ARSAS

One application for practical IEC 61850 engineering

MMS · Reporting · GOOSE · File Transfer · Sampled Values · SCL · Control · Diagnostics

ARSAS is an open-source Windows engineering workstation for IEC 61850 testing, commissioning, troubleshooting, model inspection, live monitoring, fault-record retrieval, and evidence-driven control workflows.

Product website · Capabilities · Roadmap · Architecture · Report an issue

_{ARSAS at first launch — a focused starting point for opening an SCL project, restoring a saved workspace, or adding an IED directly by IP address.}

Why ARSAS

IEC 61850 FAT, SAT, commissioning, and troubleshooting often require several disconnected tools, repeated model preparation, manual DataSet or RCB work, and significant setup before the first useful value appears.

ARSAS is being built as a single focused workspace: enter an IED endpoint or open an SCL project, discover the live MMS model, select signals, monitor values and reports, inspect GOOSE and Sampled Values traffic, retrieve COMTRADE fault records, validate control behavior, and preserve diagnostic evidence without constantly switching applications.

The protocol engine lives in the separately maintained ARIEC61850 repository. ARSAS remains the application, workflow, visualization, and operator-experience layer.

See ARSAS in action

Every screenshot below comes from the real Windows application. Select an image to open the full-resolution view.

Independent multi-IED connections Connect, discover, and manage several protection relays or bay-control devices simultaneously while every IED retains its own session, model, monitoring state, and diagnostics.	Unified live-value workspace View selected values from all connected IEDs in one searchable and virtualized workspace with quality, timestamps, acquisition source, and recent-change evidence.
SCADA-style sequence of events Correlate semantic events from every IED in a common SOE view while preserving originating device, process timestamp, quality, report reason, and state transition.	Detailed GOOSE supervision Inspect stream identity, APPID, VLAN, MAC, goCBRef, DataSet, stNum, sqNum, TAL, ordered payload leaves, retransmissions, and model binding.

Communication and frame diagnostics
_{Use detailed association, service, report, GOOSE, sequence, timing, and frame information to investigate IEC 61850 communication problems without losing the originating IED context.}

Capability status

ARSAS uses explicit maturity labels so the public documentation does not confuse implemented features with the long-term product direction.

IEC 61850 area	Status	Current scope
MMS client and model discovery	Available	Association, Logical Devices, Logical Nodes, Data Objects, Data Attributes, values, quality, timestamps, DataSets, RCBs, type information, and diagnostics.
Reporting and live monitoring	Available	Static and dynamic report planning, report-first acquisition, bounded polling fallback, multi-IED monitoring, SOE, and persisted signal selections.
GOOSE subscriber	Available	Read-only Npcap capture, stream supervision, APPID/VLAN/MAC metadata, stNum/sqNum, ordered allData, and SCL/live-model binding.
IEC 61850 file transfer	Available	Bounded MMS file-service browsing and download workflows for disturbance and COMTRADE fault-record retrieval.
Smart Control	Available	Live ctlModel discovery, typed Direct and Select-Before-Operate sequences, command termination, error evidence, and process feedback.
SCL workspace	Available	SCD/CID/ICD/IID/SSD import, endpoint extraction, configured-to-live comparison context, and Edition 1/2-oriented export services.
Sampled Values / SMV	Engineering preview	Per-IED stream entry points and viewer workflow; deeper decoding, quality supervision, validation, and performance work remain active.
Full SCL generation	Roadmap	A visual project-authoring workflow for IED, communication, DataSet, report, GOOSE, Sampled Values, and export generation.
Unified IEC 61850 suite	Product direction	A complete engineer-facing environment for MMS, GOOSE, file services, Sampled Values, SCL engineering, diagnostics, testing, and evidence export.

See ROADMAP.md for milestones, definitions of done, and non-goals.

Practical engineering workflow

Open SCL / Open Project / Add IED by IP address
                         ↓
Discover or restore the live IEC 61850 model
                         ↓
Select signals and control-ready Data Objects
                         ↓
Start report-first monitoring per IED
                         ↓
Inspect GOOSE / SMV / reports / SOE / diagnostics
                         ↓
Retrieve fault records through MMS file services
                         ↓
Validate guarded control and export test evidence

Core capabilities

Live MMS engineering

• Independent MMS association and lifecycle per IED.
• Live discovery of model hierarchy, values, quality, timestamps, DataSets, RCBs, control blocks, and type descriptors.
• Searchable and virtualized signal workspace for large IED models.
• Configured SCL context retained beside observed live behavior.

Report-first monitoring

• Prefer usable report coverage before polling.
• Preserve DataSet order and report reason evidence.
• Build temporary dynamic coverage where supported.
• Keep bounded polling only for uncovered or unverified signals.
• Coalesce UI updates to remain responsive across multiple devices.

