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SAP Application User Guide

This is the user guide for the SAP, the Coherent Secure Access Portal.

SAP is a communications service providing secure and reliable internet access to remote metering equipment.

Concepts​

Devices​

Devices refer to the remote communications devices connected to the meters.

There are 3 types of gateway in SAP:

  • IDC devices: legacy IDCs
  • SIM devices: devices with a SIM that use a mobile communications service , e.g. GPRS/3G modems
  • ISA devices: SAP compliant devices

The device provides transparent serial communications with the meter it is connected to.

Gateways​

All access to a device is via a gateway. A gateway manifests a TCP end point corresponding to each device it has permission to access.

There are 2 types of gateway in SAP:

  • Public gateway: in this case the TCP end point is a public IP address and port number.
  • Private gateway: an organisation can have one or more private gateways installed on their private trusted network. In this case the TCP end point is a private IP address and port number.

Sites​

A site is a grouping of devices. Each device must belong to a site. The site may correspond to a physical place or may be a logical grouping.

A site is also the level at which gateway permissions are managed. A gateway may or may not be given permission to access the devices belonging to a site.

Account roles​

An account may have one of 2 possible roles that determine what they are able to do on the SAP site.

Operator​

This is the role that should normally be given to most users that work with SAP. An operator can view all device, gateway and site information as well as change the communications and tag settings for any devices.

Administrator​

An administrator has full control of all aspects for their organisation including adding, modifying and deleting devices, gateways, sites and accounts.