ERCOT Wide Area Network Overview

1
ERCOT Wide Area Network Overview EDS
Communication Standard

• John Fisher
• ERCOT
• Network Manager

2
ERCOT WAN

• The ERCOT WAN consists of 2 separate Wide Area
  Networks
• IP WAN
• Voice and RTU WAN (aka Point-to-Point network)
• IP WAN (MPLS)
• MPLS on Sprint network
• Each MP is allocated 1.544Mbps bandwidth
• ERCOT core is allocated 9Mbps per site (Austin
  and Taylor)
• Majority of traffic is XML, HTTPS, and ICCP
• Voice and RTU WAN (Point-to-Point)
• Dedicated T1s through ATT DACS network
• Provides connectivity for voice systems (turret,
  hotline, OPX)
• Provides connectivity for RTUs
• Provides redundant data connection for IP WAN

3
IP Data WAN Overview
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Voice RTU (Point-to-Point) WAN Overview
5
ERCOT Internet Presence

• Highly secure
• Encrypted data communications
• Identity validation via digital certificates
• Layered security architecture
• Protected DMZ
• Highly reliable highly redundant
• Multiple layers of hardware redundancy
• Adequate bandwidth
• Multiple DNS servers
• Redundant, diverse, carrier connections
• Private IP space

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Internet Design Overview
7
ICCP

• ICCP Stats (An example of a Market Participant)
• Currently runs at approx 128Kbps
• Nodal testing will increase their ICCP load by
  100
• Anticipate roughly 256Kbps of ICCP load.
• This is 25 of circuit capacity
• Capacity Calculation
• Total reliable capacity is 1024Kbps
• Equation as follows
• Point-to-Point T1 capacity 24DS0 x 64Kbps each
  1,536Kbps
• Must reserve 8 DS0 (512Kbps) channels for voice
• 1,536 512 1024
• Reliable capacity is defined by amount of
  available bandwidth on Point-to-Point WAN. The
  MPLS network is capable of 1.544Mbps however, we
  can only guarantee reliability of up to 1024Kbps
  due to requirement of dynamic failover to
  Point-to-Point network in the event of an MPLS
  network failure.

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Approach to EDS

• We do not want to impact Zonal production traffic
  with Nodal test traffic.
• All non-ICCP EDS traffic will transit the
  Internet.
• Once trending and analysis are complete, a
  determination will be made regarding availability
  of web services over the WAN. We hope to have
  statistical analysis complete by March 2008.
• The expected outcome of the analysis is that
  most, if not all, non-grid critical traffic will
  be moved to the Internet.