Adapting Software-defined Information Centric Networks for IEC 61850-based Substations

A robust communication infrastructure is the backbone of power system efficiency and reliability advancements, enabling real-time data exchange and control. The smart grid, a complex network of digital devices, relies on their seamless communication to share information for monitoring, control, and protection. As the number of these devices and their communication needs increase, the role of software-defined and information-centric networking frameworks will become more pronounced for offering reliable and secure operation solutions. Given the time-sensitive nature and specific architecture of smart grid protocols, software-defined information centric networks (SD-ICN) can be appropriately designed to meet these requirements. SD-ICN can improve security by controlling access and authentication and efficient distribution of contents in the network. This paper explores recent SD-ICN structures and strategies to improve the reliability and security of communication in power systems substations. An IEC 61850-based substation networking architecture is presented to demonstrate the application of SD-ICN. Additionally, a mechanism to map the substation devices using Substation Configuration Language (SCL) to a routable Named Data Networking (NDN) name to route in the SD-ICN network is proposed.