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

Named data networking for efficient IoT-based disaster management in a smart campus

Disasters are uncertain occasions that can impose a drastic impact on human life and building infrastructures. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a vital role in coping with such situations by enabling and integrating multiple technological resources to develop Disaster Management Systems (DMSs). In this context, a majority of the existing DMSs use networking architectures based upon the Internet Protocol (IP) focusing on location-dependent communications. However, IP-based communications face the limitations of inefficient bandwidth utilization, high processing, data security, and excessive memory intake. To address these issues, Named Data Networking (NDN) has emerged as a promising communication paradigm, which is based on the Information-Centric Networking (ICN) architecture. An NDN is among the self-organizing communication networks that reduces the complexity of networking systems in addition to provide content security. Given this, many NDN-based DMSs have been proposed. The problem with the existing NDN-based DMS is that they use a PULL-based mechanism that ultimately results in higher delay and more energy consumption. In order to cater for time-critical scenarios, emergence-driven network engineering communication and computation models are required. In this paper, a novel DMS is proposed, i.e., Named Data Networking Disaster Management (NDN-DM), where a producer forwards a fire alert message to neighbouring consumers. This makes the nodes converge according to the disaster situation in a more efficient and secure way. Furthermore, we consider a fire scenario in a university campus and mobile nodes in the campus collaborate with each other to manage the fire situation. The proposed framework has been mathematically modeled and formally proved using timed automata-based transition systems and a real-time model checker, respectively. Additionally, the evaluation of the proposed NDM-DM has been performed using NS2. The results prove that the proposed scheme has reduced the end-to-end delay up from 2% to 10% and minimized up to 20% energy consumption, as energy improved from 3% to 20% compared with a state-of-the-art NDN-based DMS

HoPP: Robust and Resilient Publish-Subscribe for an Information-Centric Internet of Things

This paper revisits NDN deployment in the IoT with a special focus on the interaction of sensors and actuators. Such scenarios require high responsiveness and limited control state at the constrained nodes. We argue that the NDN request-response pattern which prevents data push is vital for IoT networks. We contribute HoP-and-Pull (HoPP), a robust publish-subscribe scheme for typical IoT scenarios that targets IoT networks consisting of hundreds of resource constrained devices at intermittent connectivity. Our approach limits the FIB tables to a minimum and naturally supports mobility, temporary network partitioning, data aggregation and near real-time reactivity. We experimentally evaluate the protocol in a real-world deployment using the IoT-Lab testbed with varying numbers of constrained devices, each wirelessly interconnected via IEEE 802.15.4 LowPANs. Implementations are built on CCN-lite with RIOT and support experiments using various single- and multi-hop scenarios

Delay Contributing Factors and Strategies Towards Its Minimization in IoT

Internet of Things (IoT) refers to various interconnected devices, typically supplied with limited computational and communication resources. Most of the devices are designed to operate with limited memory and processing capability, low bandwidth, short range and other characteristics of low cost hardware. The resulting networks are exposed to traffic loss and prone to other vulnerabilities. One of the major concerns is to ensure that the network communication among these deployed devices remains at required level of Quality of Service (QoS) of different IoT applications. The purpose of this paper is to highlight delay contributing factors in Low Power and Lossy Networks (LLNs) since providing low end-to-end delay is a crucial issue in IoT environment especially for mission critical applications. Various research efforts in relevance to this aspect are then presente

A Pervasive Computational Intelligence based Cognitive Security Co-design Framework for Hype-connected Embedded Industrial IoT

The amplified connectivity of routine IoT entities can expose various security trajectories for cybercriminals to execute malevolent attacks. These dangers are even amplified by the source limitations and heterogeneity of low-budget IoT/IIoT nodes, which create existing multitude-centered and fixed perimeter-oriented security tools inappropriate for vibrant IoT settings. The offered emulation assessment exemplifies the remunerations of implementing context aware co-design oriented cognitive security method in assimilated IIoT settings and delivers exciting understandings in the strategy execution to drive forthcoming study. The innovative features of our system is in its capability to get by with irregular system connectivity as well as node limitations in terms of scares computational ability, limited buffer (at edge node), and finite energy. Based on real-time analytical data, projected scheme select the paramount probable end-to-end security system possibility that ties with an agreed set of node constraints. The paper achieves its goals by recognizing some gaps in the security explicit to node subclass that is vital to our system’s operations

Optimizing performance and energy efficiency of group communication and internet of things in cognitive radio networks

