Reliable data transfer mechanisms for Smart Grid wide area monitoring networks

In this paper, we present efficient data reliability mechanisms for a communication network supporting wide area monitoring applications in the electrical Smart Grid. Reliability of data packets, especially control packets, is deemed a critical requirement. Reliability can be achieved by sending multiple copies of the data packet on disjoint paths. However, this is inefficient in terms of bandwidth usage. In this paper, we present two algorithms for reliable data transfer that can handle single link and double link failures respectively. The proposed mechanisms reduce the bandwidth requirement while improving data reliability by combining multi-path transmissions and error coding techniques. The performance of the mechanisms has been studied using discrete-event simulation models. Our simulation results show that the proposed mechanism is able to reduce the bandwidth requirement by 30-54%. Also, there is a significant improvement in data reliability with values reaching close to 100%.