Between the Poles

Will IBM's adoption of OpenStack mean portable cloud applications ?

OpenStack is an open source cloud computing platform for public and private clouds. The project aims to deliver solutions for all types of clouds by being open, simple to implement, and massively scalable.  The OpenStack Foundation was founded by Rackspace Hosting and NASA.

Last week IBM announced that all of its cloud offerings would be built around OpenStack.  But this could be more important than just an open platform for private cloud management.  IBM seems to be interested  in cloud portability, making applications portable between cloud vendors and avoiding cloud lock-in.  Right now if you develop an application on Amazon Web Services, for example, it is not an easy matter to port it to run on Rackspace.  IBM says that its objective is to make OpenStack a ubiquitous, open source infrastructure-as-a-service layer, analogous to what Apache represents in serving http.  When you recollect what IBM's support of the Apache Foundation, the Eclipse Foundation, and Linux led to, this could have major implications for the future of cloud computing.

Open Modeling Framework for modeling the smartgrid including cost/benefit analysis

At the NRECA TechAdvantage conference in New Orleans Craig Miller and David Pinney of the Cooperative Research Network (CRN) gave an overview of a joint project between the Depatrment of Energy (DoE), NRECA, several electric power coops, Oakridge National Lab (ORNL), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (LREL), and Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL), that has important implications for all utilities that are attempting to prioritize future smart grid investments in their distribution networks.

Background

About four years ago DoE invested $33.9 million in a smart grid demonstration project  or more accuratelu a portfolio of projects conducted by CRN.  The research projects focused on distribution automation and demand response.  One of the things that CRN did as part of this demonstration project was to survey National Rural Electric Coop Assn (NRECA) members to determine what they saw as the most important barriers to implementing a smart grid.  The barriers that were reported by the respondents were, in rank order,

1. Customer resistance
2. Data volume and computational complexity (analytics) - utiltiies were facing 100K to 200K times as much as data that they were currently managing
3. Communications - moving the data
4.  Interoperability - many incompatible systems
5. Cybersecurity
6. Cost/benefit - at that time there was little data on the costs and expected benefits of various SG technologies to help prioritize investment

Recently the membership has been resurveyed.  After four years it was found that the perception of the relarive importance of the barriers has changed.  In the most recent survey respondents identified cost/benefit as the highest priority barrier to smart grid adoption and CRN has developed a project to specifically address cost/benefit. 

As a first step the project researchers looked at the cost/benefit models being used by vendors of smart grid product and services.  What they found was such a wide range of models with different assumptions, different data, different grid models, and different ways of estimating costs and benefts, that it was impossible to compare different smart grid investment options and vendors.  As Craig Miller put it, it was not even a question of comparing apples and oranges, it was more like attempting to compare apples, oranges, and '57 chevies. 

Open Modeling Framework (OMF)

This led to a joint project between DoE, CRN, ORNL, and PNNL to develop a common framework for modeling distribution grids and estimating the costs and benefits of alternative investment decisions that woudl allow comparison of different options  The framework would provide standardized data sets, for example, NOAA weather data, and computational modules including modules for modeling grid physics, such as GridLAB-D™, but would allow different data sets and computational modules to be used.  The framework would incorporate a monetization and visualization component that would perform financial analyses that could be compared across different smart grid investment options.  The most important features were

• common data
• common outputs
• multiple solvers (computatuional grid modules)
• run mgmt

All of these components can be customized, but the frameowrk is designed to make the outputs and the subsequent analysis comparable.

OMF is comprised of open source components and runs in the cloud.  PNNL is working on the solvers (grid modeling software), with a particular focus of improving performance.  ORNL is working on the monetization and visualization component.  Currently OMF takes Milsoft grid topology for input, but in the future the Intention is to support other vendors as well as the MultiSpeak and CIM standards.

