Orion Time and Timestamps

Technical Note

Abstract This technical note covers setup of IRIG-B, NTP, SNTP, and
IEEE 1588- PTP on the Orion as well as time synchronization by
SCADA protocols. The processing of the timestamps for
archiving, alarming, and logging and the analysis and diagnostic
of timestamps in the different Orion software modules are also
explained.

Knowledge Areas Orion setup and configuration, data protocols, time

synchronization and procedures

Add’l Documentation Orion user manuals, protocol manuals, AAR manual

February 6, 2024
Document Revision C
© 2024 by NovaTech, LLC
 Orion Time and Timestamps

NovaTech, LLC
13555 West 107th Street
Lenexa, KS 66215
(913) 451-1880
www.novatechautomation.com
[email protected]
[email protected]

Data classification: Public use

© Copyright 2024 by NovaTech, LLC

All Rights Reserved. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective
owners. Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
in the United States and/or other countries.

DISCLAIMER

This manual contains information that is correct to the best of NovaTech's knowledge. It is intended to be
a guide and should be used as such. It should not be considered a sole source of technical instruction,
replacing good technical judgment, since all possible situations cannot be anticipated. If there is any
question as to the installation, configuration, or use of this product, contact NovaTech, LLC at
(913) 451-1880.

To ensure that the equipment described in this manual, as well as all equipment connected to and used
with it, operates in a satisfactory and safe manner, all applicable local and national codes that apply to
installing and operating the equipment must be followed. Since these codes can vary geographically and
can change with time, it is the user's responsibility to determine which codes and standards apply, and to
comply with them.

Failure to follow the instructions provided in this manual, and/or failure to comply
with applicable codes and safety standards can result in damage to this equipment,
damage to connected devices, and/or serious injury to personnel.

All links to external websites have been verified as correct and appropriate at the time of the publication
of this document. However, these links and websites, being outside of NovaTech LLC’s control, are
subject to change and may no longer be correct. In this case, please contact:

[email protected]

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
The documentation for the Orion product family is structured as follows.

Manual name (see cover page) Purpose

Quick Startup Guide Describes out-of-the-box setup for quick installation.
OrionLX+ User Manual ▪ Description of the Orion hardware and hardware options.
OrionSX User Manual ▪ List of software protocol options.
▪ NovaTech Configuration Director (NCD) software description:
OrionMX User Manual
o Installation of software on PC
OrionVX User Manual o Information for running NCD
OrionLXm User Manual ▪ User interface information for monitoring and maintenance:
Orion I/O User Manual o Using the Orion Webpage
o Using the MMI console
▪ Setup and operation of the video option (-MMC for OrionLX+,
-MMM for OrionSX)
Software Manuals Software manuals explain all aspects of setup and operation of
protocols such as DNP3 client and software options (Archive,
Logic, DA Logic, etc.)
Tech Notes Tech Notes provide solutions for general integration, such as
scaling or setup of RS-485 networks.
Field Instructions Field Instructions provide step-by-step instructions for installation of
new hardware or software in the field.

Note: In the directory with the documentation, the names of the protocol software manuals begin with
Protocol, such as Protocol_DNP3_Client.pdf and software application manuals begin with
Software, such as Software_IEC61131-3.pdf.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
Styles and Symbols

In this document, fonts, text styles and symbols are used to distinguish standard text from keyboard input,
program text, GUI messages, and hyperlinks as follows. Warnings and safety notices are indicated with
ANSI symbols.

Displayed text or symbol Description

This is normal text. Standard text.
See OrionLX+ Setup Hyperlink to text in same document.
www.novatechautomation.com Hyperlink to website.
[email protected] Clicking this link starts email client on the PC.
See OrionLX+ User Manual Document name.
Minimum value Menu item or text displayed by software.
Name of the data point Text to be entered in input field or window.
Save GUI button to be clicked.
if frequency < 60.0 then Program code.
<Enter>, <Ctrl>+<G>, <G> Key to be pressed.
This yellow triangle indicates a warning that
must be observed by the users in order to
avoid possible equipment damage or
personal injury.
This yellow triangle indicates an electrical
hazard.

Electrostatic sensitive device requires proper

handling and grounding procedures to avoid
equipment damage.
DANGER indicates an imminently hazardous
situation which, if not avoided, will result in
death or serious injury.
WARNING indicates a potentially hazardous
situation which, if not avoided, could result in
death or serious injury.
CAUTION indicates a hazardous situation
which, if not avoided, may result in minor or
moderate injury.