Data traffic in the wireless networks has grown at an unprecedented rate. While traditional wireless networks follow fixed spectrum assignment, spectrum scarcity problem becomes a major challenge in the next generations of wireless networks. Cognitive radio is a promising candidate technology that can mitigate this critical challenge by allowing dynamic spectrum access and increasing the spectrum utilization. As users and data traffic demands increases, more efficient communication methods to support communication in general, and group communication in particular, are needed. On the other hand, limited battery for the wireless network device in general makes it a bottleneck for enhancing the performance of wireless networks. In this thesis, the problem of optimizing the performance of group communication in CRNs is studied. Moreover, energy efficient and wireless-powered group communication in CRNs are considered. Additionally, a cognitive mobile base station and a cognitive UAV are proposed for the purpose of optimizing energy transfer and data dissemination, respectively. First, a multi-objective optimization for many-to-many communication in CRNs is considered. Given a many-to-many communication request, the goal is to support message routing from each user in the many-to-many group to each other. The objectives are minimizing the delay and the number of used links and maximizing data rate. The network is modeled using a multi-layer hyper graph, and the secondary users\u27 transmission is scheduled after establishing the conflict graph. Due to the difficulty of solving the problem optimally, a modified version of an Ant Colony meta-heuristic algorithm is employed to solve the problem. Additionally, energy efficient multicast communication in CRNs is introduced while considering directional and omnidirectional antennas. The multicast service is supported such that the total energy consumption of data transmission and channel switching is minimized. The optimization problem is formulated as a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP), and a heuristic algorithm is proposed to solve the problem in polynomial time. Second, wireless-powered machine-to-machine multicast communication in cellular networks is studied. To incentivize Internet of Things (IoT) devices to participate in forwarding the multicast messages, each IoT device participates in messages forwarding receives Radio Frequency (RF) energy form Energy Transmitters (ET) not less than the amount of energy used for messages forwarding. The objective is to minimize total transferred energy by the ETs. The problem is formulated mathematically as a Mixed Integer Nonlinear Program (MINLP), and a Generalized Bender Decomposition with Successive Convex Programming (GBD-SCP) algorithm is introduced to get an approximate solution since there is no efficient way in general to solve the problem optimally. Moreover, another algorithm, Constraints Decomposition with SCP and Binary Variable Relaxation (CDR), is proposed to get an approximate solution in a more efficient way. On the other hand, a cognitive mobile station base is proposed to transfer data and energy to a group of IoT devices underlying a primary network. Total energy consumed by the cognitive base station in its mobility, data transmission and energy transfer is minimized. Moreover, the cognitive base station adjusts its location and transmission power and transmission schedule such that data and energy demands are supported within a certain tolerable time and the primary users are protected from harmful interference. Finally, we consider a cognitive Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to disseminate data to IoT devices. The UAV senses the spectrum and finds an idle channel, then it predicts when the corresponding primary user of the selected channel becomes active based on the elapsed time of the off period. Accordingly, it starts its transmission at the beginning of the next frame right after finding the channel is idle. Moreover, it decides the number of the consecutive transmission slots that it will use such that the number of interfering slots to the corresponding primary user does not exceed a certain threshold. A mathematical problem is formulated to maximize the minimum number of bits received by the IoT devices. A successive convex programming-based algorithm is used to get a solution for the problem in an efficiency way. It is shown that the used algorithm converges to a Kuhn Tucker point

