Latency Optimization in Smart Meter Networks

In this thesis, we consider the problem of smart meter networks with data collection to a central point within acceptable delay and least consumed energy. In smart metering applications, transferring and collecting data within delay constraints is crucial. IoT devices are usually resource-constrained and need reliable and energy-efficient routing protocol. Furthermore, meters deployed in lossy networks often lead to packet loss and congestion. In smart grid communication, low latency and low energy consumption are usually the main system targets. Considering these constraints, we propose an enhancement in RPL to ensure link reliability and low latency. The proposed new additive composite metric is Delay-Aware RPL (DA-RPL). Moreover, we propose a repeaters’ placement algorithm to meet the latency requirements. The performance of a realistic RF network is simulated and evaluated. On top of the routing solution, new asynchronous ordered transmission algorithms of UDP data packets are proposed to further enhance the overall network latency performance and mitigate the whole system congestion and interference. Experimental results show that the performance of DA-RPL is promising in terms of end-to-end delay and energy consumption. Furthermore, the ordered asynchronous transmission of data packets resulted in significant latency reduction using just a single routing metric

Evaluation of RPL for medium voltage power line communication

The advantages of using power line communication (PLC) to make grids more intelligent and provide new applications are obvious: in order to distribute electricity there are power lines to all buildings and facilities, no additional cables have to be deployed and no wireless transmission power or other regulations have to be observed. However, there are currently no large communication networks using medium voltage power line communication. In this paper we evaluate the performance of the IPv6 routing protocol RPL designed for networks with lowpower devices and lossy links on PLC links in a medium voltage scenario. For this purpose the embedded OS Contiki networking stack has been extended on the MAC and networking layer. To capture realistic conditions, we implemented a SINR (signal-tonoise+interference-ratio) model of the MV PLC channel for the COOJA network simulator. This enables us to investigate latency, success rate, control traffic for a partly meshed medium voltage grid simulation scenario based on the grid layout of a local utility. Thus we provide a benchmark to evaluate networking protocols for monitoring and control applications for smart grids. Based on the evaluation results, we can identify application scenarios where RPL is suitable as well as some of the systems’s constraints and drawbacks