Split- and Aggregated-Transmission Control Protocol (SA-TCP) for Smart Power Grid

This paper introduces our proposed Split- and Aggregated-TCP (SA-TCP) scheme´s enhanced TCP performance in a smart metering infrastructure (SMI). The scheme is based on upgrading intermediate devices (e.g., regional collectors) to aggregate TCP connections. An SA-TCP aggregator collects data packets from smart meters in a certain region over separate TCP connections, then reliably aggregates them in one TCP connection to the management server of the utility. Our proposed scheme responds better to data traffic dynamics of smart meters and makes TCP congestion control effective. A full mathematical model of SA-TCP is provided. Validated by extensive ns-2 simulations, the model accurately and flexibly predicts the SA-TCP scheme´s throughput, packet loss rate and packet delay. Furthermore, we formulate an optimization problem to find the optimal number of SA-TCP aggregators that ensures acceptable packet loss rate and delay.