Technical Review of a Utility Architecture Design for Grid Modernization

Transforming and modernizing the energy industry is at the forefront of utility operational objectives. Traditional architectures in electric utilities are costly to maintain and inflexible. Utilities seeking to modernize the Grid require a new approach, one that leverages a common, virtual architecture providing more agility and higher levels of inter-operability, security and reliability. A Utility Grid Modernization Program requires a common architecture design that can be utilized across the Utility eco-system. The common architecture should be a robust Enterprise Grade Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) that can run at the edge, while utilizing the same tools and retaining the same capabilities as the data center. In addition, the common architecture must be capable of supporting Cloud Native and Legacy (Window/Linux) x86 applications on a single platform while providing intrinsic security, compliance and lifecycle management. The benefits of a SDDC virtual architecture for grid modernization includes reduced overall cost, increased safety, increased reliability, redundancy, self-diagnostics, and an improved level of security through zero-trust architectures. Together, Dell Technologies, Intel and VMware are delivering successful Utility Grid Modernization projects with enterprise grade, standard virtual architectures enabling Utilities to streamline operations while delivering next-generation utility tools to manage and ensure overall grid reliability.