How to turn a substation into a database server

Information management technology has undergone tremendous change over the course of the last decade. Exponential advances in hardware, software and communication equipment allow the transportation, storage and manipulation of vast quantities of data at blinding speed relative to just a few years ago. The phenomenal growth of the Internet has delivered unprecedented access to data virtually independent of distance or location. Although these enabling technologies have reached far into work and home environments, they have as yet been little utilized within substations. This article examines what is required to introduce information management technology to the substation and how to turn a substation into a distributed database server.