Note that depending on the Windows® display settings on the computer running NCD, some of the screen
shot details may appear differently than shown in this manual.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

Table of Contents

I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 7
II. Setting the Orion Time ........................................................................................................................ 8
1. Orion Time Quality Data Points and Time Quality LEDs ............................................................ 8
Time Quality Data Points ............................................................................................................... 8
Time Quality LEDs ......................................................................................................................... 9
2. Time Zone Setting ........................................................................................................................ 10
3. IRIG-B ............................................................................................................................................ 11
4. NTP ................................................................................................................................................ 13
5. IEEE 1588 PTP .............................................................................................................................. 15
6. Protocols ....................................................................................................................................... 18
7. Setting Time in Orion MMI ........................................................................................................... 19
III. Orion as Time Server ........................................................................................................................ 20
1. IRIG-B ............................................................................................................................................ 20
2. NTP ................................................................................................................................................ 20
3. DNP3 .............................................................................................................................................. 21
IV. Timestamp Applications in Orion .................................................................................................... 22
1. Timestamps in AAR ..................................................................................................................... 22
Alarms in AAR .............................................................................................................................. 22
Archived Values in AAR .............................................................................................................. 27
2. Timestamps in Protocols for Sequence of Events Recording ................................................ 30
3. System Log on Orion Webpage .................................................................................................. 32
4. System Log in logs.csv ............................................................................................................... 33
5. System Log via Syslog ................................................................................................................ 35
6. Viewing Communications on Orion MMI ................................................................................... 36
7. Event Log on Orion MMI .............................................................................................................. 37
8. Encryption and HTTPS ................................................................................................................ 38
V. Diagnostics and Troubleshooting ................................................................................................... 39
1. Time Quality Data Points and LEDs ........................................................................................... 39
2. Time Events in System Log ........................................................................................................ 39
Appendix A - Additional Documentation ................................................................................................ 41

List of Figures

Figure 1: Time quality data points in Orion .............................................................................................. 9

Figure 2: IRIG-B display on Orion I/O with advanced display ................................................................ 9
Figure 3: Time zone selection .................................................................................................................. 10
Figure 4: IRIG-B setup on Orion .............................................................................................................. 11
Figure 5: IRIG-B setup on Orion I/O ........................................................................................................ 12
Figure 6: NTP setup on Orion I/O ............................................................................................................ 14
Figure 7: IEEE 1588 PTP ........................................................................................................................... 15
Figure 8: DNP3 Request Time Checkbox ............................................................................................. 18
Figure 9: Set Orion hardware clock ........................................................................................................ 19
Figure 10: Orion DNP3 client setup for time synchronization.............................................................. 21
Figure 11: Alarm Archive Enabled checked ..................................................................................... 22
Figure 12: Alarms tab with Display Device Time disabled ............................................................. 23
Figure 13: Archived alarms with Display Device Time disabled .................................................... 24
Figure 14: Alarms tab with Display Device Time enabled .............................................................. 25
Figure 15: Archived alarms with Display Device Time enabled ..................................................... 26

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
Figure 16: Time in Time now shows time of acknowledgment ............................................................ 26
Figure 17: Archive Enabled checked .................................................................................................. 27
Figure 18: Setup of Datapoints for Archiving ........................................................................................ 28
Figure 19: Archived datapoints ............................................................................................................... 28
Figure 20: Set up database to provide device time ............................................................................... 29
Figure 21: Events With Time setup in Orion DNP3 servers ............................................................. 30
Figure 22: Timestamped datapoint in DNP3........................................................................................... 31
Figure 23: Orion System Log ................................................................................................................... 32
Figure 24: Log file in Microsoft Excel ..................................................................................................... 33
Figure 25: Format string for millisecond display................................................................................... 34
Figure 26: Orion syslog setup ................................................................................................................. 35
Figure 27: View port communications .................................................................................................... 36
Figure 28: Timestamped polls and responses ....................................................................................... 37
Figure 29: orion filter in system log ...................................................................................................... 37
Figure 30: Orion event log on Orion MMI ............................................................................................... 38
Figure 31: View system log for IRIG-B and NTP messages.................................................................. 39
Figure 32: Time synchronization error messages ................................................................................. 40

List of Tables

Table 1: Time protocol accuracy comparison.......................................................................................... 8

