Differentiated services QoS in smart grid communication networks

In this paper, quality of service (QoS) requirements of smart grid and other utility applications carried over an integrated Internet Protocol (IP) network are analyzed. The delay allowances for the traffic flows may vary from 8 to 10ms for teleprotection applications to up to one second or more for interval measurements from smart meters. Networking product and service implementation and practices for network quality of service will need to support the large variation in delay and priority requirements of these applications. The paper offers four main contributions: 1) A survey of QoS requirements for smart grid applications; 2) a proposal for active use of extended differentiated services code points (DSCPs) beyond those used for traffic classification in typical networks, services, and product implementations; 3) an analysis of using the strict priority queue to support multiple mission critical and other high priority applications; and 4) a special discussion on support for traffic generated by the teleprotection application and for its QoS requirements. (c) 2011 Alcatel-Lucent.