNP-UG member benefits and services including the latest documents and updates, utilities and vendors are required to join and remain members. For more information go to dnp.org or email our team at admin@dnp.org  

 

DNP Users Group content including, postings, documents and presentations that refer to IEEE or IEEE standards, solely represent the views of the DNP-UG and do not necessarily represent a position of either IEEE, IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA), the IEEE Power System Communications and Cybersecurity Standards Committee, or the applicable IEEE Working Groups.

 

The DNP Users Group is a California nonprofit mutual benefit Corporation, operating pursuant to United States IRS code 501(c)(6).

Announcements

Follow up - DNP Users Group Voting on the DNP3 IED Certification Procedures – Version 3.0

In November 2021 a vote was commenced for all (primary) members of the DNP-UG.  Unfortunately, the vote response was small, and we later discovered some configuration issues with our email server.  Therefore, we are resending the material and reopening the voting period for another 30 days effective today and closing on March 27, 2022, at midnight Eastern time.  The following is slightly modified from the message in November in the tutorial has already occurred and the dates have changed.

If you have already voted, thank you and please disregard this message.

------------------------------------------

The DNP Users Group’s Test Procedure Subcommittee has completed the development of Version 3.0 of the “DNP3 IED Certification (Test) Procedures for Subset Levels 1, 2, and 3”.  The Version 3.0 procedures have also been peer reviewed and approved by the DNP Technical Committee.  This is a very significant accomplishment by our expert team of dedicated volunteers, taking hundreds of man-hours to complete. 

Prior Certification (Test) Procedures covered Subset levels 1 and 2 only. The new procedures will benefit our members by reducing the probability of interoperability issues between devices.  

The DNP-UG charter requires approval from the Users Group membership for any substantive (not-editorial) changes to prior to official test procedure release and adoption. Voting is warranted because devices that previously passed earlier version of the test procedures may no longer pass because new tests have been added.  Therefore, the Directors have called for a vote asking for such approval.

Details for the vote:

  1. The Version 3.0 Procedures are posted and available here: https://www.dnp.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=K4fneprVFk0%3d&portalid=0
  2. Download and review the Guide for Voting for an explanation of nature of the changes here: https://www.dnp.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=abaIk-4E_F8%3d&portalid=0
  3. The DNP-UG Bylaws stipulate a 30-day period for voting.  Therefore, the voting will remain open to midnight on March 27, 2022 (11:59 Eastern Time). However, please submit your vote as soon as possible.
  4. Voting is open to current members only.  One vote per company.  Normally the vote would be submitted by the Primary Member, but others can vote if preferred.  Please coordinate internally.
  5. In accordance with our bylaws, the voting results are determined by a simple majority of all valid ballots.
  6. Voting ballot - see the table below.
  7. To assist our members with more detail, the UG held tutorial for utilities and vendors. In lieu of another tutorial, if you have any questions please contact us at: chair_tech@dnp.org
  8. See below for more details.

Voting Table (Ballot):

To vote, use the table below and enter an “X” in the applicable box.  Return the ballot by email to admin@dnp.org

Area

Description

Yes

No

New Tests

Do you accept the new tests?

  • A Yes vote accepts the new tests for subset level 1, 2, and 3 devices
  • A No vote rejects the new tests for subset level 1 and 2 devices. They will remain for subset level 3 devices.

¨

¨

Modified Tests

Do you accept the test modifications to align with the next release of IEEE 1815?

  • A Yes vote accepts test changes
  • A No vote rejects test changes[1]

¨

¨

Unmodified Test

Do you accept the XML device profile requirement introduced in 2009?

  • A Yes vote accepts the XML device profile requirement
  • A No vote rejects the XML device profile requirement. A device profile document in text format will be required instead.

¨

¨

 

 

Adoption:

  1. The Test Management Committee (TMC) has a policy in place guiding the adoption of new test procedures called “Conformance Test Review Policy for Test Procedure Versions”. 
  2. The policy states that after approval by the UG, the adoption period is 12 months (for major updates) after which vendors submitting product for Conformance Test Reviews must submit test results using the new version, in this case Version 3.0.
  3. The TMC recommends that all utilities request and all vendors transition to the new Version 3.0 Test Procedures within 12 months of the approval by the UG.

 

DNP3 Conformance Certification:

The TMC administers our Conformance Certification Program including the Conformance Test Review (CTR) process.  The UG Directors highly recommend that (utilities request) and vendors periodically submit products for Conformance Testing.  This step is beneficial for both utilities and vendors by helping to ensure that the DNP3 interfaces are current and compliant.  Conformance Certificates are provided upon successful completion.  The TMC further recommends that utilities request and vendors provide DNP-UG Conformance Certificates for equipment being purchased.  For more information contact conformancetesting@dnp.org or deryky@ieee.org

 

Sincerely,

Directors, DNP Users Group

 

[1] If we (the UG) do not accept this, the corresponding changes proposed for IEEE 1815 will need amendment to match the test procedures.

DNP Users Group 2022 AGM and Board of Directors Nominations – April 21, 2022 - Deferred to May 12, 2022 DNP Users Group 2022 AGM – May 12, 2022 at 4PM Eastern - Meeting Link

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