Table 2: Orion IRIG-B Accuracy LEDs ...................................................................................................... 9
Table 3: IRIG-B connectors and modulation .......................................................................................... 11
Table 4: IRIG-B setup on OrionLX+, OrionMX, and OrionLXm ............................................................. 12
Table 5: IRIG-B Setup on Orion I/O ......................................................................................................... 13
Table 6: RS-485 IRIG connection ............................................................................................................. 13
Table 7: Time – IEEE 1588 PTP ................................................................................................................ 15
Table 8: OrionLX+ PTP Interfaces ........................................................................................................... 16
Table 9: PTP Interfaces –OrionSX, LXm, I/O, MX ................................................................................... 17
Table 10: Orion cards supporting IRIG-B master .................................................................................. 20
Table 11: NovaTech Documentation ....................................................................................................... 41

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I. Introduction
The Orion receives the time from various sources such as NTP and IRIG-B and then distributes it to
various other devices in the substation usually via NTP or IRIG-B.

The synchronization of the Orion clock is based on constant sampling. Thousands of time samples are
required before the Orion adjusts its time. On power up, it can take an Orion up to 30 minutes to set the
Time Quality Flag, which indicates 1ms accuracy. Under rare circumstances, it can take up to 8 hours for
the flag to set when no frequency drift file is present on the Orion.

Note: The Orion clock must be set to within minutes of the actual time. If the time of the Orion is too far
off from the actual time, the Orion will not accept the time received by IRIG-B or NTP. To set the
clock manually, refer to the respective Orion User Manual, section "Orion MMI", "System Menu",
"Clock Configuration".

The Orion uses the time for the following applications and logs in the Orion MMI and the Orion webpages:
• Archive/Alarms/Retentive (AAR)
• Timestamping of input and output points for sequence of event recording
• System log
o System log on Orion webpage
o System log downloaded in logs.csv
o System log via syslog
o Event log in Orion MMI
• Viewing communications in Orion MMI
• Encryption including HTTPS encryption

This document applies equally to all Orion platforms as they share the same operating software unless a
certain feature is not available due to hardware design. This is marked when applicable.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

II. Setting the Orion Time

The Orion hardware clock can be set manually in the Orion MMI and synchronized from a variety of
sources which can also be connected and used in parallel. The Orion has no setting to prioritize the
connected time sources or assign any order of use to the connected time sources. The Orion uses an
open source NTP daemon internal algorithm that, when multiple time sources are connected, uses the
most accurate of the received time signals to adjust the Orion time. Inaccurate time signals are discarded
regardless of the source. The accuracy of the sources varies as shown in Table 1 due to the design and
transmission of the time signal. The NTP daemon uses a phase locking loop (PLL) to achieve time
synchronization with the stated accuracy.

Source Transmission Timestamp Time applied to

Accuracy
SCADA Ethernet 10-100ms Orion hardware clock
protocol Serial 50-1,000ms (not useable for NTP
or IRIG-B purposes)
NTP Ethernet < 1ms Orion NTP daemon
IRIG-B Coax cable 1-10µs Orion NTP daemon
IEEE 1588 PTP Ethernet < 1µs Orion NTP daemon

Table 1: Time protocol accuracy comparison

Note: If multiple time sources are used, it is recommended to use NTP, IRIG-B, and IEEE 1588 PTP. It
is not recommended to use SCADA protocol time setting in combination with other timing sources
which can cause problems due to the relative inaccuracy of the SCADA protocol time signal.
Also, the SCADA protocol time command changes the system clock directly and bypasses the
Orion NTP daemon which selects the best time from the various connected time sources and sets
the time.

1. Orion Time Quality Data Points and Time Quality LEDs

Time Quality Data Points
The Orion provides several time quality data points (Figure 1) which show the time quality achieved by
IRIG-B and NTP for internal use in logic and reporting to the client station, most notably Orion Time
Quality @Orion Internal and Orion Time Quality Binary @Orion Internal. For a
complete description of the time quality data points, please see the respective Orion User Manual, section
"NovaTech Configuration Director (NCD)", "Running NCD", "Configure Menu", "NKI - Time Interface".

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

Figure 1: Time quality data points in Orion

Time Quality LEDs

All Orion models have the following LEDs for displaying the achieved time accuracy. For details about the
LEDs, see the respective Orion User Manual. See also Figure 1 for the time quality data points.

LED OrionLX+ OrionMX OrionLXm Orion I/O Description

IRIG-B Yes Yes Yes See This LED is illuminated when an
Figure 2 IRIG-B signal is detected.
Quality Yes Yes Yes Yes This LED is illuminated when time
accuracy < 1ms is achieved.

