Migration paths for IEC 61850 substation communication networks towards superb redundancy based on hybrid PRP and HSR topologies

This paper provides an overview of recent developments in high availability networks and new redundancy protocols designed to guarantee seamless failover and proper functioning of the most critical substation automation applications such as tripping via GOOSE (Generic Object Oriented Substation Event) messages and IEC 61850 Process Bus based on switched Ethernet. The authors describe most common redundancy methods such as Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol and the latest redundancy protocols such as PRP (Parallel Redundancy Protocol) and HSR (High Availability Seamless Redundancy). In addition the authors elaborate on possible migration strategies of existing networks, provide a vision of hybrid PRP-HSR networks for HV (High Voltage) and EHV (Extra High Voltage) installations and propose HSR as a switch redundancy solution for future replacement of RSTP.