Patent Document ID: 8868452
Application ID: 13343547
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions executed by a computer system to perform simulating and analyzing of one or more scenarios for a smart grid communications network service to be deployed, the instructions comprising: receiving business and technology changeable parameters for the smart grid communications network service to be deployed, wherein the business changeable parameters are financial data for the smart grid communications network service to be deployed; determining a hierarchal model of a smart grid including domains and utility sections for the smart grid in different levels of the hierarchal model; identifying, from the hierarchal model of the smart grid, at least one domain and at least one utility section for the smart grid communications network service; selecting device models from a plurality of device models based on the identified at least one domain and at least one utility section, wherein the selected device models represent different smart grid domain devices in the identified at least one domain and at least one utility section and include traffic profiles for the different smart grid domain devices and smart grid applications executed by the devices; simulating the smart grid communications network service using the changeable parameters, the device models, and a cost model to determine at least one candidate solution for deploying the service, wherein the at least one candidate solution includes smart grid domain devices and a smart grid application for deploying the smart grid communications network service, estimated bandwidth needed for the smart grid communications network service and estimated monetary costs for the smart grid communications network service, wherein the simulating includes determining a relationship between the identified at least one domain and another domain in the hierarchal model of the smart grid; and determining the estimated bandwidth needed for the smart grid communications network service based on the determined relationship; and generating an analysis of the at least one candidate solution to evaluate an impact of the changeable parameters.