IP•Tube CEP 202 T

The volume application for the IP•Tube CEP 202T is the conversion of legacy serial communication interfaces of Utility SCADA systems from leased telco circuits to IP and MPLS packet services.

Legacy Utility SCADA installations utilize technology that was designed decades ago.  Many substations have proprietary or bit orientated SCADA communication protocols that require the constant delay of circuits.

Engage adapted our Serial Circuit Emulation technology to facilitate the transparent transport of Serial SCADA over packet networks and to comply with the unique Utility industry specifications required by NERC.  NERC is the Electric Reliability Corporation for North America, subject to oversight by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and governmental authorities in Canada.  NERC’s jurisdiction includes users, owners, and operators of the bulk power system.

A NERC reliability standard mandates that SCADA systems have Data Center Front End redundancy.  The IP•Tube CEP RS232 at the Substations support from 1 to 4 Data Center redundant and diversely routed connections.  

NERC -CIP mandates control center redundancy. RTUs must be accessible from, and be able to connect to, multiple control centers. IP•Tube CEP continuously monitors connectivity to the active control center and automatically switches to the active backup control center (1 to 4 supported).

• Meets NERC mandates for control center redundancy
• Preserves investment in RTU and Central site SCADA
• Facilitates control center redundancy with IP flexibility
• Supports up to four redundant control centers
• Redundant and diverse connectivity

NERC is committed to protecting the bulk power system against cybersecurity compromises that could lead to misoperation or instability.  Engage incorporated a sophisticated locked-down embedded Linux based management module into the IP•Tube CEP that exceeds the NERC -CIP cybersecurity standards and is upgradeable to support future standards.

Management module isolates management and data plane functionality with the use of two separate processors modules. Management processor access is limited to encrypted sessions via SSH, or SNMPv3, that employ AES 256 bit keys and sophisticated NIST passwords. These sessions may be established after authentication via TACACS+.

The independent Linux based management plane of the IP•Tube CEP ensures Critical Infrastructure Data is isolated from management network access. The Management Module uses internal serial ports to connect to the Data Plane processor.  Administration and User Logs are available with Syslog.

The IP•Tube CEP installations achieve NERC CIP compliance with a combination of internal and external functions.

Internally the Management Module software has the sophistication to implement comprehensive policies and privileges for administrator and user accounts. Administrator policy includes removal, disabling or renaming.

Interoperability with external functions such as Syslog, Network Timing Protocol TACACS+ and RADIUS with its support for RSA SecureID delivers trusted compliance.

In order to minimize the number of analog telephone circuits required to connect Data Center Front End SCADA controllers to Substation Remote Terminal Units Multi-Drop communication protocol was implemented. The CEP Multi-Drop feature allows a single RS-232 SCADA host connection to communicate with up to 8 remote terminals over a packet based network. The IP•Tube CEP transparently supports Multi-Drop by simultaneously transmitting IP packetized Front End SCADA messages to up to eight remote IP•Tube CEPs. The IP•Tube CEP connected to the addressed RTU detects a control signal and sends the SCADA response back to the Serial interface connected to the Front End polling port.

The IP•Tube CEP in combination with industry standard services meets the Electronic Security Perimeter's NERC CIP-005 specifications.  In addition Control Plane isolation from the Data plane provides a higher level of security for the Cyber Assets.