Communicating across networks

Safe and efficient transmission of product via energy pipelines has become more important than ever due to the growing need to efficiently manage an evolving product mix that includes newer products, such as biofuels and renewable natural gas (RNG), along with petroleum-based products. Global trends and shifting public opinion have led pipeline operators to focus increasing effort on eliminating transmission delays and leaks, which can only be accomplished through careful monitoring of every mile of a pipeline. However, not every mile of every pipeline will have access to a reliable communication backbone capable of delivering real-time data securely.

To overcome these obstacles, field operations and operational technology (OT) teams are pursuing new combinations of software, technologies, and communication infrastructure to address the challenges of unreliable networks, while simultaneously improving cybersecurity across the entire pipeline. Distributed network protocol 3 (DNP3) is at the heart of this shift, prompting forwardthinking organisations to include it as part of their future automation strategy.

The importance of robust pipeline protocols

To ensure safe, effective transmission of product across miles of pipeline, operators and maintenance personnel need constant and clear visibility into what is happening in even the most remote locations. To enable this visibility, teams need a communication infrastructure that ensures data is provided reliably and delivered efficiently, while simultaneously minimising the risk of cyberattacks.

One of the most common strategies teams rely upon to ensure data integrity is storing historical data in remote terminal units (RTUs). When everything operates as planned, RTUs gather data from the pipeline and transmit it to a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, in real-time or near-real-time. However, 39 many pipelines traverse remote areas with little or no reliable communication infrastructure.

In remote areas, operators and maintenance personnel rely on cellular modem, satellite communication, or other technologies to transmit data to the SCADA system. Often, these communication technologies are too unreliable to guarantee consistent real-time communication. The teams monitoring the pipeline know they will intermittently lose connection and design their infrastructure accordingly.

When the connection drops, modern RTUs typically store historical data, with metadata including an accurate time stamp to ensure accuracy of information. When the connection is restored, the RTU automatically transmits stored data to the SCADA system, which backfills the information in its database …

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/special-reports/21122022/communicating-across-networks/