OMF live demonstration

During the presentation OMF was actually demonstrated.  We were shown how to setup and run a scenario that involved conservation voltage reduction (CVR).  The grid configuration (feeders) were brought in from Milsoft.  Various ways of visualizing network topology were demonstrated (surprisingly none include a geospatial representation though GIS is on the roadmap apparently).   Different ways of modeling demand were shown.  For exmaple, there is a residential demand model that simulates appliances and other sources of domestic demand.  There is a feeder model and ultimately they intend to incoporate vendor specific equipment models, for example for Cooper or Schneider Electric transformers.  For this CVR simulation, they introduced a generalized volt/var controller. 

A network with CVR and without CVR was simulated for a location in California over a period of three months.  Using the output from the grid simulation, financial analyses were performed for the two cases, with CVR and without, and the cost and benefit of the CVR option computed.

It was possible to look at physical parameters, for example, to determine if CVR was effective in shaving peak loads.  It was found that in some cases CVR reduced peak load, but not always.  The financial analysis determined that there was a net benefit from CVR, and that the payback was estimated to be about 2.3 years.

Since the monetization analysis runs using the ouptut from the grid simulation, it can be rerun with different financial assumptions without having to rerun the grid simulation.

The power of OMF is that it can be used to compare different smart grid investment options, for example, residential solar with batteries,  utility solar with batteries, CVR, and wind generation.

Criag Miller said that OMF will be formally released this summer and will be open to all utilities.

GITA PNW: A cloud-based hosted solution for small utilities

At the 12th annual Geospatial Information and Technology (GITA) Pacific Northwest Conference at Salishan on the Oregon Coast, John Mitchell of Terraspatial Technologies gave a fascinating presentation on a hosted or SaaS (software as a service) solution for small utilities.

I blogged previously about Burlington Hydro, a relatively small utility in southern Ontario that is integrating into an intelligent network many aspects of what is typically included in smart grid including intelligent netwrok devices, self healing networks, smart meters, distributed generation, electric vehicles (EV) , factory ride-through systems (enables factories to continue functioning through outages), battery-based electric storage, bidirectional communications network linking the intelligent devices to the control center, and dramatically increased volumes of real-time data.

Most utilities, large and small, are experiencing or very soon will experience a similar change in the customer services, responsivness, and level of reliability their electric power networks are expected to provide. 

An important difference between large utilities and small utiltiies, many of which are municipally-owned or rural coops, is that large utilities have the IT staff and experience to deal with intelligent electric power networks whereas small utilities often don't. 

Hosted solution

What struck me as as so unique about what Terraspatial is offering and so valuable to small utilities is that it is a hosted solution, in other words, all the utility needs to install at their site is a browser, everything else is running in the cloud.  The most important benefit of a hosted solution like this is that it reduces the level of IT capacity that the utility needs to maintain in house.

One of the utility associations that Terraspatial has been working with is the Central Services Association (CSA), an association of 116 smaller utilities, in central Mississippi.  Jointly Terraspatial and CSA have developed the requirements for a hosted solution called PlantWorx for electric power utilities.  Based on thes requirements, Terraspatial has designed and built, and CSA has been testing a solution called PlantWorx.

The design goals of the solution that CSA and Terraspatial have developed are very relevant to small utilities. 

• It is hosted, which means that the utility does not need to own or manage servers or software. 
• It is secure because it relies on the security of Rackspace a major cloud hosting provider that can provide a level of security, including protection from internal tampering, role-based access by users, protection from external  threats, the latest encryption, redundancy and back-ups, ISO certified data centers, and mirrored servers for persistent backup, in other words a much higher level of security than the average utility network is capable of.
• Because it it running in the cloud, it is accessible from anywhere and from any device, in the office and in the field.
• It is an integrated work order management sytem solution supports staking through to accounting and reporting.  It interfaces to customer information systems, accounting and billing systems, and materials management systems,
• It provides a dashboard allowing the utility to monitor key performance indicators of the utility's business.

Autodesk releases Infrastructure Modeler 360 for the cloud

Autodesk has released a new service as part of Autodesk 360, called Autodesk BIM 360.  One of the new tools in BIM 360 is a Conceptual Design and Feasibility Evaluation service, which enables users of Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler to publish, store, and manage large models in the cloud. Users can invite other team members to access, download, and edit shared models.  If you ever used Project Galileo Online, this may look familiar.  Users can invite other team members to access, download, and edit shared models.

