A new designed highly reliable communication controller based on Linux operating system without fan and hard-disk is proposed. Its hardware system and software design are described. The communication controller uses the reduced Linux operating system and the hardware platform with high performance and low power consumption. With the reasonable hierarchical and distributed software design， it satisfies the requirements of long-time and stable running in substations. IEC 61850 is a hot topic in research and engineer recently. The system also supports the IEC 61850 system that in hot research and application in China.