SIP: The Clear Choice for Smart Grid Communications
By Guest Editorial
Jun 23, 2009 - 3:27:27 PM
by Joe DiAdamo
Editor’s note: In an in-depth position paper available at Smart Grid Central (see link at bottom), Joe DiAdamo of Siemens Enterprise Communications makes the case for employing the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for Smart Grid communications. The following is a summary of that paper. See the link at the bottom for a copy of the full report.
Today’s solutions for Smart Grid communications are proprietary and vertically integrated. Although this is to be expected for a market in the innovation phase, an open, standards-based architecture for Smart Grid communication is now needed for the market to cross the chasm to mainstream acceptance and deployment. Governments and power authorities have recognized this need and are moving quickly to provide funding for those companies and projects whose products and technologies are open and based on standards that allow interoperability, especially Internet technologies.
The recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) mandates an open, standards-based approach for Smart Grid communication. Similarly, the Ontario Smart Grid Forum, a group of industry leaders in
Ontario,
Canada, recommended a communications system that is (1) flexible enough for both current and future Smart Grid equipment, (2) based on open standards, and (3) designed with interoperability.
The telecommunications industry had an almost identical set of requirements for its technological revolution some decades ago. The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) emerged as the leading solution for these requirements. SIP further evolved to create a new generation of multimedia, unified communication that has proven to be the real revolution.
SIP is an application-level communication protocol conceived using Internet concepts and provides all the openness, standardization and interoperability required by the Smart Grid architects. As SIP is based on internet protocol (IP), it leverages much of the functionality provided by an IP network (e.g. TCP, UDP, QoS, routing). Not surprisingly, communications giant Cisco Systems recently threw its weight behind an IP-based communication infrastructure for the Smart Grid.
SIP has everything that is needed to be the application-layer protocol for Smart Grid communications. Consider the following arguments in its favor:
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Maturity. SIP is a mature protocol and has proven to be reliable, secure, and scalable. SIP has also proven to be easily extensible and, by definition, independent of the specific data exchange requirements of the communicating devices. The implementation of SIP in the enterprise and carrier markets has resulted in the creation of network elements such as proxy servers, device registration servers and session border control servers that have made widespread deployment easy and secure. These same network elements are required for the Smart Grid and can be readily adapted for rapid implementation.
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Consistent with current standards. SIP is consistent with all current standards and architecture initiatives for the SmartGrid, filling many of the device communication requirements specified by the technical committees. For example, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard C12.22 defines interfaces and network elements for two-way metering communication systems. Many of the network element concepts defined in ANSI C12.22 are already developed and verified for SIP networks.
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Broad device and application support. SIP can provide the communication semantics to support device-to-device, device-to-back-office and back-office-to-device communication, while allowing the use of data models such as the International Electrotechnical Commission’s (IEC’s) Common Information Model CIM for the device-specific data exchange protocol. SIP’s payload-independent design allows a payload such as ANSI C12.19 tables to be transported exactly as they are defined in the standard, providing automatic compatibility at the syntax level with existing applications.
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Support for mobile metering. A key element of many Smart Grid initiatives is support for Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs). PEV batteries need to be charged from the grid, of course, but they can also contribute energy to the grid during peak usage times. Both of these operations require sophisticated metering to support the debiting and crediting of energy accounts associated with the using of and feeding to the grid. Further, as PEVs are automobiles, they will require support for mobile metering. For example, the owner of a PEV who needs to charge the battery when away from home will want to have the cost of that energy debited to their account, not to the account of the owner of the home they happen to be visiting. SIP’s location register provides native support for device and user mobility. A SIP user can be found independent of the location and network connection. This functionality is critical to support of mobile metering where the PEV, for example, needs to connect to a back-office energy system different than the one used by the local fixed meter.
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Flexible security design. Security is very important in Smart Grid communications and must address, among other things, device identification, intrusion prevention, data integrity and privacy. SIP supports all modern security mechanisms for Internet communication, including IPSec, Secure MIME and TLS. Further, SIP’s extensible design allows for support of new security mechanisms as they emerge and evolve. This flexible security design allows for implementation in high-security environments such as those involving a substation as well as less stringent environments such collection of usage data from smart meters.
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Multimedia and advanced communication options. Finally, SIP brings native voice, video, and text communication to the Smart Grid, as well as advanced communication concepts such as presence and location. Enabling a mobile workforce is a key business driver for many utility companies and an architecture that supports both Smart Grid and mobile communication is a compelling advantage.
It’s clear that the aggressive evolution and development of the Smart Grid requires the use of open, standards-based technologies. But this is not enough. It also requires the use of protocols and solutions that have been proven to be functional, scalable, secure and of high performance. The use of SIP for Smart Grid device communication provides an opportunity to jump-start Smart Grid deployment while supporting existing standards and architecture evolution. Additionally, SIP brings a robust unified communication capability to the Smart Grid, which no other protocol can provide. This allows the Smart Grid infrastructure to be used to enable a mobile workforce and automate many other business processes, an important addition to the business case for Smart Grid.
Joe DiAdamo is a 25-year veteran of the Telecommunications industry, having held the roles of designer, system architect, VP of engineering and CTO at large multi-national corporations. Joe is currently Chief Technologist, Smart Grid Solutions for Siemens Enterprise Communications.
Full version of this position paper
Email Joe DiAdamo
Report of the Ontario Smart Grid Forum (PDF)
Cisco Certifies Smart Grid as the Next Big Thing
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