103 research outputs found
Software Defined Networks based Smart Grid Communication: A Comprehensive Survey
The current power grid is no longer a feasible solution due to
ever-increasing user demand of electricity, old infrastructure, and reliability
issues and thus require transformation to a better grid a.k.a., smart grid
(SG). The key features that distinguish SG from the conventional electrical
power grid are its capability to perform two-way communication, demand side
management, and real time pricing. Despite all these advantages that SG will
bring, there are certain issues which are specific to SG communication system.
For instance, network management of current SG systems is complex, time
consuming, and done manually. Moreover, SG communication (SGC) system is built
on different vendor specific devices and protocols. Therefore, the current SG
systems are not protocol independent, thus leading to interoperability issue.
Software defined network (SDN) has been proposed to monitor and manage the
communication networks globally. This article serves as a comprehensive survey
on SDN-based SGC. In this article, we first discuss taxonomy of advantages of
SDNbased SGC.We then discuss SDN-based SGC architectures, along with case
studies. Our article provides an in-depth discussion on routing schemes for
SDN-based SGC. We also provide detailed survey of security and privacy schemes
applied to SDN-based SGC. We furthermore present challenges, open issues, and
future research directions related to SDN-based SGC.Comment: Accepte
Internet of Things-aided Smart Grid: Technologies, Architectures, Applications, Prototypes, and Future Research Directions
Traditional power grids are being transformed into Smart Grids (SGs) to
address the issues in existing power system due to uni-directional information
flow, energy wastage, growing energy demand, reliability and security. SGs
offer bi-directional energy flow between service providers and consumers,
involving power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization systems.
SGs employ various devices for the monitoring, analysis and control of the
grid, deployed at power plants, distribution centers and in consumers' premises
in a very large number. Hence, an SG requires connectivity, automation and the
tracking of such devices. This is achieved with the help of Internet of Things
(IoT). IoT helps SG systems to support various network functions throughout the
generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy by
incorporating IoT devices (such as sensors, actuators and smart meters), as
well as by providing the connectivity, automation and tracking for such
devices. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey on IoT-aided SG
systems, which includes the existing architectures, applications and prototypes
of IoT-aided SG systems. This survey also highlights the open issues,
challenges and future research directions for IoT-aided SG systems
On the Feasibility of Utilizing Commercial 4G LTE Systems for Misson-Critical IoT Applications
Emerging Internet of Things (IoT) applications and services including e-healthcare, intelligent transportation systems, smart grid, and smart homes to smart cities to smart workplace, are poised to become part of every aspect of our daily lives. The IoT will enable billions of sensors, actuators, and smart devices to be interconnected and managed remotely via the Internet. Cellular-based Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications is one of the key IoT enabling technologies with huge market potential for cellular service providers deploying Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. There is an emerging consensus that Fourth Generation (4G) and 5G cellular technologies will enable and support these applications, as they will provide the global mobile connectivity to the anticipated tens of billions of things/devices that will be attached to the Internet.
Many vital utilities and service industries are considering the use of commercially available LTE cellular networks to provide critical connections to users, sensors, and smart M2M devices on their networks, due to its low cost and availability. Many of these emerging IoT applications are mission-critical with stringent requirements in terms of reliability and end-to-end (E2E) delay bound. The delay bound specified for each application refers to the device-to-device latencies, which is defined as the combined delay resulting from both application level processing time and communication latency. Each IoT application has its own distinct performance requirements in terms of latency, availability, and reliability. Typically, uplink (UL) traffic of most of these IoT applications is the dominant network traffic (much higher than total downlink (DL) traffic).
Thus, efficient LTE UL scheduling algorithms at the base station (“Evolved NodeB (eNB)” per 3GPP standards) are more critical for M2M applications. LTE, however, was not originally intended for IoT applications, where traffic generated by M2M devices (running IoT applications) has totally different characteristics than those from traditional Human-to-Human (H2H)-based voice/video and data communications. In addition, due to the anticipated massive deployment of M2M devices and the limited available radio spectrum, the problem of efficient radio resources management (RRM) and UL scheduling poses a serious challenge in adopting LTE for M2M communications.