Table 2: Orion IRIG-B Accuracy LEDs

In addition, the Orion I/O with the advanced display on the front has a "Time" button which displays the
following information on the display. Sync being True indicates the same information as the "IRIG-B"
LED being illuminated.

Figure 2: IRIG-B display on Orion I/O with advanced display

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
2. Time Zone Setting
On the Orion WebUI page, select Settings > Time. The time zone on the Orion is selected from the
dropdown box and is applied to the received time signals. After selecting the time zone, click on the
Save Time Zone button.

Figure 3: Time zone selection

Note: When the time zone is changed, a full reboot is required in order to apply the new time zone.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
3. IRIG-B
The Orion supports IRIG-B time input as follows. Connect the Orion to a satellite receiver and make sure
that the satellite receiver is set up and functions correctly.

Note: Some satellite receivers provide the year, but others do not. If the installed satellite receiver does
not provide the year, then the year must be set in clock setting of the Orion MMI console ("Main
Menu" > "5. System Menu" > "1. Clock Configuration").

Orion Connector Modulated Unmodulated Other

OrionLX+ BNC male connector Yes Yes
OrionLXm Screw terminal Yes Yes
OrionMX Screw terminal Yes Yes
Orion I/O Screw terminal No Yes RS485 connection from type
(500 Ohm) -G card in OrionLX+

Table 3: IRIG-B connectors and modulation

On the Orion webpage, go to "Settings" > "Time" and click on the "IRIG-B” tab to configure the Input
Settings for Modulated or Unmodulated Signal Type and Time Zone. Click Save IRIG after setting
parameters.

Figure 4: IRIG-B setup on Orion

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
Item Description
Time Zone The time zone can be set to UTC or Local depending on time specification used in your
control infrastructure and SCADA system.
Notes:
▪ The time zone in Figure 3 must be set up to match this setting.
▪ If Local is set, then the time zone setting in Figure 4 must match the time zone
setting of the satellite receiver.
Signal Type The signal type can be set to Unmodulated (DC signal) or Modulated (AC signal)
depending on your requirements and the capabilities of the installed GPS receiver.

Table 4: IRIG-B setup on OrionLX+, OrionMX, and OrionLXm

Figure 5: IRIG-B setup on Orion I/O

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
Item Description
Time Zone The time zone can be set to UTC or Local depending on time specification used in your
control infrastructure and SCADA system.
Signal Type The signal type can be set to Unmodulated (DC signal) or RS-485 when connected to
a type -G RS-485 card in an OrionLX+.
Notes:
▪ The time zone in Figure 3 must be set up to match this setting.
▪ If Local is set, then the time zone setting in Figure 5 must match the time zone
setting of the satellite receiver.
▪ See the following table for the cable between the -G card and the Orion I/O.
▪ Jumper H1 on the -G card must be set to position 1-2 in order to enable that card to
distribute the time via RS-485. This card available only on the OrionLX+. 1
▪ When using RS-485, only 2-wire communication can be used.

Table 5: IRIG-B Setup on Orion I/O

OrionLX+ – Type G Card Signal Name Serial Port 1 Terminal

Terminal Number RS485 Wire Connection
1 − RX/TX Data 52
2 + RX/TX Data 54
3 GND 50
4 − IRIG 48
5 + IRIG 49
6 GND 50

Table 6: RS-485 IRIG connection

4. NTP
The NTP time sources on the Internet are set up as follows in the Orion. Multiple NTP sources can be
entered for redundancy in case one NTP source becomes unavailable.

1 See Orion User Manual

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

Figure 6: NTP setup on Orion I/O

A list of NTP servers around the world is available at https://www.ntppool.org/en/.

Addresses like time-a-g.nist.gov or IP addresses can be entered in the NTP Time Sources field.
If only the URL of the NTP source is known, then ping the URL from the command line of your PC to
determine the IP address of the NTP source and enter the IP address.

Note: When using firewalls in the system, the port of the NTP protocol must be opened for inbound and
output traffic. Usually this is UDP port 123.

A PC in the local network can also be set up as NTP time server as described in How to turn a computer
into an NTP time server on YouTube. Then enter the IP address of the local PC into NTP Time
Sources in Figure 6.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
5. IEEE 1588 PTP
IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) is a packet based two way communications protocol designed
to synchronize distributed clocks to sub microsecond resolution on an Ethernet network. Support for
IEEE PTP interfaces started with Orion Distro 10.0.

