Explore the future of power grid substation automation in this 35-minute conference talk by Lucian Balea and Aurelien Watare from RTE. Delve into the context, stakes, and key components of next-generation grid automation systems, with a focus on the SEAPATH project. Gain insights into digital substations, bay equipment, and the IEC 61850 communication standard. Examine the new grid control architecture based on virtualization, including technical stack, hardware considerations, and operating systems. Learn about latency testing methods for both host and guest systems, and understand the cluster architecture. Discover IEC 61850 testing tools and their applications in this comprehensive overview of cutting-edge power grid technology.