Existing LTE quality of service (QoS) standard and UL scheduling algorithms were mainly optimized for H2H services and can’t accommodate such a wide range of diverging performance requirements of these M2M-based IoT applications. Though 4G LTE networks can support very low Packet Loss Ratio (PLR) at the physical layer, such reliability, however, comes at the expense of increased latency from tens to hundreds of ms due to the aggressive use of retransmission mechanisms. Current 4G LTE technologies may satisfy a single performance metric of these mission critical applications, but not the simultaneous support of ultra-high reliability and low latency as well as high data rates.
Numerous QoS aware LTE UL scheduling algorithms for supporting M2M applications as well as H2H services have been reported in the literature. Most of these algorithms, however, were not intended for the support of mission critical IoT applications, as they are not latency-aware. In addition, these algorithms are simplified and don’t fully conform to LTE’s signaling and QoS standards. For instance, a common practice is the assumption that the time domain UL scheduler located at the eNB prioritizes user equipment (UEs)/M2M devices connection requests based on the head-of-line (HOL) packet waiting time at the UE/device transmission buffer. However, as will be detailed below, LTE standard does not support a mechanism that enables the UEs/devices to inform the eNB uplink scheduler about the waiting time of uplink packets residing in their transmission buffers.
Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) paradigm has recently emerged to enable a new range of mission-critical applications and services including industrial automation, real-time operation and control of the smart grid, inter-vehicular communications for improved safety and self-deriving vehicles. URLLC is one of the most innovative 5G New Radio (NR) features. URLLC and its supporting 5G NR technologies might become a commercial reality in the future, but it may be rather a distant future.
Thus, deploying viable mission critical IoT applications will have to be postponed until URLLC and 5G NR technologies are commercially feasible. Because IoT applications, specifically mission critical, will have a significant impact on the welfare of all humanity, the immediate or near-term deployments of these applications is of utmost importance. It is the purpose of this thesis to explore whether current commercial 4G LTE cellular networks have the potential to support some of the emerging mission critical IoT applications. Smart grid is selected in this work as an illustrative IoT example because it is one of the most demanding IoT applications, as it includes diverse use cases ranging from mission-critical applications that have stringent requirements in terms of E2E latency and reliability to those that require support of massive number of connected M2M devices with relaxed latency and reliability requirements.
The purpose of thesis is two fold: First, a user-friendly MATLAB-based open source software package to model commercial 4G LTE systems is developed. In contrast to mainstream commercial LTE software packages, the developed package is specifically tailored to accurately model mission critical IoT applications and above all fully conforms to commercial 4G LTE signaling and QoS standards. Second, utilizing the developed software package, we present a detailed realistic LTE UL performance analysis to assess the feasibility of commercial 4G LTE cellular networks when used to support such a diverse set of emerging IoT applications as well as typical H2H services
Delay and energy efficiency optimizations in smart grid neighbourhood area networks
Smart grids play a significant role in addressing climate change and growing energy demand.
