B
B2B
See board-to-board connector (B2B).
backbone device
A device that is required to communicate with parts of the network. These are typically Access Point (AP) and Relay, but could be electricity meters in special circumstances.
back end
The part of a computer system or application that is not directly accessed by the user, usually responsible for storing and manipulating data.
backhaul
The portion of a hierarchical telecommunications network that is made up of intermediate links between the core or backbone of the network and the small subnetworks at its edge. For example, the local subnetwork connects a cell phone with a cell tower and the backhaul includes all the connections between the cell tower and the cellular provider. Backhaul carries traffic back and forth.
The backhaul link provides the connection between the Access Point (AP) and Itron applications and is typically the highest capacity data link in a network. In Itron Enterprise Edition (IEE) Meter Data Unification and Synchronization (MDUS) system curtailment programs, backhaul refers to the process of transmitting data beyond its normal destination point and then back again to better utilize personnel or network equipment not located at the destination location. It can also refer to transmitting from a remote site or network to a central or main site.
back office
The internal business operations of a company that are not accessible or visible to the general public.
back office certificate authority (BOCA)
A certificate issued by the back office of a utility, which chains back to the root certificate in an X.509 digital certificate hierarchy. Also known as EBOCA.
Multiple BOCAs are used within the Itron system, including: Network Management Entity CA, which signs the network management entity certificates. There may be multiple CAs with different privileges depending on operator requirements. See Certificate Authority (CA).
back-office system (BOS)
Platforms and applications that don't interface with customers but help employees manage core functions. Back-office systems can be manual or automated.
backup
A copy of computer data, typically consisting of database content, log files, system files, and programs, to facilitate recovery of data if necessary. Data is transferred from one location to another, such as to an external storage medium for archival and retrieval purposes.
backup key
A key pair removed from the signing and encryption server (SES) and safely stored for later use. This key pair is enabled when a security appliance or its private keys are compromised. Also called a reserve key. See also asymmetric key encryption.
BACT
See Battery-Powered Adaptive Communications Technology (BACT).
ballast
A device used to control current in a streetlight. The two types are magnetic and electronic. Magnetic ballast technology predates electronic, and the electronic type provides more functional options over the magnetic type.
ball grid array (BGA)
A type of surface-mount packaging used to permanently mount integrated circuits.
bandwidth
The amount of data transmitted in a given amount of time, usually measured in bits per second, kilobits per second, or megabits per second.
barcode
An identification code that can be read by an optical scanner. A barcode contains binary information about the object to which it is affixed. There are two types of barcodes, linear (1D), and matrix (2D). Linear barcodes consist of a series of vertical bars and spaces of differing widths. Linear barcodes provide a maximum data capacity of 20 characters. Matrix barcodes consist of geometric patterns of vertical and horizontal shapes and spaces. Matrix barcodes provide a maximum data capacity of 7,089 characters.
Itron affixes barcodes to many of its manufactured devices, such as meters and endpoints. Many Itron software products support the use of barcodes for tasks, including inventory management.
baseline, curtailment
A calculated value used to represent a customer's electricity load or usage pattern over a period of time, in the absence of their participation in a curtailment program. Baseline values are calculated using one of many available baseline algorithms.
baseload
The average amount of electricity a homeowner uses just to “run” the home. The usage comes from appliances that are always on, like refrigerators or electric clocks, and items that are not turned on but are plugged in, like a computer or television. See also demand.
base load capacity
The generating equipment normally operated to serve loads on an around-the-clock basis.
base load plant
A plant, usually housing high-efficiency steam-electric units, which is normally operated to take all or part of the minimum load of a system, and which consequently produces electricity at a constant rate as it runs continuously. These units are operated to maximize system mechanical and thermal efficiency and minimize system-operating costs.
base station
A land station in the land mobile service. For example, in cellular and personal communications uses, each cell has its own base station. Each base station is interconnected with other base stations and with the public switched network.
Basic Encoding Rules (BER)
A set of encoding rules for Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) notation, which is a method for defining data structures.
basic security
The level of security employed by Itron’s ChoiceConnect network endpoint types before the introduction of enhanced security in its 100 series endpoints and CENTRON Bridge meters. Basic security consists of such features as tamper codes, Itron’s proprietary frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS) protocol for radio frequency communication, and Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer (TLS/SSL) protocol for Fixed Network communications.
basic unit
A unit used to measure a commodity type. For example, in Itron Enterprise Edition (IEE) Meter Data Management (MDM) solution you can use kWh (the base unit) to measure electricity (the commodity type).
battery backed device (BBD)
A device that provides backup power when your regular power source fails, or voltage drops to an unacceptable level. See also battery-powered device (BPD).
battery backup
An option that allows Access Point (AP) and Relay to operate during outages. See also Infrastructure Battery Pack (IBP).
battery electric vehicle (BEV)
A vehicle that runs exclusively from on-board batteries.
Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)
A system that allows the storage of energy for later use.
