IEEE 802.21 MEDIA INDEPENDENT HANDOVER DCN: 21-10-0098-00-0000 Title: Smart Grid use cases Date Submitted: May 11, 2010 Presented at IEEE 802.21 session #38 in Bangalore Authors or Source(s):  Yoshihiro Ohba (Toshiba) Abstract: This document describes possible use cases for MIH network management for Smart Grid 21-10-0098-00-0000

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Existing Mesh Usage in Smart Grid There has been a use case that smart meters are connected to wireless backhaul networks E.g., More than 2 million gas meters in some vendor in California are connected using RF mesh networks In a near future mesh networks for gas and electric meters may be based on standard technologies such as 802.15, 802.11 and 802.16 mesh 21-10-0098-00-0000

Mesh Configuration Issue A large number of low-cost mesh devices may be deployed for Smart Grid Automated network configuration and re-configuration is a key for ease of deployment Mesh network identification information Mesh operation policies Configuration may require unauthenticated network access with higher layer security MIH IS with MIH-level security seems to meet this requirement, but New configuration-related IEs may be needed A mechanism to securely update IS database may be needed 21-10-0098-00-0000

Power-Saving Issue Both mesh end devices and mesh relays may be battery operated in a large Smart Grid deployment Power-saving is a key for totally being wire-free Just using periodically multicast beacons may not be an efficient way to maintain neighbor relations MIH IS may be useful to solve the issue, but is the current IS sufficient? 21-10-0098-00-0000

Heterogeneous Mesh Issue A mesh network may be an inter-connection of sub-mesh networks of different link-layer technologies 802.15 or 802.11 edge router with multiple radio interfaces may be connected to an 802.16 sub-mesh network in the backhaul Hosts may be connected to an 802.15 or 802.11 sub-mesh network or directly to 802.16 sub-mesh network Which sub-mesh network a host should be connect? MIH may be needed to provide mesh network information to the host 21-10-0098-00-0000

Mobility Issue End devices connected to Smart Grid may not only stationary devices but also mobile devices including automotives such as Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) Electric Vehicle (EVs) Automotives may support multiple link-layer technologies to increase chance of getting connected to Smart Grid Automotives may be connected to a homogeneous or heterogeneous mesh network, and perform handover across different L2 technologies Within a heterogeneous mesh network Between two mesh networks Between a non-mesh network and a mesh network Is current MIH sufficient to support mesh handover? 21-10-0098-00-0000

Sleeping Node Support Smart Grid may want to keep track of the location and status (active, sleeping, charging, etc.) of its end-devices for better control of demand and supply of energy resources The end-devices may be in sleeping mode especially when they are battery operated Such devices may be connected to a mesh network MIH registration may be useful but does it support those sleeping devices? 21-10-0098-00-0000