1.5 DCU App
The DCU App is an application example which shows the Meters And More Stack functionality on Data Concentrator side, including some Network Management processes and Data Collection from nodes in the Network, bot in Plain and Encrypted mode.
The following table shows the available DCU App projects:
| Bare-Metal / FreeRTOS | Path | Boards |
|---|---|---|
| Bare-Metal | smartenergy_metersandmore_apps\apps\metersandmore_apps\metersandmore_dcu\pic32cx_mtg_ek_pl460.X | PIC32CXMTG-EK + PL460-EK |
| FreeRTOS | smartenergy_metersandmore_apps\apps\metersandmore_apps\metersandmore_dcu\pic32cx_mtg_ek_pl460_freertos.X | PIC32CXMTG-EK + PL460-EK |
| Bare-Metal | smartenergy_metersandmore_apps\apps\metersandmore_apps\metersandmore_dcu\sam_d20_xpro_pl460.X | SAMD20-XPRO+ PL460-EK |
| FreeRTOS | smartenergy_metersandmore_apps\apps\metersandmore_apps\metersandmore_dcu\sam_d20_xpro_pl460_freertos.X | SAMD20-XPRO+ PL460-EK |
The DCU Application interfaces with the AL component, which is the Meters And More Stack API to interact with the PLC protocol.
Documentation of AL component can be found here: onlinedocs.microchip.com/v2/keyword-lookup?keyword=MM_AL_Description&redirect=true
- Decryption and Authentication of encrypted received frames
- Encryption and Authentication Tag addition on outgoing frames requiring encryption
Other functionalities that are present on Meter (Slave) side, such as Network Maintenance and LMON storage for nodes in the Network, are left to Application, and thus not part of AL.
Application Functionality
The DCU App functionality comprises the following tasks:
- Write Key
- Read Key
Although in normal operation, a different Key pair will be used for every Meter, for the sake of simplicity, this example uses a unique Key pair, same for every Meter.
Other Encryption and Authentication parameters, such as LMON and Destination ACA, are set prior to Data Transmission in case encryption and/or authentication is to be used.
Also on initialization, application registers the required callbacks to be notified by AL upon Data or Event Indications, and Data Confirms.
