Leveraging P4 Programmable-Hardware Switches for In-Network PMU Packet Recovery

Author

Evan Michael Bonar, University of Arkansas, FayettevilleFollow

Date of Graduation

12-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Computer Science and Computer Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Jin, Kevin

Committee Member

Farnell, Chris

Second Committee Member

Panda, Brajendra

Abstract

Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) systems are essential for real-time power grid monitor- ing but often face data loss due to network delays, equipment malfunctions, or transmis- sion errors. Traditional centralized recovery solutions introduce significant latency and scalability challenges. This thesis presents a P4-based in-network recovery mechanism that embeds detection and recovery directly into the data plane of P4-enabled programmable switches, significantly reducing recovery time and infrastructure complexity. Using the Aurora 610 switch, the system detects missing packets via sequence number analysis and recovers magnitudes with an efficient register-based algorithm.

Evaluation demonstrates high accuracy and low latency, achieving a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 0.39% and an average processing latency of 336.99 nanosec- onds with a 2.52-nanosecond standard deviation at a 5% packet loss rate. These results highlight the potential of programmable networks for scalable, efficient, and resilient PMU data recovery, advancing grid monitoring and anomaly detection in real-time applications.

Keywords

Phasor Measurement Unit; In-Network Data Recovery; Programmable Network; P4; Data Plane

Citation

Bonar, E. M. (2024). Leveraging P4 Programmable-Hardware Switches for In-Network PMU Packet Recovery. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/elcsuht/1