Yona Lopes

Geese: A traffic generator for performance and security evaluation of IEC 61850 networks

Automation systems for substations based on IEC 61850 simplify the design, installation, and maintenance of the system with a significant cost reduction. Indeed, the industry considers safety and reliability of real-time systems an essential factor. In this scenario, GOOSE messages used in IEC 61850 communication networks for protection, control, and automation of substation are very important. This paper addresses the development of a traffic generator to adequately evaluate and test system functionalities according to IEC 61850 traffic model. We design and implement Geese, a GOOSE message generator for performance and reliability of IEC 61850 networks evaluation. Generator results are also presented.

SMARTFlow: a solution for autonomic management and control of communication networks for smart grids

Smart grids depend on a solid foundation of communications. Although standards like IEC 61850 proposes interoperability, autoconfiguration, and autonomous control solutions for the communication network, there are still open problems on how to efficiently forward high priority sensitive data. This work proposes a complete architecture for autonomic management and control of communication networks for substations based on IEC 61850. The proposed solution, called SMARTFlow, uses OpenFlow in order to achieve granularity and flexibility in the treatment of data flows. SMARTFlow proactively calculates Layer 2 multicast trees to forward the high priorities GOOSE and Sampled Values messages and reconfigures all flow entries in case of network failures. Also, the proposed system monitors the network and defines the configuration of client-server flows on-demand. The proposal was implemented and tested using Mininet and showed a total load up to 44 % lower than the load using typical switches.

ARES: An autonomic and resilient framework for smart grids

In smart grids, the broad use of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in distribution networks introduces the need for protective relaying schemes similar to those used in high-voltage networks. The introduction of intermittent DERs, as solar panels, also requires more autonomic and dynamic SCADA networks. Hence, power systems experience an increased demand for resilience in the distribution communication network. However, resilience methods currently in use still cannot meet those protection requirements. This work proposes ARES, a framework for autonomic and resilient communication for smart grids. ARES provides resilient, robust, and flexible communication for smart grids with Software Defined Network (SDN). Our proposal also provides autonomic services for SCADA that can improve smart grid application performance and efficiency. ARES fault resilience module is implemented and tested using Mininet 2.2.1 and RYU controller and presents maximum recovery time of 610 microseconds, which is an important advance compared to other proposals. In addition, ARES is transparent to end devices, keeping compatibility with legacy measurement and actuation devices.

Identifying vulnerabilities in smart gric communication networks of electrical substations using GEESE 2.0

The use of Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) in electrical substations has brought a great improvement in terms of speed, costs, maintenance, and reliability. In this context, the use of IEC 61850 standard appears as one of the main recommendations for substation automation in smart grids that digitally perform the electrical network control and protection. Nevertheless, this improvement may be prone to a number of security issues. Therefore, security threats in substation networks must be detected in order to improve cyber security solutions. GEESE is a command-line packet generator software following the IEC 61850 standard. In this work, we propose GEESE 2.0, an extension to GEESE that provides a graphical user interface that easily allows substation cyber security threat evaluation. Moreover, GEESE 2.0 can sniff, capture, modify and send GOOSE packets on the network, so that it can create different attacks in order to evaluate the substation security. We have locally deployed a substation network emulation and used GEESE 2.0 to perform network attacks in order to analyze the impact of an attack in a substation protection scheme.

Quality of Service for Wireless Network Implementation in Advanced Metering Infrastructure

The implementation of a robust communication system is essential for smart grids. This new system should provide an excellent quality of service (QoS) and a robust communication infrastructure, which must integrates the various devices on the network and its areas. This paper presents a study of the major networks needs, and describes the main applications of smart grids, and its QoS requirements. Some proposals in the literature are presented, and QoS needs in electrical grids are discussed. Because of its importance, the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is evaluated and tested. The tests are made in an AMI with QoS implemented and also without QoS. The results indicate that the mechanisms and parameters for QoS in AMI are needed an also improving the messages speed.