Critical link identification algorithm for power communication networks in SDN architecture

Abstract

With the maturity of software-defined network (SDN) technology, its application in power communication networks (PCNs) is being introduced. SDN controllers can assign working and backup routes for arriving serve requests and provide one-to-one (1:1) protection, which is crucial for the transmission of power system data with high reliability and delay requirements. For PCNs in SDN architecture, a critical link identification algorithm based on link-related risk (LRR-CLIA), which considers both working and backup routes between nodes, is proposed in this paper. The algorithm calculates link importance to identify critical links by quantifying the impact of links on the network risk on service layer, transport layer, and topology layer. To verify the effectiveness of the LRR-CLIA, we compare the network loss on service layer, transport layer, topology layer, and comprehensive layer with other algorithms after ranking and removing the identified critical links in descending order. In the simulation results, the LRR-CLIA outperforms the other algorithms by an average of 39.5% and 51.77% in the small PCN and medium-scale PCN respectively, which shows that the LRR-CLIA can identify the critical links more effectively and accurately in PCNs whose services have both working and backup paths.