Context-aware Load Balancing for Heterogeneous Smart-Grid Communication Networks

Abstract

The network of smart grid communications (SGC) is expected to be heterogeneous for providing diverse access interfaces. Load balancing is one of the key technologies in such heterogeneous networks, which can increase the system throughput as well as quality of service (QoS). In this paper, a context-aware load-balancing scheme is proposed for SGC networks by virtue of an adaptive trigger threshold. We investigate the characteristics of different kinds of services in the wireless local access network (WLAN) and Long Term Evolution (LTE). Simulation results show that our proposed load balance algorithm achieves better fairness and thus improves the overall throughput. Introduction The public-utility industry envisions the traditional power grid to incorporate the advanced communication systems for improving the control, efficiency, reliability and safety of power distribution and resource management. The resulting next-generation electric grid, known as smart grid, is expected to support a myriad of applications that have heterogeneous traffic requirements. Continuously increasing the demand of bandwidth, the intensive applications and the users’ variable appetite for services of smart grid lead to a tremendous pressure to the smart grid communication (SGC) systems. To address the wide variety of applications, scenarios, regions, environments and topologies in smart grid, multiple radio access technologies (RATs) such as wireless local access network (WLAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) are inevitable to coexist. Therefore, with the increasing amount of users and services, an effective load balancing approach in heterogeneous SGC networks is becoming extremely imperative. Some previous literatures have addressed the heterogeneous SGC networks. The use of multiple RATs in a smart grid was first proposed in [1] to support the varying traffic requirements for overhead transmission line monitoring. At the network layer, architectures and frameworks to support such heterogeneous networks have been suggested in [2]-[4]. A survey of these architectures is provided in [2]. Recent proposals are based on the Media Independent Handover function defined by the IEEE 802.21 standard, which provides a framework to support seamless transition across networks based on different RATs [3]. Another relevant standard, IEEE P1900.4, defines building blocks for enabling coordinated network-device distributed decision making that contributes to the optimization of radio resource usage, including the spectrum access control, in heterogeneous wireless access networks [4]. Hierarchical resource managers have been proposed by the Common Radio Resource Management, Joint Radio Resource Management, and Multi-access Radio Resource Management schemes studied by the 3GPP group. And the emerging standards from the IETF and 3GPP communities to support flow mobility, when a device switches its data flows over multiple International Conference on Intelligent Systems Research and Mechatronics Engineering (ISRME 2015) © 2015. The authors Published by Atlantis Press 907 wireless access systems are proposed by [5]-[6]. However, none of the aforementioned literature puts forward an effective load balancing method for multiple RATs heterogeneous networks in smart grid. In this paper, a context-aware load balancing scheme is proposed for heterogeneous SGC networks. Both the fairness and the overall throughput are investigated for demonstrate the enhancement of the proposed approach. The optimal radio resource allocation is determined for exploring the resources from either cellular base station (BS) or access point (AP).