# Smart Grid Testing Management Platform (SGTMP) +
## 2 Background
### Smart Grid Testing Requirements  
The complexity of the SG poses several challenges that are at the basis of the conception of the SGTMP software system. This section discusses the requirements for creating an SG testing environment from the software perspective. The software environment can take care of simulation orchestration and test result processing and can provide meaningful feedback from each test to the user. The SG domain encompasses many areas as represented by the SGAM framework [9]. Each of these areas must be tested in isolation and as a whole system before deployment, when evaluating system changes or as a continuous testbed for the replication of errors reported from already deployed infrastructure. SGTMP is designed to adhere to the requirements described in this section to the full extent allowed by the underlying technologies. We summarize SG testing requirements from a series of survey papers ([PERSON] et al. [26], [PERSON] [27], [PERSON] et al. [28], [PERSON] et al. [29]). A summary of the requirements described in this section is in Table 1.  
As discussed in [PERSON] et al. [26], at the core of each SG modeling goal, there are aspects of the **power grid (electricity flow) and data flows** between entities related to the power grid. Power flow can be either real or simulated. For _non-simulated power flows_, the energy is created by actual hardware (generators powered by turbines, photovoltaic panels, etc. ), and this power is transmitted to other parts of the grid. Another possibility is to use _simulated power flow_, where all or some of the power flow is simulated in software. If all of the tested energy distribution devices are virtualized or it is possible to provide hardware devices with only the simulated readings, this alternative can provide more significant flexibility in simulated devices. If certain tested devices require power from the grid \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l} \hline \hline
**Reference** & **Criteria** & **Support Requirements** \\ \hline [PERSON] et al. [26] & Power flow & Real (1:1, scaled); simulated \\ [PERSON] et al. [26] & Data flows & Power grid only; information grid only; combined \\ [PERSON] et al. [26], [PERSON] and [PERSON] [27] & Interaction capture & RT capture/monitoring; large data volume; simulation playback \\ [PERSON] and [PERSON] [27], [PERSON] et al. [28] & Topological changes & Before test; at simulation start; during runtime, multiple changes \\ [PERSON] and [PERSON] [27] & Multi-agent systems & One entity; breakdown into components \\ [PERSON] and [PERSON] [27] & Simulator integration & Well defined API; extensibility \\ [PERSON] and [PERSON] [27], [PERSON] et al. [29] & Entity classification & Power producer/consumer/transporter; state reporter; network intruder; SCADA \\ [PERSON] et al. [29] & Network requirements & Network analysis; packet injection; expose to simulated intruders \\ [PERSON] et al. [28] & Topology generation & Automatic; determine if model generalizes; model future \\ [PERSON] et al. [28] & Testing platform & Support different SG topologies \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Summary of SG testing requirements from the literature. to function, it is possible to take a hybrid approach, in which the power flow is still simulated; however, the devices requiring power are attached to a generator, whose power output is controlled by the simulation environment. From the **information exchange side**, an SG testing process must consider **different device types**: (i) devices exchanging data not attached directly to the power grid (_Type_ ), (ii) devices directly attached to the power grid not exchanging data (_Type B_; i.e., not \"smart\" devices), (iii) devices both connected to the power grid and exchanging data (_Type C_), and (iv) intruders (both physical and virtual, _Type D_) [26; 29]. Each of these device types presents a different challenge for the testing platform. _Type B_ devices are primarily power lines and transformers without any network reporting capabilities.