POWER October 2019 - 38

CONNECTED PLANT
are no single points of failure, fault-tolerance
increases dramatically.
Naturally, resiliency and security go
hand-in-hand. Best-practice
security
is
2. This graphic illustrates layered databus deployments. Most IIoT connectivity frameworks
will operate on existing network infrastructure, and because of the nature of the data-centric
connectivity, use very little bandwidth. Several projects already are operating using this structure.
Courtesy: Real-Time Innovations
Equipment, network, land-all have
been in the close control of the utility.
Today, there is an absolute dissolving
of this ownership model; DERs come in
many shapes and sizes, and ownerships.
But just because the utility doesn't own
it, does not mean it doesn't contain vital
information. IIoT systems allow for
utilities (really all players) to have secure,
real-time information to pertinent data,
with any type of network infrastructure.
Data Centricity
Data centricity is a relatively new concept
to the power industry. For years,
the world has been able to run (and run
well) through device scans and instructions
being communicated in terms of
seconds or even minutes. In this setting,
data centricity is not needed.
However, when the
requirements
change (think in terms of frequency or
voltage support, disparate systems, fast
control, etc.), data centricity becomes a
requirement. Round trips for data-the
kind from the device to a server and
back-are simply too time-consuming.
Data centricity " empowers " the data
on the device, and then makes it available
to any connected device or system
via a databus. Through a data framework
known as " publish/subscribe " or " pub/
sub, " devices publish data to a common
virtual network connection (that is, the
databus) and any number of subscribers
can receive the data. In the pub/sub
world, there is extremely low latency as
long as modern IIoT data connectivity
software is employed, such as Data Distribution
Service (DDS).
The term " bus " has been with electric
utilities since the beginning. The bus
establishes a common connection point
38
where everything connected to it has
access to the " what " that is there (such
as voltage, current, etc.). In an over-simplified
description, the station bus and
databus look quite similar on paper.
However, rather than energizing connected
devices, the databus and the devices
that attach to it are " data empowered. "
Going back to the discussion on data centricity,
the databus becomes a main component;
just because a device has modern
IIoT capabilities doesn't mean much if it
cannot connect to and communicate with
similarly equipped devices.
Further, the databus concept (Figure
2) allows for layering-keeping pertinent
data on one layer available for anything/
anyone interested, and then making individual
data available to be moved to other
databuses. This means a utility no longer
needs to move everything to a server to
process. Instead, the meaningful data is
delivered where needed, when needed,
and in the parameters needed (secured,
durable, acknowledged, etc.).
Resilience and Security
Today's conversations about the power
grid often focus on resilience. Utilities,
the military, university campuses, hospitals,
municipalities-everyone is looking
for ways to increase resiliency.
In IIoT designs, resilience is realized
through a decentralized architecture that
provides
for
instant
reconfigurability.
Subsystem discovery and fault-tolerant
failover, for the devices, the software, the
subsystems, and the backend computing
environment then become requirements.
When the data needed to optimize a system
does not need to make a roundtrip
to a server (that may or may not be available),
resiliency increases. When there
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provided with a data-centric security capability,
developed for a Department of
Defense open architecture that layers on
top of standard IIoT network and endpoint
security to provide greatly enhanced endto-end
system security. What this means
for the power industry is that even legacy
devices, modernized quickly and cheaply
with IIoT capabilities, can be secured and
participating in the databus environment
in minutes or hours.
A key takeaway is that most IIoT technology
is additive, not replacing. In a market
with seriously disruptive times ahead, a
" rip-and-replace " offering will go nowhere.
Tying It All Together
As we move into the emboldened DER
future, utilities and generation companies
must rapidly integrate proven applications
into larger systems-of-systems using the
power of the IIoT (edge-through-backend
connectivity, fault tolerance, cloud analytics,
and business intelligence).
Capabilities such as auto-discovery of
new installations, provisioning, and authentication,
all will need to happen with highly
automated processes. Simply put, trucks
cannot be rolled each time a new device is
available and of interest to a utility.
Some of the core efforts of the Industrial
Internet include:
■ Security that empowers militaries
across the globe.
■ System efficiency through distributed
edge to backend control.
■ Analytics, optimization, and management
applications with plug-and-play
capabilities.
Most everyone will agree that DERs
are not only present, but will have a direct
and tangible impact on the future
of the grid. While the road ahead is still
obscure, the learning and standards deployed
through IIoT systems will greatly
aid the grid's journey. We in the electric
industry are indeed fortunate to have giants'
shoulders to stand upon. ■
-Erik Felt is the market development
director for Future Grid at Real-Time Innovations
(RTI), where he is focused on
bringing the benefits of IIoT standards
and systems into the utility market. He
is scheduled to take part in POWER
magazine's Distributed Energy Conference
at the Gaylord Rockies Resort, in Denver,
Colorado, Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
POWER | October 2019

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POWER October 2019

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