EcoStruxure Power Operation REF615 CID File Validation Fail

Issue
When trying to connect to and read values from a REF615 ABB protection relay via 61850 on EcoStruxure Power Operation (EPO), the CID file validation is preventing EPO to go online with the IED. The CID file had to be exported via PCM600.

It is seemingly failing to validate the functional constraint EX in the logical nodes.

Root Cause of the Issue
We have investigated this issue and have confirmed that it a known issue when setting up IEC 61850 communication between EPO and an ABB REF615's relay.

The issue has been discussed in length on our internal discussions channels and forum threads about this issue within the EPO Community as well.

When PCM600 exports the SCL/CID file for an ABB REF615 relay, it includes ABB-specific non-standard logical nodes (for example, LINF10EX) that contain internal metadata parameters such as SclDataNo under FC="EX".

During startup, the EPO IEC 61850 driver performs an online validation by comparing the live MMS structure reported by the relay with the structure defined in the imported CID file. Because the relay's MMS response may truncate or format the EX branch differently from what the EPO CIDFileValidator.cpp expects, the validation process fails and generates the following error:

Could not fully validate Variable Attribute message. End of structure is reached when processing node LINF10EX$EX$SclDataNo

As a protective measure, EPO immediately sets the device status to OFFLINE.

Resolution
There are two Official Workaround Options

Option 1: Bypass Online Structure Validation (Quickest Workaround)
1. Open the citect.ini file on the EPO server.
2. Under the [IEC61850] section, add or modify:

[IEC61850]
CIDFileValidationType = 0

3. Restart the Runtime and/or IO Server services.
Setting CIDFileValidationType = 0 instructs the IEC 61850 driver to skip validation of dynamic attribute sizes over MMS, allowing communication to proceed successfully despite the mismatch between the relay's MMS structure and the CID file definition.

Option 2: Clean the CID File (Recommended Long-Term Solution)
1. Open the exported .cid file in Notepad++ or another XML editor.
2. Search for LINF10EX or entries containing FC="EX".
3. Remove the LINF10EX logical node section from the CID file.
4. Save the modified CID file.
5. Re-import the updated file into the EPO IEC 61850 Configurator.
6. Restart the IO Server.

The LINF10EX node is used only for ABB internal engineering and diagnostic metadata. Removing it does not affect operational SCADA functions such as measurements, indications, alarms, or control commands.

Summary
In summary the issue is caused by ABB-specific LINF10EX metadata objects included in the exported CID file, which do not match the MMS structure returned by the relay during EPO online validation.

The problem can be resolved either by temporarily bypassing CID file validation using CIDFileValidationType = 0 or by removing the LINF10EX node from the CID file, which is the recommended long-term solution.

Released for: Schneider Electric Australia