The role of smart grids includes reducing greenhouse gas emission reduction by providing alternative energy resources to the traditional grid. Smart grids exploit renewable energy resources into the power grid and provide effective two-way communications between smart grid domains for efficient grid control. The smart grid communication plays a pivotal role in coordinating energy generation, energy transmission, and energy distribution. Cellular technology with long term evolution (LTE)-based standards has been a preference for smart grid communication networks. However, integrating the cellular technology and the smart grid communication network puts forth a significant challenge for the LTE because LTE was initially invented for human centric broadband purpose. Delay and energy efficiency are two critical parameters in smart grid communication networks. Some data in smart grids are real-time delay-sensitive data which is crucial in ensuring stability of the grid. On the other hand, when abnormal events occur, most communication devices in smart grids are powered by local energy sources with limited power supply, therefore energy-efficient communications are required. This thesis studies energy-efficient and delay-optimization schemes in smart grid communication networks to make the grid more efficient and reliable. A joint power control and mode selection in device-to-device communications underlying cellular networks is proposed for energy management in the Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Managements system. Moreover, a joint resource allocation and power control in heterogeneous cellular networks is proposed for phasor measurement units to achieve efficient grid control. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed schemes
A Characterisation of Smart Grid DoS Attacks
Traditional power grids are evolving to keep pace with the demands of the modern age. Smart grids contain integrated IT systems for better management and efficiency, but in doing so, also inherit a plethora of cyber-security threats and vulnerabilities. Denial-of-Service (DoS) is one such threat. At the same time, the smart grid has particular characteristics (e.g. minimal delay tolerance), which can influence the nature of threats and so require special consideration. In this paper, we identify a set of possible smart grid-specific DoS scenarios based on current research, and analyse them in the context of the grid components they target. Based on this, we propose a novel target-based classification scheme and further characterise each scenario by qualitatively exploring it in the context of the underlying grid infrastructure. This culminates in a smart grid-centric analysis of the threat to reveal the nature of DoS in this environment
Smart Grid communications in high traffic environments
The establishment of a previously non-existent data class known as the Smart Grid will pose many difficulties on current and future communication infrastructure. It is imperative that the Smart Grid (SG), as the reactionary and monitory arm of the Power Grid (PG), be able to communicate effectively between grid controllers and individual User Equipment (UE). By doing so, the successful implementation of SG applications can occur, including support for higher capacities of Renewable Energy Resources. As the SG matures, the number of UEs required is expected to rise increasing the traffic in an already burdened communications network. This thesis aims to optimally allocate radio resources such that the SG Quality of Service (QoS) requirements are satisfied with minimal effect on pre-existing traffic. To address this resource allocation problem, a Lotka-Volterra (LV) based resource allocation and scheduler was developed due to its ability to easily adapt to the dynamics of a telecommunications environment. Unlike previous resource allocation algorithms, the LV scheme allocated resources to each class as a function of its growth rate. By doing so, the QoS requirements of the SG were satisfied, with minimal effect on pre-existing traffic. Class queue latencies were reduced by intelligent scheduling of periodic traffic and forward allocation of resources. This thesis concludes that the SG will have a large effect on the telecommunications environment if not successfully controlled and monitored. This effect can be minimized by utilizing the proposed LV based resource allocation and scheduler system. Furthermore, it was shown that the allocation of periodic SG radio channels was optimized by continual updates of the LV model. This ensured the QoS requirements of the SG are achieved and provided enhanced performance. Successful integration of SG UEs in a wireless network can pave the way for increased capacity of Renewable and Intermittent Energy Resources operating on the PG
Communication Technologies for Smart Grid: A Comprehensive Survey
With the ongoing trends in the energy sector such as vehicular
electrification and renewable energy, smart grid is clearly playing a more and
more important role in the electric power system industry. One essential
feature of the smart grid is the information flow over the high-speed, reliable
and secure data communication network in order to manage the complex power
systems effectively and intelligently. Smart grids utilize bidirectional
communication to function where traditional power grids mainly only use one-way
communication. The communication requirements and suitable technique differ
depending on the specific environment and scenario. In this paper, we provide a
comprehensive and up-to-date survey on the communication technologies used in
the smart grid, including the communication requirements, physical layer
technologies, network architectures, and research challenges. This survey aims
to help the readers identify the potential research problems in the continued
research on the topic of smart grid communications
MAC Protocol Design for Smart Meter Network
The new generation of power metering system—that is advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)—is expected to enable remote reading, control, demand response and other advanced functions, based on the integration of a new two-way communication network, which will be referred as Smart Meter Network (SMN). In this chapter, we focus on the design principles of multiple access control (MAC) protocols for SMN. First, we list several features of SMN relevant to the design choice of the MAC protocols. Next, we introduce some performance evaluation metrics and give a survey of the associated research issues for the SMN MAC protocols’ design. In addition, we also note progress within the new IEEE standardization task group (IEEE 802.11ah TG) currently working to create SMN standards. After that, in order to emphasize the importance of the performance metrics mentioned before, we give several MAC protocol design examples which could solve the associated research issues and challenges for the SMN
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