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VTN Connection 2.0b

by | Mar 13, 2019 | OADR Procedures-Group, VTN Connection

With Administrator privileges the user can make the connection to the Demand Response Server (VTN Virtual Top Node) by modifying a text file

In GRIDview, fter selecting your device from the dashboard

In the device screen select Device > Files

This screen will open with both binary and text files

Typically there will be existing files that can be edited
Select edit for the Text file named/nvram/gridlink/dras_client.ini

Change Status to PENDING

Enter the parameters as shown in the Example

In addition to configuration file parameters, 2.0b requires Client Side Cert files. For security reasons we do not publish how this is achieved. Contact support for further information.

The parameters for configuring the connection are to the right:

 

Configure VTN Connection Settings

== CONNECTION ==

service_hostname
Fully qualified domain name to connect with the VTN.
Required.

service_prefix
Any prefix to insert when forming the URL.

service_port
TCP port to use when communicating with the VTN.
Default is 80 when SSL is disabled, 443 with SSL enabled.

server_post_max
Maximum amount of data the server allows us to post, in bytes.
Default is 131072.

ven_id
Virtual *end* node (“client”) ID (This provides a place to record the VEN ID for future reference which is provided by the VTN)

vtn_id
Virtual *top* node (“server”) ID

market_context1 (or market_context)
First market context to match.
Default is blank (match any).

market_context2
Second market context to match.
Default is blank (match any).

device_class
One item from oadrDeviceClass (see OADR 2.0b CR111 for a list).

== SECURITY ==

service_use_ssl
Set to 1 to enable SSL when communicating with the server.
Set to 0 to disable (enabled by default).

ssl_verify
Set to 1 to enable SSL certificate verification when communicating with the server. Set to 0 to disable (enabled by default).
When SSL verification fails, temporarily disabling ssl_verify can re-establish communication. The long-term fix is to update the SSL certificate used by the GRIDlink to the one used by the VTN server’s certificate authority (CA).

auth_user
Username for HTTP authentication.

auth_password
Password for HTTP authentication.

== OPTIONS ==

log_level
Set the logging verbosity. Possible values are:

DEBUG5     ( Maximum )
DEBUG4
DEBUG3
DEBUG2
DEBUG1
INFO
NOTICE   ( Normal – Default)
WARNING
ERROR
LOG
FATAL
PANIC  ( Minimum )

log_silence
Causes the program to omit messages matching any part of this
string in the FILE and TOPIC parameters. The log messages from
any number of source files or functions may be silenced using
this parameter by including them in a quoted string

eievent_enabled
Enable eiEvent service. Defaults to enabled (1).

eiopt_enabled
Enable eiOpt service. Defaults to enabled (1).

eiregisterparty_enabled
Enable eiRegisterParty service. Defaults to enabled (1).

eiregisterparty_use_cached
Use previous registration details when starting up.
Defaults to enabled (1).

eireport_enabled
Enable eiReport service. Defaults to enabled (1).

kyz_meter
Enable power meter handling logic. Default is disabled (0).

kyz_counter_register
Specify the Analog Input register that holds the raw power meter count. Default is 32000, which is probably not what
you want. The first counter register for a DI in Sixnet is AI:8 by default. The accumulated count is stored in LI:0

dras_push
Set to 1 to enable “push” logic which monitors a file location for event info. Default is disabled (0). This is a planned enhancement but not currently supported.

load_calc
Set to 1 to enable load calculation logic using the kyz counter.
Default is disabled (0).

shed_level_calc
Set to 1 to enable shed level calculation logic.
Default is disabled (0).

load_calc_period
Number of minutes between load_calcs. Default is 15.

== OPT-OUT/OPT-IN ==

Configurable through I/O registers or INI parameters, the opt-out service implementation on GRIDlink assumes opt-in unless otherwise specified.

When I/O register values are specified, they override INI parameter values.

A duration of 0 specifies an open-ended opt-out period. Both parameters must be present in the INI file to be valid. Opt start times in the distant past may be ignored.

opt_id
(optional) fixed optID for testing EiOpt. If blank a unique
ID is created using the current timestamp and the venId.

opt_type
0 to opt-out, 1 to opt-in.
opt1_start
Time (unix epoch, seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00 UTC) to start first opt-out period.
opt1_duration
Duration in seconds for first opt-out period.
opt2_start
Time (unix epoch, seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00 UTC) to start second opt-out period.
opt2_duration
Duration in seconds for second opt-out period.

== ADVANCED ==

curl_trace_get
File to store results of HTTP requests.

dras_poll_delay
Time in seconds between polls for events. This value is overridden by any value from the VTN.

dras_poll_jitter
Randomization time for server polls.

max_disconnect_delay
Time the GRIDlink will allow communication to the VTN to be offline before deleting current event information and returning to normal mode (seconds).

max_execdisconnect_delay
Time during an active event the GridLink will allow communication to the VTN to be offline before deleting current event information and returning to normal mode (seconds).

report_poll_delay
Time in milliseconds between calls to the report logic. This should be less than the minimum report item sample time.

report_send_delay
(proposed) Time in seconds between attempts to post report data on the server. Actual post interval is determined by the server oadrCreatedReport and the defined server_post_max. See CR312 for more details.

report_type
Integer specifying the report type 0=usage, 1=delta. Other report types may be defined in the future per the OADR specification.

revision
Optional long integer indicating the configuration version.
This is output to LO:1 for monitoring by other software.

Tip
Not connecting to the VTN

Wait 3-5 minutes

Check the dras_client.ini configuration thoroughly

If it is a new file then upload otherwise reload existing dras_client.ini

state.ini file must be downloaded with the following parameters:

reg_id=
ven_id=
vtn_id=

reboot