Queuing-theoretic modeling of a PMU communication network

We presents a queuing theoretic approach to model a packet-oriented data network which links a set of phasor measurement units (PMU) to a phasor data concentrator (PDC) in a wide area monitoring, protection and control system (WAMPaCS). The PMU-PDC communication network is approximated as a cyclic polling system and the associated Markov chain is set up. Based on this model, closed-form expressions are derived for important reliability measures such as the packet loss probability and the communication delay. We then demonstrate how the proposed model can be used to predict the impact of the number of data sources on the network, as well as the buffer capacity of the network switches on the overall reliability of the communication link. An important property of the proposed model is that it´s computational complexity is only linear in the number of data sources connected, making it suitable for the study of large systems.