Figure 7: IEEE 1588 PTP

Field Description
0: Default domain
Domain Number 1-3: Alternate domains
4-127: User-defined domains
128-255: Reserved
Select an available Ethernet port that supports PTP protocol (see Table 8 and
Interfaces Table 9). Hardware support achieves < 1µs accuracy. Software support achieves
better than 50 µs accuracy.
Network Select UDPv4, UDPv6, or Layer 2 (L2) for PTP, depending on the settings for your
Transport network.
Default: UDPv4
The Delay Mechanism specifies one of the two PTP delay mechanisms supported
Delay for propagation delay measurements: End-to-end (delay request-response
Mechanism mechanism) and peer-to-peer (peer delay mechanism). Auto setting is also
supported.
Default: Peer-to-peer
Table 7: Time – IEEE 1588 PTP

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
Connector PTP support (Hardware,
Orion Model Adapter ID
Label Software, No)
OrionLX+ enp3s0 ETH0 Hardware
(No NovaCard or NC4) enp4s0 ETH1 Hardware
OrionLX+ enp3s0 ETH0 Hardware
(NC0) enp4s0 ETH1 Hardware
enp8s0 ETH2 Hardware
OrionLX+ enp3s0 ETH0 Hardware
(NC1: Ethernet with I/O) enp4s0 ETH1 Hardware
enp8s0 ETH2 Hardware
enp9s0 ETH3 Hardware
enp10s0 ETH4 Hardware
OrionLX+ enp3s0 ETH0 Hardware
(NC2: 12-Port Ethernet) enp4s0 ETH1 Hardware
lan0 ETH2-0 No
lan1 ETH2-1 No
lan2 ETH2-2 No
lan3 ETH2-3 No
lan4 ETH2-4 No
lan5 ETH2-5 No
lan6 ETH2-6 No
lan7 ETH2-7 No
lan8 ETH2-8 No
lan9 ETH2-9 No
lan10 ETH2-10 No
lan11 ETH2-11 No
OrionLX+ enp3s0 ETH0 Hardware
(NC3: HSR/PRP with I/O) enp4s0 ETH1 Hardware
enp8s0 ETH2 Hardware
enp9s0 ETH3 Hardware
lan0 ETH4-0 No
lan1 ETH4-1 No
Table 8: OrionLX+ PTP Interfaces

Connector PTP support (Hardware,

Orion Model Adapter ID
Label Software, No)
OrionSX enp1s0 ETH0 Hardware
enp2s0 ETH1 Hardware
enp3s0 ETH2 Hardware
OrionLXm
eth0 ETH0 Software
eth1 ETH1 Software
Orion I/O
(EP: RJ45 and SFP ports)
eth0 ETH0 Hardware
eth1 ETH1 Hardware
Orion I/O
lan0 ETH0-0 No
(ES: Ethernet Switch)
lan1 ETH0-1 No

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
Connector PTP support (Hardware,
Orion Model Adapter ID
Label Software, No)
lan2 ETH0-2 No

eth1 ETH1-0 Hardware

Orion I/O
lan0 ETH0-0 No
(RP: HSR/PRP)
lan1 ETH0-1 No

eth1 ETH1 Hardware

OrionMX
lan0 ETH0-0 No
lan1 ETH0-1 No
eth1 ETH1 Hardware
Table 9: PTP Interfaces –OrionSX, LXm, I/O, MX

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6. Protocols
The Orion clock can also be synchronized by SCADA protocols which support time synchronization
commands.

Notes:
▪ The accuracy of SCADA protocol time synchronization is generally poor and ranges from at best tens
of milliseconds (Ethernet-based protocols) to hundreds of milliseconds (serial protocols, in particular
when used over radio connections). If time synchronicity between substations is required, IRIG-B, NTP
or IEEE 1588 PTP are the best options.
▪ It is not recommended to use synchronization by protocol and by IRIG-B, NTP or IEEE 1588 PTP in
combination since the protocol time is applied to the Orion hardware clock but not to the NTP daemon
which handles IRIG-B and NTP. Also, the time accuracy data points and LEDs of the Orion are driven
by the NTP daemon and not by the hardware clock.

The following protocols in the Orion support time synchronization. Any protocols implemented in the Orion
which are not listed below do not support time synchronization by the client.

▪ DNP3
The DNP3 server on the Orion can request time synchronization by setting the Request Time
checkbox in the DNP3 server configuration in the Orion. For more details, see the DNP3 Server
Software Manual.

