Packet level modeling and simulation of real-time ethernet protocols for smart grids

Recently the communication network for power systems becomes one of the major focus in the development and deployment of smart grids. Particularly, how to validate if a real-time network can fulfill the strict requirements on communications, in a few ms or hundreds of μs? The basic approach is by precise simulations of the underneath communication network! However, the time requirements from distributed power applications cannot be met by the general data networks. There are no methods and tools available for such simulations, including the common network simulators OPNET and NS-2, due to the difficulty of simulating different time granularities. In this paper, we propose a simulation method for the modeling and operation of the protocols. First, we analyze the modeling and simulation of real-time Ethernet protocols that are widely used for connecting the most critical and fast response devices in smart grids. Second, we simulate the packet level performance of the real-time Ethernet. Third, we implement the modules for the protocol in the OPNET simulator. As an example, we model and simulate the EtherCAT, a real-time Ethernet protocol. Our extensive simulation results have demonstrated that the proposed methods are accurate and effective in modeling and simulating the packet-level performance of the real-time Ethernets. The methods can be also implemented in other tools to validate the timing critical devices in smart grids, such as super fast protections.