RP570 Protocol

The RP570 protocol is an ABB proprietary protocol developed in the beginning of 1990. It was based on IEC 60870. Known variations are RP571, ADLP80 and ADLP180.

The protocol is used between an RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) in a substation and a control center.

Protocol Layers

ISO/OSI Layer RP570 Layer
7. Application layer Application layer
6. Presentation layer
5. Session layer
4. Transport layer Link layer
3. Network layer
2. Data link layer
1. Physical layer Physical layer

Physical Layer

Usually a RS232 (V.24) serial connection.

Link Layer

Usually:

  • 1 start bit
  • 8 data bits
  • 1 parity bit (even)
  • 1 stop bit

Fixed Length Frame

Byte Position Length Value Description
0 1 0x10 Start character
1 1 - Address
2 1 - Function
3 1 - Checksum
4 1 0x16 Stop character

Variable Length Frame

Byte Position Length Value Description
0 1 0x68 Start character
1 1 N Length (2-255 bytes)
2 1 N Length (2-255 bytes)
3 1 0x68 Start character
4 1 - Address
5 1 - Function
6 N-2 - Data
5+N 1 - Checksum
6+N 1 0x16 Stop character

Application Layer

To be documented...

SerialMon Support

Enhanced in v3.0 with full ERMI support

SerialMon provides comprehensive ABB RP570 protocol support:

Operating Modes

Mode Description
Monitor Passive sniffing of RP570 communication between RTU and control center
Master Simulate a control center (SCADA front-end) polling RTUs
Slave/RTU Simulate an RTU responding to master polls

Supported Features

  • Fixed and variable length frames
  • Full ERMI (Enhanced Remote Message Interface) support - NEW in v3.0
  • Complete decoding of IDS, IDM, AVS, AVM, FCOM and TEV packets
  • Tracking of binary and analog blocks (addresses)
  • Signal acceptance marking for FAT/SAT testing
  • Quick command sending from tracking window