Leveraging Resources on Anonymous Mobile Edge Nodes

Smart devices have become an essential component in the life of mankind. The quick rise of smartphones, IoTs, and wearable devices enabled applications that were not possible few years ago, e.g., health monitoring and online banking. Meanwhile, smart sensing laid the infrastructure for smart homes and smart cities. The intrusive nature of smart devices granted access to huge amounts of raw data. Researchers seized the moment with complex algorithms and data models to process the data over the cloud and extract as much information as possible. However, the pace and amount of data generation, in addition to, networking protocols transmitting data to cloud servers failed short in touching more than 20% of what was generated on the edge of the network. On the other hand, smart devices carry a large set of resources, e.g., CPU, memory, and camera, that sit idle most of the time. Studies showed that for plenty of the time resources are either idle, e.g., sleeping and eating, or underutilized, e.g. inertial sensors during phone calls. These findings articulate a problem in processing large data sets, while having idle resources in the close proximity. In this dissertation, we propose harvesting underutilized edge resources then use them in processing the huge data generated, and currently wasted, through applications running at the edge of the network. We propose flipping the concept of cloud computing, instead of sending massive amounts of data for processing over the cloud, we distribute lightweight applications to process data on users\u27 smart devices. We envision this approach to enhance the network\u27s bandwidth, grant access to larger datasets, provide low latency responses, and more importantly involve up-to-date user\u27s contextual information in processing. However, such benefits come with a set of challenges: How to locate suitable resources? How to match resources with data providers? How to inform resources what to do? and When? How to orchestrate applications\u27 execution on multiple devices? and How to communicate between devices on the edge? Communication between devices at the edge has different parameters in terms of device mobility, topology, and data rate. Standard protocols, e.g., Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, were not designed for edge computing, hence, does not offer a perfect match. Edge computing requires a lightweight protocol that provides quick device discovery, decent data rate, and multicasting to devices in the proximity. Bluetooth features wide acceptance within the IoT community, however, the low data rate and unicast communication limits its use on the edge. Despite being the most suitable communication protocol for edge computing and unlike other protocols, Bluetooth has a closed source code that blocks lower layer in front of all forms of research study, enhancement, and customization. Hence, we offer an open source version of Bluetooth and then customize it for edge computing applications. In this dissertation, we propose Leveraging Resources on Anonymous Mobile Edge Nodes (LAMEN), a three-tier framework where edge devices are clustered by proximities. On having an application to execute, LAMEN clusters discover and allocate resources, share application\u27s executable with resources, and estimate incentives for each participating resource. In a cluster, a single head node, i.e., mediator, is responsible for resource discovery and allocation. Mediators orchestrate cluster resources and present them as a virtually large homogeneous resource. For example, two devices each offering either a camera or a speaker are presented outside the cluster as a single device with both camera and speaker, this can be extended to any combination of resources. Then, mediator handles applications\u27 distribution within a cluster as needed. Also, we provide a communication protocol that is customizable to the edge environment and application\u27s need. Pushing lightweight applications that end devices can execute over their locally generated data have the following benefits: First, avoid sharing user data with cloud server, which is a privacy concern for many of them; Second, introduce mediators as a local cloud controller closer to the edge; Third, hide the user\u27s identity behind mediators; and Finally, enhance bandwidth utilization by keeping raw data at the edge and transmitting processed information. Our evaluation shows an optimized resource lookup and application assignment schemes. In addition to, scalability in handling networks with large number of devices. In order to overcome the communication challenges, we provide an open source communication protocol that we customize for edge computing applications, however, it can be used beyond the scope of LAMEN. Finally, we present three applications to show how LAMEN enables various application domains on the edge of the network. In summary, we propose a framework to orchestrate underutilized resources at the edge of the network towards processing data that are generated in their proximity. Using the approaches explained later in the dissertation, we show how LAMEN enhances the performance of applications and enables a new set of applications that were not feasible

Direct communication radio Iinterface for new radio multicasting and cooperative positioning

Cotutela: Universidad de defensa UNIVERSITA’ MEDITERRANEA DI REGGIO CALABRIARecently, the popularity of Millimeter Wave (mmWave) wireless networks has increased due to their capability to cope with the escalation of mobile data demands caused by the unprecedented proliferation of smart devices in the fifth-generation (5G). Extremely high frequency or mmWave band is a fundamental pillar in the provision of the expected gigabit data rates. Hence, according to both academic and industrial communities, mmWave technology, e.g., 5G New Radio (NR) and WiGig (60 GHz), is considered as one of the main components of 5G and beyond networks. Particularly, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) provides for the use of licensed mmWave sub-bands for the 5G mmWave cellular networks, whereas IEEE actively explores the unlicensed band at 60 GHz for the next-generation wireless local area networks. In this regard, mmWave has been envisaged as a new technology layout for real-time heavy-traffic and wearable applications. This very work is devoted to solving the problem of mmWave band communication system while enhancing its advantages through utilizing the direct communication radio interface for NR multicasting, cooperative positioning, and mission-critical applications. The main contributions presented in this work include: (i) a set of mathematical frameworks and simulation tools to characterize multicast traffic delivery in mmWave directional systems; (ii) sidelink relaying concept exploitation to deal with the channel condition deterioration of dynamic multicast systems and to ensure mission-critical and ultra-reliable low-latency communications; (iii) cooperative positioning techniques analysis for enhancing cellular positioning accuracy for 5G+ emerging applications that require not only improved communication characteristics but also precise localization. Our study indicates the need for additional mechanisms/research that can be utilized: (i) to further improve multicasting performance in 5G/6G systems; (ii) to investigate sideline aspects, including, but not limited to, standardization perspective and the next relay selection strategies; and (iii) to design cooperative positioning systems based on Device-to-Device (D2D) technology

A Framework for Enhancing the Energy Efficiency of IoT Devices in 5G Network

A wide range of services, such as improved mobile broadband, extensive machine-type communication, ultra-reliability, and low latency, are anticipated to be delivered via the 5G network. The 5G network has developed as a multi-layer network that uses numerous technological advancements to provide a wide array of wireless services to fulfil such a diversified set of requirements. Several technologies, including software-defined networking, network function virtualization, edge computing, cloud computing, and tiny cells, are being integrated into the 5G networks to meet the needs of various requirements. Due to the higher power consumption that will arise from such a complicated network design, energy efficiency becomes crucial. The network machine learning technique has attracted a lot of interest from the scientific community because it has the potential to play a crucial role in helping to achieve energy efficiency. Utilization factor, access latency, arrival rate, and other metrics are used to study the proposed scheme. It is determined that our system outperforms the present scheme after comparing the suggested scheme to these parameters