Abstract

In smart grid communication implementation, network traffic pattern is one of the main factors that affect the system’s performance. Examining different traffic patterns in smart grid is therefore crucial when analyzing the network performance. Due to the heterogeneous and hybrid nature of smart grid, the type of traffic distribution in the network is still unknown. The traffic that popularly used for simulation and analysis no longer reflects the real traffic in a multi-technology and bi-directional communication system. Hence, in this study, a single-board computer is implemented as a traffic generator which can generate network traffic similar to those generated by various applications in the fully operational smart grid. By placing in a strategic and appropriate position, a collection of traffic generators allow network administrators to investigate and test the effect of heavy traffic on performance of smart grid communication system.

Keywords:

Kernel space, network performance, network traffic, smart grid, stress test, traffic generator,

References

1. Gang, L., D. Debraj and S. Wen-Zhan, 2010. Smart grid lab: A laboratory-based smart grid test bed. Proceedings of the 1st IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communication, Gaithersburg, pp: 143-148.
   
2. Julien, A., J. Fletcher, D. Anand and C. Vasseur, 2010. An IEEE 1588 time synchronization testbed for assessing power distribution requirements. Proceedings of the International IEEE Symposium on Precision Clock Synchronization for Measurement Control and Communication (ISPCS), Portsmouth, pp: 13-18.
   
3. Nadim, A.H., 2010. Smart Grids for Dummies. In: Logica, L. (Ed.), West Sussex. John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
   
4. Paricio, G.A., J. Oliver and D. Gosch, 2010. An intelligent agent-based distributed architecture for smart-grid integrated network management. Proceedings of the 1st IEEE Workshop on Smart Grid Networking Infrastructure, Denver, pp: 1013-1018.
   
5. Tarek, K., K. Naik, M. Alsabaan and A. Nayak, 2010. Transport protocol for smart grid infrastructure. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Ubiquitous and Future Networks (ICUFN), Jeju Island, pp: 320-325.
   
6. Victor, C.V., 2012. Dynamic content generation for evaluation of network applications. Ph.D. Thesis, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Washington State University, New York.
   
7. Victor, O.K.L., F. W. Felix and Z. Jin, 2010. Communication requirements for risk-limiting dispatch in smart grid. Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Communication Workshops (ICC) Capetown, pp: 1-5.
   
8. Wenye, W., X. Yi and K. Mohit, 2011. Computer Networks: A Survey on the Communication Architectures in Smart Grid. Raleigh, Elsevier.
   
9. Zhong, F., K. Georgios, E. Costas, S. Mahesh and S. Mutsumu, 2010. The new frontier of communications research: Smart grid and smart metering. Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Energy-Efficient Computing and Networking, Passau, pp: 115-118.
   PMCid:PMC2933613    
10. Zhuo, L., L. Xiang, W. Wenye and W. Cliff, 2010. Review and evaluation of security threats on the communication networks in the smart grid. Proceedings of Military Communications Conference-Cyber Security and Network Management, San Jose, pp: 1830-1835.
    

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

Open Access Policy

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Copyright

The authors have no competing interests.