Figure 8: DNP3 Request Time Checkbox

▪ IEC 60870-5-101
▪ IEC 60870-5-104
▪ L&G 8979
▪ Conitel 300
▪ Harris
▪ Tejas

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
7. Setting Time in Orion MMI
The Orion hardware clock can be set manually in the Orion MMI via “Main Menu” > "5. System Menu" >
"1. Clock Configuration" (Figure 9).

Figure 9: Set Orion hardware clock

Note that this time is entered in UTC. If a local time zone is set up in Figure 3, then it is applied to the time
entered here. The timestamps shown in Figure 28 and Figure 30 reflect the local time zone setting
applied to the time entered here.

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III.Orion as Time Server

An Orion can be set up as a time server for other devices in a substation. This can be done in different
ways as explained in the following sections. Any combination of these ways can also be used
simultaneously, meaning some devices may get time from an Orion by way of IRIG-B while others get the
time via NTP.

Note: Some clients may require time with accurate quality from a time server in order to accept that
time server. If the Orion acting as time server does not itself have quality time input, clients may
not accept that Orion as time server.

1. IRIG-B
The Orion can be an IRIG-B master in the following ways.

RS232 to SEL relays RS485 to Orion I/O V-pin fiber to DxIO

OrionLX+ -A card, -E card -G card -H card
OrionLXm -S4 card, -T4 card n/a n/a
OrionMX Standard RS-232 ports n/a n/a
Orion I/O n/a n/a n/a

Table 10: Orion cards supporting IRIG-B master

For the OrionLX+, the -A card and the -E card must be jumpered as explained in the OrionLX+ User
Manual to provide the IRIG-B signal on pins 4 and 6 of the RS-232 port. By default, this option is
disabled.

For the OrionLXm, the S4 card and the T4 card must be jumpered as explained in the OrionLXm User
Manual to provide the IRIG-B signal on pins 4 and 6 of the RS-232 port. By default, this option is
disabled.

The RS-232 ports must be jumpered as explained in the OrionMX User Manual to provide the IRIG-B
signal on pins 4 and 6 of the RS-232 port. By default, this option is disabled.

The Orion I/O cannot be set up as IRIG-B master.

2. NTP
Every Orion automatically runs an NTP server which does not require any setup. The NTP server uses
the time of the Orion clock.

Any device on the same network can access the NTP server of an Orion by setting up the NTP or SNTP
client in the device accordingly as explained in the user manual of the respective device.

If another Orion is set up as NTP client to an Orion NTP server, then simply enter the IP address of the
Orion with NTP server in the screen in Figure 6.

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3. DNP3
The DNP3 client on the Orion can provide time to connected DNP3 servers if these servers are set up to
request time from the DNP3 client.

If an Orion is DNP3 server and needs the time from the Orion with DNP3 client, then check the Request
Time checkbox as shown in Figure 8. For more information, see the DNP3 Server Software Manual.

If a third-party device is DNP3 server and needs the time from the Orion with a DNP3 client, then refer to
the device's user manual for setup of the Request Time bit in the DNP3 server driver. However, the
device may not support the Request Time bit.

The DNP3 client on the Orion must be set up to send the time upon request by setting the Send Time
Sync and the correct time zone in the following figure (Figure 10). For more information, see the DNP3
Client Software Manual.

Figure 10: Orion DNP3 client setup for time synchronization

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

IV. Timestamp Applications in Orion

1. Timestamps in AAR
The AAR (Alarm/Archive/Retentive) modules process timestamps for Alarm purposes and Archive
purposes. The alarms are displayed on the Alarms tab of the Orion webpage, and the archived values
are displayed on the Archive tab of the Orion webpage.

For any additional information regarding this section, see Alarm/Archive/Retentive Software Manual.

Alarms in AAR
The active alarms in the Orion are listed as follows on the Alarms tab. These alarms may originate in
devices that are connected by various protocols as well as from inside the Orion, for example by logic or
the sensor module.

To enable the alarm archive, the checkbox Alarm Archive Enabled in the following screenshot must
be checked.

Figure 11: Alarm Archive Enabled checked

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
Using Orion Time for Timestamps

If the checkbox Display Device Time at the bottom of Figure 11 is unchecked, then the Orion uses
its own clock to timestamp the event. Otherwise the Orion uses the device timestamps.

Note: The setting Display Device Time only has an effect for alarms from devices with protocols
such as DNP3, IEC 104, L&G 8979, and others that support timestamps. For protocols like
Modbus that do not support timestamps, the Orion always applies the time of the alarm
acquisition in the Orion, and not the actual timestamp of the alarm in the device.

