DNP3 is the telemetry protocol of pipeline and utility SCADA, built for many remote RTUs on imperfect links. This guide explains how to bring DNP3 data into a cloud platform, taking advantage of its timestamping and report-by-exception for efficient monitoring of distributed sites.
Short version: Merobix polls or subscribes to DNP3 RTUs and uses DNP3's report-by-exception and source timestamping for efficient telemetry over cellular and satellite. Event data maps to tags in a cloud dashboard, so pipeline and oilfield RTUs are monitored without a self-run telemetry host.
DNP3 was designed for exactly the field oil and gas lives with: hundreds of remote RTUs, marginal comms, and a need to know when events actually happened. It timestamps events at the source, supports unsolicited/report-by-exception messaging, and includes data-quality flags and store-and-forward. See what an RTU is and polling vs report-by-exception for the underlying concepts.
Merobix reads DNP3 (and IEC 60870-5-104 and Modbus) so it can poll the same RTUs a legacy telemetry system does, in parallel, without touching the field network. For remote sites, a cellular gateway or the RTU's own cellular connection carries the data outbound to the managed cloud, where events map to tags with their source timestamps intact.
Yes. Merobix supports DNP3 (plus Modbus and IEC 60870-5-104), so it can poll the same RTUs and flow computers a legacy telemetry host does - often in parallel for a clean side-by-side evaluation.
Yes. DNP3's unsolicited/report-by-exception messaging is supported, which conserves cellular and satellite bandwidth by sending data on change plus a heartbeat rather than constant polling.
No. DNP3 timestamps events at the source, and those timestamps are preserved as the data maps to tags in the cloud, so you know when an event actually happened, not just when it arrived.
This page references the protocol specifications published by the organizations below. Editions, product capabilities, and documentation change over time - confirm current requirements and specifications directly with the source.
Last reviewed: July 27, 2026. Merobix is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by these organizations; their names are used only to identify the standards and products discussed.
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