Software-Defined Networking for Smart Grids (SDN-SG): A Review

Smart Grid (SG) is the state-of-the-art electrical grid that integrates the electrical power layer with communication capabilities and SG applications. The integration of communication into smart grids creates a new management challenge for grid communication networks due to heterogeneous types of equipment, geographic distance among resources, and competing service demands. This management problem can be addressed through software defined networking (SDN by decoupling network control from packet forwarding and exposing programmable interfaces to applications. This paper presents a structured narrative review of SDN-SG. The review will integrate the functional aspects of electrical systems with the communication needs, role of protocols, controller architecture, and mechanisms of managing resources. The reviewed literature does not demonstrate a universal improvement with respect to latency, cost, scalability, or reliability; the reported improvement depends on the application being used, the baseline performance of that application, the load placed upon that application and how the new technology has been utilized.in the operation of electrical distribution. Benefits depend upon where controllers are placed, how resources are provisioned, how consistent states are maintained, whether there is interoperability among the components of the SG, and how the underlying application behaves. A measurement-to-outcome framework for assessing communication is provided in relation to control outcomes. Research priorities include time aware orchestration, coordinated edge and network resources, application aware slicing, reproducible benchmarks, and staged migration from existing infrastructure. Finally, it has been concluded that SDN-SG should be developed and evaluated as a single coupled power-communication system whose network policy decisions are made based on measured electrical service requirements.