In the phase of designing of the Smart5Grid Platform we have defined functional and non-functional requirements of the OSR and the Smart5Grid Platform User Interface (UI), the internal architecture of their software components, the application programming interfaces (APIs) to be used with external components and users and we have produced workflow diagrams that specify in detail all OSR and UI interactions.
The UI comprises of three main components, that is the front-end, the back-end and the database. The “View” of the application is the front-end web framework which communicates via REST API calls with the back-end server, acting as the Controller. The Model consists of the code in the back-end that implements the objects defined in the application. The Controller interacts with the Instances of the objects and such instances can be stored in the database.
(See attached Figure 1 - UI Architecture)
The OSR is the service responsible for the storage and management of all the NetApps and their included VNFs. It provides secure connection to authorized users, a code repository for the code of the applications, tracking of all changes, and log reporting to the users.
(See attached Figure 2 - OSR Architecture)
The A&A service is responsible for user authentication and role-based authorization on the operations provided by each OSR component.
(See attached Figure 3 - OSR Authentication & Authorization Service)
The NetApp/VNF Catalogue stores and links all NetApp and VNF information. NetApps and VNFs are stored in the Code Versioning Service, executable image files are stored in the Container and VM Image registries, and logs are stored in the Event Logging Service.
(See attached Figure 4 - OSR NetApp Catalogue)
(See attached Figure 5 - OSR Logging Service)
In the second reporting period (RP2), a large part of the work has focused on implementing and integrating the platform components, together with the implementation of the pilots’ sites and edge nodes, the development of the Network Application for supporting the pilots and their execution for validating the relevant KPIs. In parallel, as the project testbeds have been made available for third-parties’ experimenters for fostering the creation of a new market-segment for Network Apps, an extensive engagement activity has been performed.
In the final part of the period, the project collected the pilots’ results to deliver the final conclusions and recommendation to be disseminated.
At a glance, the following activities and main results were implemented:
- The Smart5Grid platform, composed by OSR, V&V and NAC have been successfully developed and integrated. This to facilitate the platform users, the OSR’s Graphic User Interface (GUI) have been extended, allowing a guided creation of a Network App Descriptor and performing the automating V&V cycle.
- Pre-piloting phase via Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL): a series of preliminary simulations has been carried on to verify that the virtualization techniques used in the pilots’ implementation are compatible with the business requirements
- The Four real-life pilots have been successfully implemented, validating the underlying business use cases and the relative KPIs.
- Stakeholder engagement: a series of initiatives to foster the participation have been put on place, with the aim to maximize the impact on SMEs. Besides this, a ticketing system to provide support to the developers has been implemented. In spite of the relevant participation to the events (the stakeholder forum counted almost 100 participants), only one stakeholder decided to develop a Network Application.
