Performance Evaluation of AMI Communication Network Using OSPF Routing Protocol and WAN Technologies

Classical electricity grid that is formed of a set of assets generating and transmitting electricity in one way from the production site to the consumers site cannot meet the new customers’ demands. Scientists developed the classical electricity grid using information and communication technologies to allow information and electricity exchange in two directions, and the new term is the smart grid. It requires fast and reliable communication among distributed elements and allows real time exchange of information between customers and operators to enhance grid management. But most of today's network communication systems have been in place for decades. The deployment of new infrastructure is expensive and will take a long time to achieve an economic return. The main objective of this paper is to provide a study of layer 3 OSPF routing protocol and layer 2 modern and legacy communication technologies to help the electricity grid integrate.