Network Manager can interface to external systems and customer applications in various ways depending on the characteristics and capabilities of the system to be interfaced. The use of these standard interfaces makes it possible for users to write their own applications or connect external systems that access data from the Network Manager real-time and historical databases or uses Network Manager system services. Transparent usage over wide and local area networks and in heterogenous computer environments is supported. Since these interfaces are guaranteed to be unchanged over time, investment in customer application development is protected if release upgrades of the main system are performed.
Many types of interfaces are supported including flat files and direct database connections like SQL*Net. Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM) supports the publish-subscribe paradigm. This method enables easy extensions of additional receivers (subscribers) of the data. Network Manager has adaptors for many MOMs like TIBCO, Vittria, and IBM. CORBA (OMG) and COM (Microsoft) middleware is supported. CORBA interfaces both for internal and external data exchange are available. The DAIS and HDAIS OMG standards (refer to www.omg.com) are supported. Bridges to the corresponding COM based OPC standards exists.
To connect to other control centers, e.g on regional or to neighboring national control centers, dedicated standard intercenter protocols are supported like IEC 60870-6/TASE.2 (ICCP), the de facto standard ELCOM-90 and WSCC. Secure ICCP is also supported.
Exchange of network model data and power flow solutions utilizes the standard formats CIM/XML and PSS/E.
ABB actively participates in the standardization work driven by e.g. IEC.