State-Token Transport Protocol for Smart Grid Sensor Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current transport protocols are inadequate for smart grid sensor data collection due to scalability, security, and reliability issues, particularly in handling large-scale deployments of computationally constrained sensors and resource-rich utility-side servers, where existing protocols incur high overhead and latency.
Innovation Solution
A scalable and secure transport protocol (SSTP) that employs a state-token mechanism, eliminating the need for servers to maintain per-client security and communication state, using symmetric-key operations for lightweight security extensions and pre-shared key-based authenticated key exchange, enabling efficient and secure data transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If servers maintain per-client security and communication state, then authentication and confidentiality are ensured, but server memory consumption and processing overhead increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and relocates security state information from the server to the client. The client stores its own security state (authentication tokens, encryption keys, communication state) locally, eliminating the need for the server to maintain per-client state. This extraction resolves the contradiction by preserving authentication and confidentiality while dramatically reducing server memory consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The client performs self-authentication and maintains its own security state independently. By using self-service mechanisms where the client manages its authentication tokens and encryption state locally, the system achieves secure communication without requiring the server to track per-client state, thus resolving the memory and complexity issue.
2Productivity
If traditional transport protocols are used for sensor data collection, then data delivery is achieved, but computational overhead and latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication protocol into distinct phases: connection establishment with authentication, data transfer with encryption, and state management. This segmentation allows for optimized handling of each phase, reducing unnecessary computational overhead during data transfer and minimizing latency by processing only essential operations at appropriate stages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes key parameters of the transport protocol, including using symmetric-key operations instead of asymmetric operations for data encryption, implementing stateless server architecture, and optimizing packet handling parameters. These parameter changes collectively reduce computational overhead and end-to-end delay while maintaining security and reliability.
3Reliability
If security associations are maintained between sensors and utility servers, then data credibility is ensured, but network resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts security association state from the server and places it in the client. Each sensor client maintains its own security state (authentication tokens, encryption parameters) locally, eliminating the need for the utility server to maintain extensive security associations for each device. This extraction ensures data credibility through authentication while dramatically reducing network resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses disposable authentication tokens and short-lived security associations that are validated and then discarded, rather than maintaining persistent security states. This approach ensures data credibility through robust authentication mechanisms while minimizing the quantity of network resources required for security management.
4Ease of operation
If computationally constrained sensors implement full protocol stacks, then communication capability is achieved, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing only the essential protocol functions at the sensor level (client) while assuming a more capable server environment. The sensor implements minimal required functionality for authentication and data transmission, omitting complex protocol stack components that can be handled by the utility server, thus reducing device complexity and power consumption while maintaining communication capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A new approach for a transport protocol for sensor data collection, such as a smart grid is described. In one embodiment of the invention, each server avoids keeping security and communication state per client through the notion of a secure “state-token”. The state token is issued with each server message and is subsequently attached to corresponding client messages delivered to the server. An implementation is provided in which the server encrypts and authenticates the associated session state, and then gives the resulting encryption for the client to temporarily store and return to the server with a next message. In this way, a server does not keep session state after sending the encryption back to a client and can quickly restore session state when the next message from the client arrives.