Echelon 79010-02, 79010-01 IP Meter Supplement

IP Meter Supplement

This appendix provides details you will need when using Echelon’s IP Meter. The IP
Meter supports all of the features described in the ANSI Electric Meter v3.1 User’s
Guide, and also contains an internal Data Concentrator. You can connect the IP
Meter to an Ethernet network and use this Data Concentrator to supervise NES
electrical meters and other NES devices over CENELEC A-Band power line
channels, and communicate with the NES System Software located in the utility’s
service center via an Ethernet connection.

To begin using the IP Meter’s internal Data Concentrator, follow these steps:

1. Install the IP meter in its desired location as described in the ANSI Electric

Meter v3.1 User’s Guide. You should be aware that the IP Meter is
approximately 2 inches taller than the v3.1 ANSI electric meter when
performing the installation.

2. Before the IP Meter can operate correctly in your system, it must be

configured with specific operating parameters. This configuration is called
“provisioning” and is performed by writing programs with preset values
directly to the meter optical port from a computer using the NES
Provisioning Tool application. The parameters in the Provisioning Tool
programs are set by administrative staff at the governing utility, and the
programs can be distributed to technicians for meter provisioning operations.
The meter provisioning may be performed by Echelon prior to shipment, at a
service depot before transportation to the meter installation site, or at the
installation site.

Consult the NES Provisioning Tool User’s Guide for instructions to follow
when using the Provisioning Tool with the IP Meter. Make sure to select
???? as the product model when you begin provisioning to ensure that you
create the proper program.

3. If you plan on connecting the IP Meter to an Ethernet network, you can do so

using the provided cable. You should also assign the IP Meter an IP address.
These tasks are described in the following section, Using the Ethernet Cable.

Note: The IP Meter also contains an internal Wide Area Network (WAN) card you

can use to connect to a TCP/IP-based WAN, and provide automatic
communication with the utility central office. You can configure the WAN
settings for the IP Meter when you provision it with the NES Provisioning
Tool.

4. You can now use the Data Concentrator to perform a wide variety of

functions associated with device supervision, system management,
communication, memory management, alarm reporting, and system
diagnostics. Consult Chapter 3, Operation, of the DC-1000/SL and DC-
1000/SLE Data Concentrator User’s Guide for an overview of the
functionality provided by Echelon’s Data Concentrators.

Using the Ethernet Cable

An Ethernet cable approximately 2 meters in length extends from the IP Meter.
Connect the 8P8C connector (commonly referred to as an RJ45 connector) on the end
of the Ethernet cable to an available 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX Ethernet port. The

10BASE-T/100BASE-TX Ethernet interface in the IP Meter will auto-negotiate
communication speed and duplex with the Ethernet port that it is plugged into.

The IP Meter is designed to be provisioned with the NES Provisioning Tool and then
plugged into an Ethernet port without further configuration. This is because the IP
Meter as configured at the factory will automatically obtain an IP address from a
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server when it is connected, as long as
it has been provisioned first.

If you connect the IP Meter to an Ethernet network and no DHCP server can be
found, the IP Meter will choose an AutoIP address in the range of 169.254.x.x. The
IP Meter will then continue to search for a DHCP server periodically until the search
is successful and the DHCP server is able to assign an IP address to the Data
Concentrator.

The only configuration options for the IP Meter’s Ethernet interface are to set a static
IP address, and to revert back to a dynamic IP address, as needed. Echelon strongly
recommends using the IP Meter in a DHCP environment so that the time-consuming
and error-prone manual configuration of static IP addresses can be avoided. The
following section describes how to assign a static IP address to the IP Meter.

Assigning a Static IP Address

To assign the IP Meter a static IP address, follow these steps:

1. Download Lantronix’s

www.lantronix.com/device-networking/utilities-tools/device-installer.html

and install it on your PC.

2. Start the DeviceInstaller utility. If your PC has multiple network interfaces,

check that the correct Ethernet network interface is shown in the left hand
pane. If not, select the correct network interface by selecting Options from
the Tools menu.

3. Connect the IP Meter and your PC to the same Ethernet network. It is

easiest if the IP Meter and the PC obtain their IP addresses from the same
DHCP server.

4. Power up or reset IP Meter. The IP Meter needs approximately 30 seconds to

boot up and activate the Ethernet port. Therefore, wait approximately 30
seconds before proceeding to the next step.

5. Click Search on the main DeviceInstaller window to automatically discover

the IP Meter. If a device named Unknown does not appear in the explorer
pane on the left hand side of the DeviceInstaller utility, click Search again
repeatedly. You must initiate the search approximately 30 to 60 seconds
after the IP Meter has been powered up or reset.

®

DeviceInstaller™ utility from Lantronix’s Web site at

,

Note: DeviceInstaller’s search will only succeed if the PC running DeviceInstaller is

on the same Ethernet subnet as the IP Meter (meaning that there are no
routers between the PC and the IP Meter). If they cannot be attached to the
same Ethernet subnet, enter the IP Meter’s IP address manually by selecting
Add Device from the Device menu. Knowing the IP Meter’s IP address may
be difficult unless you are an IP networking specialist.

6. The IP Meter will be listed as Unknown in the device list on the main

DeviceInstaller window. Expand the Unknown device, then expand the

Unknown (X8) device under it. Select the IP address item below Unknown
(X8).