SDN-based Solution of Path Restoration for Smart Grids

Due to the heterogeneity and the nature of distributed control, the existing electric power data communication network based on Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) has been unable to meet the requirements of dynamic resource allocation and fine-grained traffic monitoring. The Open-Flow-based Software Defined Network (SDN) allows operators dynamically control and monitor the whole network using the software running on the operating system of the centralized controller (e.g., NOX controller). Thus, in this paper, we propose the SDN-based fault-tolerant solution for the electric power data communication network. The feasibility and efficiency of the proposed solution are verified, and the performances of the dynamic end-to-end path restoration, such as the CPU utilization of NOX and end-to-end delay, are quantitatively evaluated in our experimental platform. The experimental results indicate that the dynamic end-to-end path restoration can be achieved within tens of milliseconds by using our SDN-based solution.