At-a-Glance
Cisco Connected Grid Field Area Network Solutions
Field Area Networking for the Smart Grid
Figure 1. Field Area Network GridBlock
Today’s utility operators are increasingly turning to the field area network (FAN) to
enable communications, pervasive monitoring, and improved control of the energy
distribution network. Based on energy usage information gathered at the business
facility and customer residence, utilities are able to improve load management, offer
new services to consumers, and help to build a more efficient grid with a lower carbon
footprint. They can also become more aware of real-time grid conditions to help
improve system responsiveness and management. The Cisco® Connected Grid FAN
Solution supports these requirements to provide:
• Cost-efficient support for today’s advanced smart grid applications
• Powerful security to protect customer and utility information
• Ruggedized solutions to extend services into harsh environments
• Robust network management capabilities to help collect and administer large data sets
• Alert notifications in case of emergency and support for disaster recovery
Meeting the Utility Environment Challenge
FAN serves as a converged network for enabling applications ranging from advanced
meter infrastructure (AMI), demand-response services, distribution automation, and
utility workforce automation. These applications provide the foundation of the modern
smart grid. However, implementing these changes and managing this amount of
information require a technology that can be implemented in multiple phases and can
be relied upon for years into the future. It must also meet all of today’s government
requirements for security and reliability across very wide geographical areas.
The Cisco FAN Solution
The Cisco bidirectional, multiservice Connected Grid FAN solution is based on a
flexible, two-tier communications architecture:
• Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers (CGR 1000)
• Cisco Cisco IoT Field Network Director
• Cisco Connected Grid Endpoints Reference Design/SDK
Cisco’s FAN solutions are based on the industry-leading Cisco GridBlocks Reference
Model, which integrates utility networks into a single highly secure and reliable
communications infrastructure across utility operations. This modular approach enables
implementation of projects over time, allowing utilities to extend the FAN infrastructures
as part of a planned investment strategy.
Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Router
Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers are multiservice communications
platforms designed for use in field area networks. The portfolio consists of two models
designed to operate reliably in harsh environments, ranging from indoor substations
to outdoor pole-top deployments. Both models are modular and support a variety of
communications interfaces, such as WiMAX, cellular, 900 MHz RF mesh, Ethernet, and
Wi-Fi. Primary highlights include:
• Rugged industrial designs for utility distribution grid environments
• Multiservice features, including IPv6, mesh routing, IP multicast, and quality of
service (QoS)
© 2015 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: www.cisco.com/go/trademarks.
Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)
At-a-Glance
• Comprehensive security capabilities based on
open standards
• Network and device management tools for easy
deployment, upgrades, and remote monitoring
Cisco IoT Field Network Director
The Cisco IoT Field Network Directorhelps utilities
transform their operations for smart metering
and distribution automation with unified network
management. NMS is a highly scalable software platform
designed to manage routers and grid endpoint devices
over the IP-based communications network. It supports
Cisco 1000 Series grid routers and smart meters
running the Cisco Connected Grid Endpoint software
development kit. Other features include:
• Geographic Information System (GIS) map-based,
visualization, monitoring, troubleshooting, and
alarm notifications
The connected WAN may provide network connectivity
from the router to the utility’s control center over a public
cellular network or a utility-owned WiMAX or Ethernet
fiber network.
Security Designed for Critical
Infrastructure
As part of our national critical infrastructure, electrical grid
infrastructures are increasingly required to meet stringent
government requirements. New regulatory mandates
are influencing initiatives around smart metering, grid
reliability, and integration of solar and wind farms into
the distribution grid. This in turn imposes a unique set of
challenges for utilities to securely build FANs that enables
these diverse applications while scaling across millions of
endpoints. The Cisco Connected Grid FAN Solution has
been specifically developed to:
• Disaster recovery capabilities to support
outage management
• Establish a framework for meeting regulatory
compliance requirements
• Provide a full range of access controls and tools to
assure data privacy, confidentiality, and device and
platform integrity
• Create multiple layers of defense for threat detection
and mitigation through multiple layers of defense
across the network
• Reduce system vulnerability to physical attack through
utility sites, data centers, and equipment
Cisco Connected Grid Endpoint
Cisco Advanced Services for FAN
The router also plays a role in connecting up to millions
of smart grid endpoints, such as smart meters, through
an embedded open standards-based IPv6 networking
stack based on the Connected Grid Endpoint (CGEP)
reference design. These endpoints form a mesh
network based on radio frequency (RF) or power-line
communications (PLC) technologies. The mesh network
is aggregated at the Cisco router, which also aggregates
locally connected devices for distribution automation.
Cisco offers a portfolio of services to support your
implementation of the industry’s first multiservice
communications FAN. These expert teams analyze, plan,
and design a complete IPv6-based network based on
a combination of core, edge, and access layer products
and solutions. By delivering multiple applications over a
single secure platform, utilities benefit from lower total
cost of ownership as well as create value from new
services and functional integration.
• Group-based configuration management for fieldarea routers and smart meter endpoints
• Customizable threshold-based alarm processing
and event generation
• Ability to integrate with utility headquarters and
substation operational systems
We provide a step-by-step methodology to cover the
FAN planning process, including business and technical
consulting to help examine project- level planning
and design as well as full information communication
technology strategy development. The end results are an
architecture and roadmap devised to meet utility needs for
decades to come.
Benefits of the Cisco FAN Solution
Designed for highly secure, reliable, and scalable
field infrastructures, the Cisco Connected Grid FAN
Solution supports today’s transition from transmission to
consumption by offering:
• Optimization of localized and regional CapEx and
OpEx, with improved efficiency and visibility
• A new level of reliability and monitoring across large
distributed territories
• Ruggedized hardware and software designed for
continuous FAN availability
• Open standards-based tools to securely aggregate
and manage network traffic and information
• A “future-proofed” infrastructure that can serve as a
foundation for new standards and applications as they
are developed
Cisco in the Utility Industry
Cisco provides one of the industry’s most comprehensive
portfolios of communications infrastructure solutions,
spanning production, distribution, and consumption
of energy based on an end-to-end open standards
network. By delivering multiple applications over a
single, intelligent, and highly secure platform, electric
utilities benefit from lower total cost of ownership as
well as creating value from new services and functional
integration well into the future.
© 2015 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: www.cisco.com/go/trademarks.
Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)
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