In the following screenshot (Figure 12), with Display Device Time unchecked, the Time column
displays either the time when the point change alarm was displayed, or in case the alarm has been
acknowledged, the time of the acknowledgment.

Figure 12: Alarms tab with Display Device Time disabled

Clicking on Alarm Archive in Figure 12 opens the alarm archive in Figure 13. Both the Time column
and the Device Time column are displayed. The Time column also displays either the time when the
point change alarm was first displayed, or in case the alarm has been acknowledged, the time of the
acknowledgment. The Device Time column displays the time the changed value of the data point has
been acquired by the Orion from the respective server device, meaning when the response to a poll was
received. The time between the acquisition timestamp and the display timestamp is in the range of
500ms.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

Figure 13: Archived alarms with Display Device Time disabled

Using Device Time for Timestamps

If the checkbox Display Device Time in Figure 11 is checked, then the Orion displays the timestamp
received with the alarm from the device as shown in Figure 14.

Notes:
▪ The server devices connected must be set up to return the events with time. Refer to the respective
server device user manual for details.
▪ If the server device is a DNP3 server on an Orion, Events With Time must be enabled for the
respective DNP3 classes. See section Timestamps in Protocols for Sequence of Events Recording for
more information.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

Figure 14: Alarms tab with Display Device Time enabled

In this case, the time 02:43:52.408 for point Orion Time Quality comes from the device as shown in
column Time in Figure 14 and in column Device Time in Figure 15. Column Time in Figure 15 shows
the time that the alarm was first displayed which is 1:13:46.748. When the alarm is acknowledged, the
time in Time changes to 15:37:00.315 as shown in Figure 16.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

Figure 15: Archived alarms with Display Device Time enabled

Figure 16: Time in Time now shows time of acknowledgment

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
Archived Values in AAR
To enable the archiving of values, the checkbox Archive Enabled in the following figure must be
checked.

Figure 17: Archive Enabled checked

The following figure (Figure 18) shows the setup of four different ways of archiving:
1. Event: Archive based on event based on exceeding a deadband, here: 0.1 for binary point.
2. Timed: Archive based on interval, here: 15 minutes.
3. Event/Timed: Archive based on event as well as interval.
4. All Event: Archive for any value change without applying deadband.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

Figure 18: Setup of Datapoints for Archiving

Figure 19: Archived datapoints

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
The archived datapoints in Figure 19 show the time from the field device in the Device Time column
and the time of the acquisition by the Orion in column Time. If the Orion and the field device are time
synchronized, then the Device Time will always be earlier than the Time.

Also, if the timestamp is from the field device, the value in DTime is yes. Otherwise, the value in DTime
is no.

Note: The column DTime is available only if the database has been set up accordingly in the most
recent database reset. DTime requires checking of the box Include Device Timestamped
flag in the new archive table (Figure 20).

Figure 20: Set up database to provide device time

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
2. Timestamps in Protocols for Sequence of Events Recording
Point changes of I/O points on Orions are also timestamped with the Orion time. These timestamps are
sent to the client station(s) by any protocol that supports timestamped events such as DNP3, IEC 104,
and numerous others.

Many protocols such as DNP3, IEC 101/104, L&G 8979, and IEC 61850 natively support timestamps.
Others, most notably Modbus, do not support timestamps.

In the Orion DNP3 server, the timestamps are enabled by class in the DNP3 server device. Specifically,
the timestamps are enabled by checking the checkboxes next to the respective class as shown at the
bottom of Figure 21.

Figure 21: Events With Time setup in Orion DNP3 servers

The following example (Figure 22) shows the transmission of a timestamped datapoint in DNP3.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

Figure 22: Timestamped datapoint in DNP3

For other DNP3 server devices, refer to the DNP3 timestamp setup instructions by the respective
manufacturer.

If needed, refer to the manufacturer manuals for protocols like IEC 101/104 and L&G8979 to set up the
timestamping in the server devices.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
3. System Log on Orion Webpage
The Orion provides the following system log on the Diagnostics > Logs tab. For more details, see
the Tech Note Orion Diagnostics and Troubleshooting.

Figure 23: Orion System Log

Note: The timestamps on the Logs tab are displayed in local time.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
4. System Log in logs.csv
The Orion system log can also be downloaded as .csv file by clicking on Download .CSV on the
upper right side (see Figure 23). The .csv file can be opened in Microsoft Excel.

