Software-defined networking for Smart Grid communications: Applications, challenges and advantages

Dorsch, Nils; Kurtz, Fabian; Georg, Hanno; Hägerling, Christian; Wietfeld, Christian

doi:10.1109/smartgridcomm.2014.7007683

Cited by 98 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Nils Dorsch et al described a dynamic SDN network control approach to deliver specific communication requirements for both distribution and transmission domains in power grid. Nils discussed the driven challenges and benefits for SDN enabled smart grid communication network.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

PYGRID: A software development and assessment framework for grid‐aware software defined networking

et al. 2018

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The Internet of Things (IoT) envisions to connect Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) to the Internet to facilitate efficient resource management in smart cities. Smart grid is the evolutionary approach towards a more dynamic, situation‐aware, and elastic power systems in smart cities. However, due to the huge scale, heterogeneity and complexity of the many interconnected cyber and physical devices, current network and security technologies are incapable of best serving these needs. Destructive attacks targeting these components such as Denial of Service (DoS) may fully use grid structure and disrupt its crucial service. Recent researches offer the use of modern Software Defined Networking (SDN) to solve synonymous Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) network and security challenges. These researches noted the lack of an adequate platform to simulate grid systems network infrastructure. Therefore, in this paper, we present PYGRID, a software development and assessment framework for grid‐aware SDN. Additionally, a top level SDN application is developed in SDN‐enabled smart grid network to demonstrate the effectiveness of such merger and to mitigate DoS attacks. PYGRID is developed using PYTHON, an OSI‐approved open source language considering standard client and server industrial communication protocols. IEEE 14‐bus power system is adopted to demonstrate the potent and effectiveness of the proposed solution. We conducted multiple experiments to validate the developed framework over 14‐bus system using PYPOWER. To the best of our knowledge, the resulted platform may be considered the first completely open source implementation of a secure SDN enabled smart grid simulator.

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Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

PYGRID: A software development and assessment framework for grid‐aware software defined networking

et al. 2018

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“…The benefits of industrial SDN were further demonstrated in a test infrastructure comprising IEC61850-based electrical system [12]. Finally, the work of Dorsch, et al [13] analyzed the advantages and the possible disadvantages of adopting SDN in industrial networks. The authors of [13] acknowledge the benefits of network management applications, quality of service optimization and the enhancement in the system's resilience, but raise serious concerns pertaining to the increased risks of cyber attacks against SDN's centralized controllers.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

A hierarchical control plane for software-defined networks-based industrial control systems

Genge

Haller

2016

2016 IFIP Networking Conference (IFIP Networking) and Workshops

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Modern Industrial Control Systems (ICS) integrate advanced solutions from the field of traditional IP networks, i.e., Software-Defined Networks (SDN), in order to increase the security and resilience of communication infrastructures. Despite their clear advantages, such solutions also expose ICS to common cyber threats that may have a dramatic impact on the functioning of critical infrastructures, e.g., the power grid. As a response to these issues, this work develops a novel hierarchical SDN control plane for ICS. The approach builds on the features of a novel SDN controller named OptimalFlow that redesigns the network according to the solutions delivered by an integer linear programming (ILP) optimization problem. The developed ILP problem encapsulates a shortest path routing objective and harmonizes ICS flow requirements including quality of service, security of communications, and reliability. OptimalFlow exposes two communication interfaces to enable a hierarchical control plane. Its northbound interface reduces a complete switch infrastructure to an emulated (software) switch, while its southbound interface connects to an OpenFlow controller to enable the monitoring and control of real/emulated switches. Extensive experimental and numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed scheme.

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“…In particular, they discuss OpenFlow's fast failover for the detection of node failures in IEC 61850 substations. Dorsch et al discuss the use of SDN for controlling and managing the transmission and distribution power grids [6]. Based on a testbed of OpenFlow network with a few hosts, they measure the communication delays for IEC 61850 MMS and SV messages under link loss events.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prominent examples can be found in enterprise networks and data centers [17], and even wide-area networks of scale and generality comparable to the Internet [9]. Researchers have argued for the case of using SDN for critical infrastructures as well, such as smart grids, citing superior support for responsive QoS, network reconfiguration, and fine-grained accounting [6]. At the same time, however, it has been questioned whether SDN is sufficiently resilient for mission-critical operation that may have stringent real-time requirements, because the SDN controller represents a single point of failure in the face of unforeseen disruptions [5,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Simulation Study on Smart Grid Resilience under Software-Defined Networking Controller Failures

Ghosh

Dong

Tan

et al. 2016

Proceedings of the 2nd ACM International Workshop on Cyber-Physical System Security

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Riding on the success of SDN for enterprise and data center networks, recently researchers have shown much interest in applying SDN for critical infrastructures. A key concern, however, is the vulnerability of the SDN controller as a single point of failure. In this paper, we develop a cyberphysical simulation platform that interconnects Mininet (an SDN emulator), hardware SDN switches, and PowerWorld (a high-fidelity, industry-strength power grid simulator). We report initial experiments on how a number of representative controller faults may impact the delay of smart grid communications. We further evaluate how this delay may affect the performance of the underlying physical system, namely automatic gain control (AGC) as a fundamental closed-loop control that regulates the grid frequency to a critical nominal value. Our results show that when the fault-induced delay reaches seconds (e.g., more than four seconds in some of our experiments), degradation of the AGC becomes evident. Particularly, the AGC is most vulnerable when it is in a transient following say step changes in loading, because the significant state fluctuations will exacerbate the effects of using a stale system state in the control.

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Software-defined networking for Smart Grid communications: Applications, challenges and advantages

Cited by 98 publications

References 12 publications

PYGRID: A software development and assessment framework for grid‐aware software defined networking

PYGRID: A software development and assessment framework for grid‐aware software defined networking

A hierarchical control plane for software-defined networks-based industrial control systems

A Simulation Study on Smart Grid Resilience under Software-Defined Networking Controller Failures

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