# Web-Based Toolkit for Performance Simulation and Analysis of Power Line Communication Networks
## 1 Introduction  
PLC (Power Line Communication) presents a wide range of advantages that make them very appropriate for Smart Grid applications, such as Advanced Metering Infrastructures [1]. However, they also involve a harsh communication medium, which suffers from frequency selectivity, impedance variation depending on the connected loads, or noise introduced by such connected loads [2, 3]. From the point of view of the deployment and planning of PLC networks, simulation tools are useful to evaluate the performance of these kinds of networks under different conditions in an agile and cost-effective manner. Nevertheless, the typical complexity and learning curve of network simulators hinder their use, making it difficult to make the most of them. From the point of view of the operation of PLC networks, the response of such networks is quite variable, so that a given network can show a decrease in performance at a given moment while working perfectly when operation crews arrive to fix the problem. Thus, to reduce O & M (Operation & Maintenance) costs, it is important to have tools that allow carrying out a preliminary analysis and diagnosis of the situation before sending people to the field. The usability of these kinds of tools is also key for their adoption. Thus, interfaces that ease the execution of both simulation and analysis tools for PLC performance evaluation can be developed to increase their potential impact. Desktop applications represent an option to implement such interfaces, but, among other drawbacks, they depend on the operating system in use and require an individual installation. Web applications, instead, represent a portable and scalable solution for both purposes (simulation and analysis of PLC networks). Consequently, this paper presents a web-based toolkit composed of three tools that have been developed with the aim of facilitating the execution of PLC network simulations and analysis. The first tool was developed as an interface to the NB-PLC PRIME (PoweRline Intelligent Metering Evolution) network simulator SimPRIME [4], which combines MATLAB (MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA, USA), to model the physical layer, with OMNeT++, to model the upper layers, to allow cost-effective and flexible communications performance evaluation. The second one has been developed for the MV-BPL (Broadband Power Line over Medium Voltage) cell simulator SimBPL [5], which was initially developed in MATLAB but has been migrated to a microservice architecture where the backend run in Python [6] and allows MV-BPL cells' communications performance evaluation, which is especially interesting for planning purposes. The third one is PRIME Analytics [7], which allows performing a preliminary diagnosis of communication performance problems in NB-PLC PRIME networks remotely based on data gathered in the field, identifying when or where the problems occur or which nodes are responsible. These tools have been developed through several Spanish research projects (such as PRICE [8] or OSIRIS [9]) in close collaboration with DSOs (Distribution System Operators) and equipment manufacturers. As a result, they provide solutions to actual problems of these industry key players and have been adapted to facilitate their use. The developed web interfaces represent the first steps towards PLC simulation and analysis as a service, since they allow planning deployments by adapting the simulation to the real network environment, as well as analyzing and diagnosing PLC networks in operation through a human-friendly interface, which abstracts the underlying complexity. The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. Section 2 presents an overview of PLC technologies, paying special attention to the ones used in the toolkit (namely PRIME and IEEE 1901), with the aim of providing the required context to facilitate the understanding of the rest of the paper. Section 3 presents the architecture and technologies used in each of these web applications. Section 4 describes how these web applications work.