Figure 24: Log file in Microsoft Excel

The format must be set up as m/d/yyyy hh:mm:ss.000 in order to display the milliseconds correctly
(Figure 25).

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

Figure 25: Format string for millisecond display

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
5. System Log via Syslog
The format of the Orion system log is saved in the system journald format. The Orion system log is sent to
a syslog server with the following setup. See also the respective Orion User Manual, section "Orion
Webpages", "Settings” tab", "System Log".

Figure 26: Orion syslog setup

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
6. Viewing Communications on Orion MMI
All protocols polls and responses of the Orion of all serial and Ethernet ports can be viewed and logged
on the Orion MMI via "Main Menu" > "3. View Communications”. Then selected the desired port from the
menu shown in Figure 27.

Figure 27: View port communications

Then the polls and responses of the selected port are displayed with the respective timestamps (Figure
28). The time differences between the displayed timestamps support communication analysis and
diagnostics.

The timestamps are based on the time in the Orion clock (which is set on the Orion MMI) plus the time
zone setting as set on the Orion webpage ("Settings" tab > "System" section).

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

Figure 28: Timestamped polls and responses

7. Event Log on Orion MMI

The Orion event log (Figure 30) is accessible in the Orion MMI via "Main Menu" > "5. System Menu" >
"3. View Event Log". For more details, refer to the respective Orion User Manual, section "Orion MMI".

Figure 29: orion filter in system log

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
This event log is the equivalent of the System Log on Orion Webpage when the filter orion is applied
(Figure 29).

Figure 30: Orion event log on Orion MMI

Note: The timestamps in the Orion MMI event log are displayed in local time.

8. Encryption and HTTPS

The time is also used for encryption, most notably for HTTPS. When accessing the Orion webpages from
a PC with a web browser and HTTPS, the time on the PC must be within hours of the time on the Orion.
HTTPS does not allow login from PCs when the time discrepancy between the PC and the Orion is too
large. If this is the case, the Orion stays on the login screen even after entering the correct user
credentials. In this case, log into the Orion MMI to check the time and compare it with the time on the PC
and adjust one of the two clocks so that they match.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

V. Diagnostics and Troubleshooting

The Orion provides the following information for diagnosing the Orion time synchronization in the system
log.

1. Time Quality Data Points and LEDs

The time quality data points and LEDs are described in section Orion Time Quality Data Points and Time
Quality LEDs.

2. Time Events in System Log

The scroll box under Filtering on the right side allows filtering for IRIGd, kernel, and ntpd.
Depending on the time synchronization used in the Orion, check any or all the checkboxes and view the
log.

The log can also be downloaded from the Orion as .csv file by clicking the Download .CSV button on
the upper right side.

Figure 31: View system log for IRIG-B and NTP messages

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
Identifier Priority Message Issue
kernel ERR ntirig: watchdog detected dropped IRQ The IRIG-B input signal is set to
Modulated but the connected time
signal is unmodulated.
crond ERR time disparity of -479 minutes detected The Orion time is off. If the Orion time
is off significantly, it is recommended
to set the Orion clock manually via the
Orion MMI ("Main menu" > "5. System
Menu" > "1. Clock Configuration").
orion NOTICE Clock changed by TJones. The clock has been changed by user
TJones.

Figure 32: Time synchronization error messages

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 Orion Time and Timestamps

Appendix A - Additional Documentation

The additional documentation listed below represent the main documents which may be required for
setting up the Orion port expander.

By default, the NCD installation stores the NovaTech documentation files in C:\Program Files
(x86)\NovaTech LLC\NCD3\Docs.

Document Title File Name

OrionLX+ User Manual OrionLX+_User_Manual.pdf
OrionSX User Manual OrionSX_User_Manual.pdf
OrionMX User Manual OrionMX_User_Manual.pdf
OrionVX User Manual OrionVX_User_Manual.pdf
Orion I/O User Manual Orion_IO_User_Manual.pdf
OrionLXm User Manual OrionLXm_User_Manual.pdf

Table 11: NovaTech Documentation

For setup of IEDs from other manufacturers, refer to the respective documentation from the specific
manufacturer. Third-Party documentation is not included on the NovaTech installation CD and cannot be
verified as accurate by NovaTech.

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 Orion Time and Timestamps
Revision Date Changes
A 10/31/2019 Initial Release. BM
B 05/31/2021 Updated domain and language. BM
C 02/06/2024 Updated Orion WebUI information to distro 10. RM

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