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User Manual - Process Bus Insight

Process Bus Insight is a receive-only Windows analyzer for IEC 61850 Process Bus visibility. It helps substation automation engineers observe Sampled Values, GOOSE, PTP timing context, and SCL expected-vs-observed validation during FAT, SAT, commissioning, and troubleshooting.

Product boundary

  • Receive-only and raw-passive.
  • Does not send IEC 61850 control commands.
  • Does not publish GOOSE or Sampled Values.
  • Does not replace certified relay test sets or timing instruments.
  • Uses Windows/Npcap capture timestamps for screening and troubleshooting.

Before you start

Use a safe capture path such as a TAP, mirror port, or isolated engineering test switch. Avoid connecting an unverified PC directly into a protection-critical path. Install Npcap when raw Ethernet frame capture is required.

Install, update, or run the portable option

  1. Obtain ProcessBusInsight-vX.Y.Z-win-x64-setup.exe from the official GitHub Releases page and compare its SHA256 with the published manifest.
  2. Close the analyzer before installing or upgrading. Run the Inno Setup installer (administrator privileges are required for Program Files). It retains the previous install directory during in-place upgrades.
  3. Start Process Bus Insight from the Windows Start Menu. The installed folder includes User Manual.pdf, Quick Start.pdf, Install and Update.md, and separate offline Bench tools; these do not require network access.
  4. Install Npcap separately for live raw Ethernet capture. If its architecture or native driver is incompatible, the selector reports Npcap unavailable — capture disabled; no dummy Ethernet entry is usable for capture.
  5. Select the physical Ethernet adapter connected to an authorized TAP/SPAN/test network, then start capture.

A manual portable ZIP remains available for specialist use. If a same-version installation is damaged, rerun that setup EXE for repair; use Windows Installed apps or the Start Menu to uninstall. This is operator-initiated updating, not automatic background updating. The current installer is unsigned, so verify source and SHA256 and follow your organization's software policy.

Main workflow

  1. Confirm the selected adapter is correct.
  2. Observe live Sampled Values streams.
  3. Inspect GOOSE publishers and event changes.
  4. Check PTP traffic presence and timing context when available.
  5. Load SCL when available.
  6. Compare expected objects against observed live traffic.
  7. Copy findings only after checking adapter, timestamp, and capture path confidence.

Sampled Values view

Use the SV workspace to check stream identity, APPID, svID, VLAN, source MAC, continuity counters, waveform, phasor, and metering context. The phasor plot uses independent voltage/current RMS scales, solid U and dashed I arrows, and an explicit held-state indicator when the stream is stale. An amber LIVE · WARN stream badge means samples are arriving but continuity/arrival diagnostics require review; a green waveform LIVE badge signals activity, not clean integrity. Treat missing stream or mismatch indications as investigation leads, not final protection conclusions until the network capture path is confirmed.

GOOSE inspector

Use the GOOSE workspace to inspect publisher identity, state changes, stNum, sqNum, typed dataset values, and event history. This is useful when troubleshooting interlocking, trip, alarm, or binary status behaviour during testing.

PTP timing context

Use PTP visibility to confirm timing traffic presence, transport, domain, and timing source context. Timing results from normal Windows capture are useful for screening, but not for certification-grade jitter proof.

SCL validation

Load SCD, ICD, or CID files when engineering files are available. The app can compare expected APPID, VLAN, MAC, DataSet, confRev, and stream identity against observed traffic. This helps identify missing, unexpected, weak, mismatched, or conflicted objects.

Troubleshooting no traffic

Common causes:

  • Wrong adapter selected.
  • Npcap is not installed, its native x64 libraries cannot load, or capture permission is restricted.
  • Switch mirror port is not configured correctly.
  • VLAN traffic is not forwarded to the capture port.
  • PC is connected to the wrong network segment.
  • Traffic is not actually present from the publisher.

Evidence guidance

Good FAT/SAT evidence should include adapter name, capture path, APPID, VLAN, source MAC, svID or GOOSE identity, timing context, SCL expected field, observed field, and confidence wording. Avoid overclaiming timing performance from software timestamps.

Safety note

Process Bus Insight is a visibility tool. Always follow site safety rules, commissioning procedures, protection engineering sign-off, and customer test requirements.