Introductory videos are available.

This part of Autodesk BIM 360 is a cloud-based collaboration service available to subscription customers.

Autodesk announces summer DevCamps

DevCamps and DevLabs

DevCamps are held every other year to help software developers learn how to work with Autodesk platform technologies.  The two industry specific Developer Camps include several tracks catering to the learning needs of beginner and expert software developers – as well as a business track for start-ups looking to develop and leverage their relationship with Autodesk.

This is an opportunity for face to face contact with Autodesk's development engineers.  There is also a third “DevLab” day where you can work on your hardest coding challenges with an Autodesk software engineer looking over your shoulder giving you immediate help and advice.  You can bring your laptop and work on your code as you would in your own office with the difference that you have a team of DevTech experts  available to review your code if you’d like.. 

Cloud and Mobile Classes

This year there will also be several classes on helping you get started developing apps based on cloud and mobile technologies.  This is an opportunity to learn how to build cloud apps that you can deploy everywhere, through web browsers, iPhones, iPads or Android devices.

AEC DevCamp, June 6-7 (outside of Boston)
You can attend beginner and expert classes on developing solutions with Autodesk® Revit® (all flavors including Server), AutoCAD® Civil 3D®, Autodesk® Infrastructure Map Server, Autodesk® Vault, Autodesk BIM 360, Autodesk Project Vasari, Autodesk® Green Building Studio®, Autodesk® Navisworks®, and several more Autodesk AEC technologies. List of classes.  Register.

Optional AEC DevLab, June 8, requires a separate registration here.

Manufacturing DevCamp, June 13-14 (in Portland)
You can attend beginner and expert classes on developing solutions with Autodesk® Inventor® (including Inventor ETO), Autodesk® Vault, Autodesk® Navisworks, Autodesk PLM 360, and several more Autodesk manufacturing technologies.  List of classes.  Register.

Optional MFG DevLab June 15,  requires a separate registration here.

AutoCAD WS 1.4 includes GPS support

AutoCAD WS is a cloud application that allows you to view, edit, and share drawings through a web browser or a mobile device including iOS and Android phones and tablets. 

The latest version AutoCAD WS 1.4 supports GPS. It also supports viewing of 3D drawings and remote plotting using any web-connected HP ePrinter.

Autodesk highest in R&D spend

According to Bloomberg during its last fiscal year, Autodesk spent 25.4 percent of net sales on research and development, the largest percentage among U.S. software or Internet companies that have a market value above $5 billion and an annual R&D budget of at least $300 million.  In the most recently reported 12-month period, it spent $525.5 million, or 26.7 percent of its sales, on R&D.

On the subject of cloud computing Bloomberg quotes Paul Sullivan of Autodesk as saying that “We are devoting a larger percentage of our R&D budget to cloud computing, with a significant portion of our new product investments going toward products that are cloud-enabled.  We expect that all of our major products will be available in the cloud within the next three years.”   AutoCAD WS, AutoCAD in the cloud, was released last year.  Autodesk has recently announced Autodesk Cloud.

AutoCAD isometrics in the cloud

I've blogged previously about AutoCAD in the cloud, also known as AutoCAD WS, which allows you to do AutoCAD design with a browser or an iOS or Android device.  Now there is an AutoCAD Isometrics WS technology preview available free on Autodesk Labs that is an Autodesk Cloud service for creating, storing, viewing, and sharing isometric drawings. You can design and collaborate on isometrics across multiple platforms - desktop, web, and mobile devices - with full DWG compatibility.  To do this upload PCF files from AutoCAD Plant 3D, Autodesk Inventor, or 3rd party applications, and then generate isometric drawings on cloud servers. You can share and view the resulting isometrics through the AutoCAD WS web and mobile applications.  There is a video introduction to AutoCAD Isometrics WS.