Standards & protocols to watch¶
+-----------------------------------+
| Inter-utility exchanges |
| (Transmission operators, TSOs) |
+-----------------------------------+
| Protocols: |
| - ICCP / TASE.2 |
| - Proprietary WAN SCADA links |
+-----------------------------------+
│
│
+--------------------------------------------+
| Utility / Grid Control Layer |
| Substations, control centres, SCADA |
+--------------------------------------------+
| Protocols: |
| - DNP3 (legacy, still widespread) |
| - IEC 61850 / MMS |
| - IEC 60870-5 (Europe) |
| - OPC-UA (increasingly adopted) |
+--------------------------------------------+
│
│
+---------------------------------------------------+
| Field / Edge Devices (Operational) |
| Smart meters, inverters, EV chargers, RTUs, IEDs |
+---------------------------------------------------+
| Protocols: |
| - DLMS/COSEM (smart meters, EU standard) |
| - Modbus / Modbus TCP (legacy controllers) |
| - OCPP (EV chargers) |
| - OPC-UA (slowly spreading) |
| - MQTT/CoAP (some new devices) |
| - LoRaWAN (low-power uplink via LoRaWAN GW → |
| Network Server at utility / cloud) |
+---------------------------------------------------+
│
│
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Consumer / Home IoT (End-user environment) |
| Smart plugs, bulbs, thermostats, gateways, home EMS |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Protocols: |
| - Zigbee / Zigbee GP, Z-Wave (mesh networks) |
| - Wi-Fi based APIs (vendor cloud, REST, gRPC, etc.) |
| - MQTT / CoAP (increasingly common in smart hubs) |
| - Proprietary mobile/cloud integrations |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
Especially¶
IEC 61850 and IEC 62351 (security for substation communications).
DLMS/COSEM (smart metering).
OCPP (EV charging).
ICCP/TASE.2 (inter-utility).
Modbus, DNP3 (legacy ICS).
Zigbee Green Power, LoRaWAN (LPWAN / home to meter communications).
TLS / PKI — correct deployment is essential; poor or absent PKI is a recurring gap.