Automatic firmware updates for intelligent electronic devices

A method of automatically updating an existing firmware file stored in a memory of an intelligent electronic device (IED) communicatively coupled to a network in a monitoring system, comprising:

• downloading, by the IED, from a remote server an update file that includes a version of a firmware file and a filename of the firmware file;
• determining, in the IED, whether the firmware version specified in the update file is updated compared to a version of the existing firmware file;
• responsive to the firmware version specified in the update file being updated compared to the version of the existing firmware file, communicating from the IED to the remote server an instruction to download to the IED the updated firmware file specified in the update file;
• receiving at the IED from the remote server the updated firmware file;
• and
• responsive to a first criterion being satisfied, automatically updating the firmware file stored in the memory of the IED with the updated firmware file.