SDN Flow Path Modification via Packet Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ring network configurations in electric power distribution and transmission systems face challenges in quickly detecting flow path failures, leading to potential communication link failures and network downtime, as current protocols rely on time-outs that can take several seconds to identify issues.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a software-defined networking (SDN) controller to configure networking devices within the ring network, enabling them to inspect data packets and detect flow path failures by monitoring expected responses from intelligent electronic devices (IEDs), allowing for rapid identification and modification of communication paths to address failures within milliseconds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If traditional timeout-based protocols are used to detect flow path failures, then the system maintains simplicity in detection mechanism, but the detection speed is slow (taking several seconds to identify issues)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the SDN controller monitors response packets from IEDs to determine flow path health. The controller sends test packets through the ring network and expects responsive packets back within a predetermined time. If no response is received, the controller identifies a flow path failure. This active feedback loop enables rapid detection (within milliseconds) compared to passive timeout-based protocols, directly resolving the contradiction between detection speed and mechanism complexity.
2Reliability
If the network uses static flow paths, then the network configuration is simple, but the network cannot quickly respond to failures causing downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic flow path management where the SDN controller continuously monitors network health and automatically recalculates routing paths when failures are detected. When a flow path failure is identified, the controller dynamically updates the ring network to route traffic through the opposite direction, maintaining network availability. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between network reliability and configuration simplicity by automating the complexity of path management.
Solution Approach 2:
The SDN controller acts as an intermediary between the physical ring network and the logical flow path management. It abstracts the complexity of failure detection and path recalculation from the network devices themselves, centralizing this functionality in the controller. The controller receives status information from the network, makes routing decisions, and pushes updated flow paths to relevant devices, thereby maintaining simplicity at the device level while achieving high reliability through centralized intelligent management.
Data Source
AI summary
A network communication system may include intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) in a ring communication network. A software-defined networking device may be programmed by a removable or disconnectable software-defined network (SDN) controller to control the flow path of data packets to the IEDs in the ring network. The software-defined networking device may inspect a data packet intended for a first IED to determine that the inspected data packet requests a responsive data packet from the first IED. A flow path failure may be identified based on a failure to detect a responsive data packet from the first IED within an expected response time.