Battery-Powered Adaptive Communications Technology (BACT)
Obsolete name for battery-powered device (BPD).
battery-powered device (BPD)
A device on the mesh network that is powered by a battery and that communicates across the network through a neighboring continuously powered device (CPD). Examples are:
To conserve power, BPD transmitters are usually in "sleep" mode. When a BPD first joins the network, it finds the best neighboring CPD as its proxy. Under normal operations, following a negotiated "listening schedule", the BPD wakes up and exchanges data, messages, and firmware updates with the CPD. Commands issued to the BPD are sent to the CPD, which returns answers after the BPD's next successful "wake" cycle. See also battery backed device (BBD).
baud
A unit of measurement in digital or telecommunications. Baud equals the number of pulses or bits per second. Also see baud rate.
baud rate
In digital communications, the data transmission rate in symbols per second. When measuring the line code transmission speed, the baud rate is measured in pulses per second.
BBD
See battery backed device (BBD).
beacon
Packets of data typically sent by an access point to synchronize a wireless network. An Itron telemetry module beacon provides packets of module status information.
BER
See Basic Encoding Rules (BER).
BESS
See Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
Beta
A version of a product released for evaluation and validation from a system functional and user perspective. Typically, the evaluation and validation is performed in a customer environment. The goal of the beta release is to have users exercise the product in a real operational environment, to validate that the release meets requirements, and to uncover any issues not detected during internal product testing.
BEV
See battery electric vehicle (BEV).
BGA
BGP
See Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).
bi-directional metering
A metering functionality that supports the storage of both received and delivered data metrics. Utilities can collect this data to support green credit electricity programs for consumers who own renewable energy facilities or participate in vehicle-to-grid systems.
BIG-IP®
F5® Networks’ system of integrated application delivery services. BIG-IP performs load balancing, access control, and application security.
billing cycle
Determines how often bills are sent to utility customers. In BMR, a billing cycle is a convenient way to verify that meters are being read with enough lead time to generate bills.
billing determinant
A calculation used to create rate charges based on interval data used within a time-of-use (TOU) period. For example, you can create a summer peak billing determinant that multiplies the per-kWh charge by the total kWh of the summer peak TOU. The billing determinant calculation can also include adjustments, such as a power factor (PF) adjustment.
billing read window
Determines the period when a meter can be successfully read for billing purposes. This is the period in hours before and after midnight of the bill generation date.
billing success rate (BSR)
The percentage of meters for which a successful read occurred between midnight and midnight. BSR is a metric for how well the data necessary to generate bills can be gathered during off hours. Unlike RSR, BSR records the percentage of meters read during a given period, whereas RSR records the percentage of successful meter reads per schedule run. See also message success rate (MSR) and read success rate (RSR).
bill of materials (BOM)
A document that contains lists of all the materials required to manufacture a shippable product, and information on how the parts that are required work together.
binary large object (blob)
A large file that will execute upon successful load to a device. It is often used to send a set of configuration commands to a device.
birth certificate
A digital identification, conforming to the X.509 security standard, given to an Itron NIC at the time of its manufacture. See also driver’s license.
blackout period
A period of time during a utility’s billing cycle when field service representatives (FSRs) are not to be assigned work orders, such as during holidays or meter reading periods.
blade server
A rack-mounted server that consists of multiple thin, modular electronic circuit boards, called server blades. Each server blade is essentially a server on a card, with its own CPU, memory, input/output (IO) ports, and so on. The blades share a common power supply, operating system, and management mechanism.
blink phase
A phase registered by a meter. A blink phase is registered when a voltage drop is sensed that would cause the meter module to shut down.
blob
See binary large object (blob).
block
A consumption tier that includes a price and optionally a threshold. Customers are charged a per unit price for energy consumed within the block. When total consumption exceeds the defined threshold, a new block is entered and a price change occurs.
block interval demand
Demand based on intervals from 1 to 60 minutes. All calculations of demand are based on rolling demand. To calculate block interval demand, you must program the meter register to have one subinterval of the same length as the demand interval.
block rate
Billing rate See also declining block rate and inclining block rate.
Bluetooth RF Master
A radio Bluetooth master unit designed by Itron that can read meters equipped with radio interface units, using any kind of reading terminals equipped with Bluetooth interface.
blurt
A short, one-way message from metrology to register through the board-to-board (B2B) connector.
BMR
See business management review (BMR).
board-to-board connector (B2B)
Board-to-board connector that uses the ANSI C12.22 application protocol.
BOCA
See back office certificate authority (BOCA).
BOM
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
The protocol backing the core routing decisions on the Internet. BGP maintains a table of IP networks or “prefixes” that designate network reachability among autonomous systems. It does not use traditional Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) metrics, but makes routing decisions based on path, network policies, and/or rule sets.
