IEC 62056-5-3-2023 PDF

Full title and description

IEC 62056-5-3:2023 — Electricity metering data exchange — The DLMS®/COSEM suite — Part 5-3: DLMS®/COSEM application layer. This international standard specifies the DLMS/COSEM application layer: structure, services and protocols for DLMS/COSEM clients and servers, rules for defining DLMS/COSEM communication profiles, and normative and informative annexes covering wrappers, gateway protocols, encodings and security.

Abstract

IEC 62056-5-3:2023 defines the DLMS/COSEM application layer used for exchanging electricity metering data. It describes services for establishing and releasing application associations and for data communication to access COSEM interface objects (methods and attributes) using logical-name (LN) or short-name (SN) referencing. The edition includes media-independent rules for constructing communication profiles and several normative annexes addressing SMS wrapping, gateway protocol, cryptographic parameters and key-agreement mechanisms as well as illustrative APDU encodings and xDLMS examples.

General information

• Status: Current (active international standard)
• Publication date: 28 September 2023
• Publisher: International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
• ICS / categories: 17.220; 35.110; 91.140.50
• Edition / version: Edition 4.0 (2023)
• Number of pages: 765

Scope

This part of IEC 62056 specifies the DLMS/COSEM application layer applicable to electricity metering equipment and associated systems. It covers the structure and semantics of the application layer, the services required to establish and release associations between clients and servers, and the data communication services for reading and invoking COSEM interface objects identified by logical names or short names. The standard also provides the rules and required elements to define communication profiles (media-independent), and includes normative annexes for media-specific wrappers, gateway behaviour, security and encoding examples to support implementers and integrators.

Key topics and requirements

• Definition of DLMS/COSEM application layer structure, primitives and protocol behaviour.
• Services for establishing, maintaining and releasing application associations between clients and servers.
• Data access services for COSEM interface objects (methods and attributes) using LN and SN referencing.
• Rules and templates to specify DLMS/COSEM communication profiles (media-independent core requirements).
• Normative SMS short wrapper and gateway protocol specifications.
• Security-related specifications including elliptic-curve parameters (NSA Suite B curves), example certificates and key agreement mechanisms for xDLMS.
• Encoding and APDU examples (informative annexes) to aid correct implementation and testing.
• Compatibility and migration considerations (this edition cancels and replaces the 2017 edition).

Typical use and users

Implementers of smart-meter communication stacks, electricity meter manufacturers, communications equipment vendors, system integrators, utility IT and operations teams, test laboratories, certification bodies and standards writers. The standard is used to design, implement and verify application-layer behaviour for metering systems, ensure interoperability between meters and head-end systems, and to specify secure data exchange in smart-metering deployments.

Related standards

Other parts of the IEC 62056 series (for example COSEM object model and interface definitions), IEC 62056-6-2 (COSEM object model and OBIS mapping), IEC 62056-21 (local data exchange / optical port), and transport/profile parts that define media-specific communication profiles. Implementers also commonly reference DLMS User Association publications and regional/adopted EN/UNE/BS national variants of IEC 62056 parts.

Keywords

DLMS, COSEM, application layer, electricity metering, smart metering, xDLMS, APDU, logical name (LN), short name (SN), communication profile, security, key agreement, SMS wrapper, gateway protocol.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: IEC 62056-5-3:2023 is the international standard that defines the DLMS/COSEM application layer used for exchanging electricity metering data between clients and servers.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers application-layer services and protocols (association management, data access using LN/SN), rules to define communication profiles, and includes normative annexes for wrappers, gateways and security plus encoding examples to support implementations.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: Meter manufacturers, communication-stack implementers, utilities, system integrators, test and certification laboratories, and standards developers working on metering and smart-grid communication.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: It is the current (2023) edition, Edition 4.0, which cancels and replaces the previous 2017 edition.

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: Yes — it is part 5-3 of the IEC 62056 series (the DLMS/COSEM suite). Other parts of IEC 62056 define object models, transport/profile specifics and media bindings used together with this application-layer specification.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: DLMS, COSEM, application layer, smart metering, APDU, LN, SN, communication profile, xDLMS, security.