There are two kinds of communications mode in IEC 61850 standard， including client/server communication（C/S） and peer-to-peer（P2P） communication， the latter is also called horizontal communication. As a highlight of IEC 61850， the generic object-oriented substation event（GOOSE） employs P2P mode and many other new communication technology and network technology， which make it possible for many brand-new applications in substation. Some issues regarding the GOOSE protocol and its application are researched， such as the virtual local area network（VLAN） configuration， time testing and auxiliary test tools.