BOS
bounce diagrams
Diagrams created by transmission line engineers to illustrate the transient waves bouncing back and forth on the transmission line.
box utilization
A feature of Itron’s Field Deployment Manager (FDM) software that enables users to track boxes of inventory items and their contents. It facilitates management of inventory on a first-in, first-out basis and helps inventory managers trace list or misplaced items.
BPD
See battery-powered device (BPD).
BPL
See broadband over powerlines (BPL).
BPLC
See broadband power line communications (BPLC).
Bridge
A communications device that provides high-performance, reliable, and secure DNP3 transport between remote terminal unit (RTU) and data centers, Bridges are manufactured to perform one of two roles: Master or Remote. A Master Bridge provides the connection or take-out point for the Remote Bridges to the SCADA system. The Remote Bridges connect to the RTUs to provide connectivity back to the Master.
The Bridge is so named because it connects (bridges) two networks. For example, Bridges deployed in a Distribution Automation solution bridge the Itron RF network and the utility DPN3 network.
There are Bridges for both the Itron Gen4 network and Gen5 network. Both provide Ethernet and serial connectivity for simultaneous support of DNP3 and management traffic. Bridge 5 also provides APIs for maximum flexibility.
See also eBridge, and sBridge.
Bridge Configurator
An Itron software tool that, in conjunction with a Field Service Unit (FSU), is used for creating networks of Bridges, remote terminal unit (RTU), and intelligent electronic device (IED). A number of DA deployment scenarios and network configurations are supported by this tool.
bring your own identity (BYOI)
In the context of Tenant Management, an option for a tenant to use an existing active directory within the Identity Service.
British thermal unit (BTU)
A standard unit for measuring the quantity of heat energy equal to the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit.
broadband over powerlines (BPL)
A type of data transmission in which a single wire can carry high-speed packet (internet) data. Cable TV, for example, uses broadband transmission. Electricity providers can use BPL technology to transmit data over the power lines that they already have in place by using a system of signal injectors, repeaters, and extractors that bypass the distribution transformer. The frequency of BPL signals is much higher than that of traditional power-line carrier (PLC) systems.
broadband power line communications (BPLC)
The transmission of data over power lines using a system of signal injectors, repeaters, and extractors that avoid interference at the distribution transformer. The frequency of the data signals is much higher than that of traditional power line carrier systems, so the signals are unaffected by the power carried across the line. Also called power line communications (see power-line carrier (PLC)).
broadcast
The mode of sending packets over a network so that all devices receive them. Each device’s NIC then evaluates the event and decides if it can run it. See also unicast.
broadcast message
A message destined for all nodes in a network.
broker
A firm that acts as an agent in the sale and purchases of electricity, but never owns the electricity and typically does not own generating facilities.
brownfield
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In developments, a brownfield development occurs on land that already has some Itron infrastructure deployed, sometimes for another purpose.
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In deployments, a brownfield deployment does not require 100% of the meters in the area to have an enabled feature for that feature to work. For example, one meter per transformer could have the feature and provide representative data for the other meters.
See also greenfield.
brownout
A controlled power reduction performed by the utility. The utility decreases voltage on the power lines so customers receive weaker electric current. Typically used to reduce load when the total power demand exceeds the maximum available supply.
BSR
See billing success rate (BSR).
BSR/D
See business solution requirements/design (BSR/D).
BTO
See build to order (BTO).
BTU
See British thermal unit (BTU).
BU
See business unit (BU).
Bubble Up
A process using MQTT Broker to let applications collect readings from meters or sensors without sending explicit read commands; in other words, the data "bubbles up" from the device. This is done by sending asynchronous messages to Trap Messaging Bridge (TMB), which will then send these messages to Gateway, which pushes them to an MQTT broker. The MQTT broker enables applications to publish messages on various topics or to subscribe to messages on particular topics. BMR or any other application can subscribe to topics to receive the traps.
bubble-up mode
One of two transmission modes (the other being wake-up mode) by which most Encoder/Receiver/Transmitter (ERT) modules can be programmed to transmit meter reading and tamper data to data collection devices. In bubble-up mode, an ERT module periodically broadcasts its meter reading and tamper data at programmed intervals in a standard consumption message (SCM), whether or not a data collection device is present. A data collection device must be within receiving range of the ERT signal to read and record the SCM. In contrast, an ERT module programmed to use wake-up mode waits until it receives a wake-up tone from a data collection device before transmitting its SCM.
build to order (BTO)
A manufacturing term for a production approach where products are built only when a confirmed order for the product is received. This is a common form of production for highly customized, high-value, or low-volume products.
Also called make to order.
bulk power market
An energy market restricted to wholesale power suppliers and resellers who acquire energy for resale elsewhere.
business management review (BMR)
A format used to designate line items for invoicing and revenue recognition purposes.
business solution requirements/design (BSR/D)
A document that outlines all solution requirements that will be met by the solution design and identifies any requirements gaps.
business unit (BU)
An organizational unit of a utility, typically based on function (gas, electric, water, cable) or geographic location.