GOOSE and Sampled Values

• Read-only GOOSE capture through the ARIEC61850 Npcap transport.
• Stream identity, VLAN, APPID, sequence, retransmission, TAL, and model-binding diagnostics.
• Ordered allData presentation without silently truncating model/frame mismatches.
• Sampled Values viewer workflow under active engineering development.

Fault-record file transfer

• Browse the IED MMS file service from the selected device context.
• Download disturbance files and COMTRADE-related records with bounded operations.
• Keep transfer diagnostics attached to the originating IED session.
• Avoid embedding customer-specific paths or assumptions in the application layer.

Control with evidence

• Discover ctlModel before enabling an operation.
• Resolve live Oper, SBOw, and optional Cancel descriptors.
• Execute supported Direct or Select-Before-Operate sequences.
• Preserve origin, ctlNum, timestamp, Test, interlock, and synchrocheck context.
• Surface CommandTermination, ControlError, AddCause, LastApplError, timing, and mapped process feedback.

Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                ARSAS                                 │
│ Explorer · Monitor · SOE · GOOSE · SMV · Files · SCL · Control · UX │
└─────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
                                  │ typed application services
┌─────────────────────────────────▼────────────────────────────────────┐
│                             ARIEC61850                               │
│ MMS · Reporting · GOOSE · SMV · File Services · SCL · Control       │
│ Transport · Type System · Diagnostics · Protocol Validation          │
└────────────────────────┬──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘
                         │ TCP/102              │ Ethernet process bus
                    Laboratory IEDs         Approved capture network

Detailed design notes are maintained in docs/ARCHITECTURE.md and ENGINE_COMPATIBILITY.md.

Quick start

Requirements

• Windows 10 or Windows 11
• .NET 8 SDK
• Visual Studio 2022 with .NET desktop development, or the .NET CLI
• A compatible ARIEC61850 source checkout
• Npcap for raw-Ethernet GOOSE and Sampled Values workflows
• An isolated laboratory or approved commissioning network

Recommended folder layout

D:\Git\
├─ ARIEC61850\
│  └─ src\
│     ├─ AR.Iec61850\AR.Iec61850.csproj
│     └─ AR.Iec61850.Transports.Npcap\AR.Iec61850.Transports.Npcap.csproj
└─ arsas\
   └─ ArIED61850Tester.csproj

Build

git clone https://github.com/masarray/ARIEC61850.git
git clone https://github.com/masarray/arsas.git

cd arsas
dotnet restore .\ArIED61850Tester.csproj
dotnet build .\ArIED61850Tester.csproj -c Release

For a non-sibling engine checkout:

dotnet build .\ArIED61850Tester.csproj -c Release `
  -p:ArIec61850Project="D:\Engineering\ARIEC61850\src\AR.Iec61850\AR.Iec61850.csproj" `
  -p:ArIec61850NpcapProject="D:\Engineering\ARIEC61850\src\AR.Iec61850.Transports.Npcap\AR.Iec61850.Transports.Npcap.csproj"

Documentation

Document	Purpose
Roadmap	Product direction from the current engineering workstation to a complete IEC 61850 suite.
Documentation hub	Entry point for engineering, validation, legal, and contribution documents.
Architecture	Runtime ownership, acquisition strategy, protocol boundaries, and scale.
GOOSE Subscriber	Npcap capture, ordered data, model binding, diagnostics, and validation.
Validation checklist	Build, reporting, control, simulator, and live-test acceptance checks.
Engine compatibility	Required ARIEC61850 contracts and project-reference layout.
Licensing	Community and commercial licensing paths.
Security policy	Responsible vulnerability reporting.

Safety and operational boundaries

IEC 61850 control, report configuration, temporary DataSet creation, file access, and active network functions can affect IED resources or equipment state. Use active features only inside an approved test boundary with suitable isolation, switching authority, procedures, and independent verification.

GOOSE and Sampled Values capture is read-only in ARSAS, but packet capture still requires an approved adapter, network boundary, data-handling policy, and permission to inspect or export station traffic.

ARSAS is an engineering tool. It is not an IEC 61850 conformance certificate, functional-safety certification, cybersecurity approval, or substitute for an approved commissioning procedure.

Contributing

Focused, reproducible, independently authored contributions are welcome. Do not submit confidential employer, customer, substation, relay-setting, SCL, credential, or packet-capture material.

Read CONTRIBUTING.md, SECURITY.md, SUPPORT.md, and NOTICE.md before contributing or redistributing the software.

License

The current community edition is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. See LICENSE.

A separately negotiated commercial license is available for proprietary integration, OEM or white-label distribution, closed-source redistribution, warranty, maintenance, priority support, training, and project-specific development. See COMMERCIAL-LICENSE.md.

Names, logos, icons, and official-release branding are not granted by the software license. See TRADEMARK.md and NOTICE.md.

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ARSAS
From an IP address or SCL file to trustworthy IEC 61850 evidence—in one engineering workspace.