- A large data center campus needed a flexible and scalable critical power automation network to support phased expansion. The facility required multiple control systems, substations, generator controls and monitoring devices to communicate reliably across a complex power infrastructure.
- The project involved a mixed technology environment: IEDs requiring PRP/HSR redundancy for IEC-61850 protection, traditional PLC/HMI systems using RSTP, and legacy fuel metering equipment communicating over Modbus RTU. The network architecture had to bring these systems together without compromising uptime, interoperability or deployment timelines.
- The published source states that the design included PRP/HSR for smart substation protection and RSTP grouping to solve interoperability challenges between different network technologies. It also notes that Modbus RTU fuel metering was converted to Modbus TCP, with MGate gateways and EDR routers used to support communication and routing requirements.
Case Studies
Powering Tomorrow's Data Centers With Resilient Critical Power Networking
26 Jun 2026A resilient industrial network architecture connecting generators, fuel metering, PLCs, HMIs, IEDs and switchgear across a data center critical power system using PRP/HSR, RSTP grouping, Modbus conversion and secure routing.
Overview
ChallengesThe main challenges were
- • Data center expansion required a scalable design that could support multiple phases.
- • Different control systems and devices used different communication protocols.
- • IEDs in the high-voltage switchboard required PRP/HSR redundancy for IEC-61850 compliance.
- • Traditional PLC and HMI systems used RSTP and did not directly support PRP/HSR.
- • Legacy fuel metering used Modbus RTU and needed Ethernet connectivity.
- • The project required smooth implementation within tight timelines.
- • Critical power systems could not tolerate long disruption during commissioning.
ObjectivesThe system needed to
- Enable reliable communication across critical power automation systems, integrate PRP/HSR-based smart substation protection with RSTP-based PLC/HMI networks, convert legacy Modbus RTU fuel-meter data to Modbus TCP, support secure routing between generator control and the wider control-system subnet, reduce commissioning risk through simulation and pre-deployment validation, and build a scalable architecture suited to future data center expansion.
Solution DeliveredThe solution included
- The solution combined redundant industrial networking, protocol conversion and secure routing to integrate the data center's critical power systems.
- • PRP LAN A and PRP LAN B for redundant protection communication
- • HSR ring using RedBox devices
- • RSTP network segments for PLC and HMI communication
- • RSTP grouping to connect traditional RSTP devices into the redundant architecture
- • Ethernet switches connecting HMIs, PLCs and IEDs
- • Modbus gateway converting fuel meter data from Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP
- • Security router supporting routing between generator control and the control-system subnet
- • IED communication for 33 kV and 11 kV power systems
- • Connection to switchgear, ATS, UPS, generator and utility-grid power flow
Products referenced in the source material include
Conclusion
Data center critical-power networks increasingly look like substation networks — PRP/HSR, RSTP, Modbus, and secure routing side by side — and this project shows how to bridge all of it into one resilient architecture that can grow in phases without a rebuild.
