Abstract
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have enabled the evolution of traditional electric power distribution networks towards a new paradigm referred to as the smart grid. However, the different elements that compose the ICT plane of a smart grid are usually conceived as isolated systems that typically result in rigid hardware architectures, which are hard to interoperate, manage and adapt to new situations. In the recent years, software-defined systems that take advantage of software and high-speed data network infrastructures have emerged as a promising alternative to classic ad hoc approaches in terms of integration, automation, real-time reconfiguration and resource reusability. The purpose of this paper is to propose the usage of software-defined utilities (SDUs) to address the latent deployment and management limitations of smart grids. More specifically, the implementation of a smart grid’s data storage and management system prototype by means of SDUs is introduced, which exhibits the feasibility of this alternative approach. This system features a hybrid cloud architecture able to meet the data storage requirements of electric utilities and adapt itself to their ever-evolving needs. Conducted experimentations endorse the feasibility of this solution and encourage practitioners to point their efforts in this direction.
Highlights
Contrary to the fast evolution experienced in the last decade by Information and communication technologies (ICTs), electric power distribution systems have remained exceptionally steady for a long time
Novel software-based architectures recently coined as software-defined networks/anything (SDN/SDxs) [10,11] combined with service composition strategies [12,13] have appeared as a robust alternative to expensive hardware-based systems by offering fine-grained modularity, maintainability and unified management in time-restrictive large-scale systems
The complexity of this proposal relies on the fact that distributing smart grid services among a distributed architecture composed by a public and a private cloud, keeping the specified quality of service (QoS) [36] is far from trivial
Summary
Contrary to the fast evolution experienced in the last decade by ICTs, electric power distribution systems have remained exceptionally steady for a long time. This situation has motivated a latent demand for a standardized and wide-spectrum solution able to entirely meet the mid-term smart grid requirements considering costs, scalability and adaptability to future scenarios In this regard, novel software-based architectures recently coined as software-defined networks/anything (SDN/SDxs) [10,11] combined with service composition strategies [12,13] have appeared as a robust alternative to expensive hardware-based systems by offering fine-grained modularity, maintainability and unified management in time-restrictive large-scale systems.
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