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Your first IEC 61850 Process Bus experiment

This guide takes you from installing Studio to injecting real IEC 61850 Sampled Values and PTP traffic into an isolated engineering bench. Use the packets to explore process-bus subscriber settings on a relay, BCU or analyzer.

You will learn how to: open ARStack Studio, generate a 4-current + 4-voltage waveform, start real SV traffic from an ESP32-P4, and inspect PTP alongside SV.

What you need

  • A Windows 10/11 x64 PC with ARStack Studio.
  • For real Ethernet output: a compatible ESP32-P4 Ethernet development board, USB data cable, Ethernet cables and an isolated Ethernet switch or direct lab connection.
  • Optional: Wireshark or another SV/PTP analyzer.

You can install and explore the desktop software before purchasing or connecting a board.

Step 1 — Install Studio

  1. Open the latest stable release.
  2. Download the Windows Setup EXE. Choose the Portable ZIP if you prefer not to install.
  3. Open ARStack Studio.

M3.H.3 official Setup includes desktop dependencies and matching board firmware. Flash only the image bundled with the same release; older Studio/firmware versions are not interchangeable.

Step 2 — Connect the ESP32-P4

  1. Connect the board over USB data (not a charge-only cable).
  2. Connect the board's Ethernet port to your isolated test network.
  3. In Studio, connect to the detected serial device. Follow the displayed device identity and firmware status.

Do not connect the SV publisher or PTP source to an operating substation LAN.

Step 3 — Install the matched firmware

  1. In Studio, open Configuration → Firmware.
  2. Select the ESP32-P4 device and use Verify ESP32-P4.
  3. Choose Install / Recover to install the firmware provided with this Studio release.
  4. Allow the board to restart, then reconnect from Studio and confirm device recognition.

Installing a newer Windows application does not update the board firmware automatically. Use the firmware packaged with that release.

Step 4 — Generate Sampled Values

  1. Select 4I+4V Quick Start.
  2. Deploy the supported publisher profile while the output is stopped.
  3. Choose PTP SOURCE / internal laboratory grandmaster and SMPSYNCH AUTO.
  4. Set current and voltage magnitudes and phase angles in Studio.
  5. Press Start. The ESP32-P4 sends the real-time SV stream directly from its Ethernet hardware.
  6. Press Stop when finished. PTP SOURCE can remain active across SV STOP/START.

The official M3.H.3 lab profile sends 4 current and 4 voltage values at nominal 4,000 SV frames per second. SV is generated on the powered ESP32-P4; closing Studio leaves it running until operator STOP, an Ethernet down/failure, or loss of board power. On reopening, Studio adopts the board state rather than restarting SV.

Step 5 — View your Ethernet traffic

With the PC capture interface connected to the relevant lab segment or switch mirror (or a relay/BCU test-port subscriber configured for the stream):

  • Filter Sampled Values: eth.type == 0x88ba
  • Filter PTP: eth.type == 0x88f7
  • Watch the SV smpCnt increase and wrap from 3999 to 0.
  • Inspect svID, APPID, quality fields, and the PTP Announce/Sync/Follow_Up messages.

Engineer tip: if a relay/BCU or capture tool does not display values, first compare its expected APPID, multicast MAC, svID, VLAN/PCP and input network interface to the Studio stream settings. A normal switch may not mirror multicast to the PC NIC; use the intended capture port or mirrored lab port.

Try something different

Adjust voltage/current amplitude or phase and observe changes in the subscriber. Open a compatible SCL/CID/SCD/IID engineering file and select a supported 4I+4V publisher profile. Coming next: concurrent Multi-SV and multi-Merging-Unit stream selection from SCL on one ESP32-P4 — roadmap.

Need help?

Check the installation guide or support guide. For an SCL import where SV ID or MAC address does not appear, follow the SCL troubleshooting guide. If a device will not connect, share the Studio version and the displayed error.

Want to publish observations from another IEC 61850 tool or device? See the community testing guide.

For the M3.H.3 on-wire SV/PTP capture and exact shipped profile, see the official release record.