smart-grid-cloud

Smart Grid Cloud

A cloud-native system for monitoring and early risk detection in power grids, based on telemetry data from smart inverter devices. Developed as laboratory exercise material for the “Cloud Application Development in Smart Grids” course at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, Novi Sad.

.NET 8.0 C# ASP.NET Core Web API Azure Functions Azure Table Storage Azure Blob Storage Azure Queue Storage SignalR MediatR Clean Architecture DDD CQRS FluentValidation Node.js Postman

📋 Table of Contents

🏗 System Architecture

The system is built following the principles of Clean Architecture and Domain-Driven Design (DDD), organized into four layers:

Layer Role
Domain (Core) Defines business logic, rich domain models (Entities), and Value Objects. Independent of any external technologies or frameworks.
Application (Use Cases) Orchestrates business logic using the CQRS pattern via the MediatR library.
Infrastructure (Technical Details) Implements interfaces for data persistence (Azure Table Storage), file storage (Blob Storage), and messaging (Queue Storage).
Presentation (Entry Point) Azure Functions and an ASP.NET Core Web API that expose functionalities to clients.

Clean Architecture

🚀 Technologies

Core Framework

Cloud Infrastructure (Microsoft Azure)

Service Purpose
⚡ Azure Functions Serverless logic handling HTTP, Timer, Blob, and Queue triggers.
🗄️ Table Storage Low-cost NoSQL storage for measurement history, device metadata, and system snapshots.
📁 Blob Storage Secure storage for binary firmware files used in Over-The-Air (OTA) updates.
✉️ Queue Storage Asynchronous messaging for reliable processing of alerts and status updates.
🔄 SignalR Real-time, bi-directional communication between the backend and the Dashboard.

Patterns & Validation

💻 System Components

The system is architected into four main layers, ensuring scalability and real-time responsiveness.

System Architecture Diagram

🔌 Inverter Telemetry Simulator

Role: Simulates field devices (Smart Inverters).

⚡ Azure Functions – Serverless Backend

Azure Functions

Acts as the event-driven core of the system, processing data through various triggers:

Function Trigger Description
ReceiveTelemetry, ReceiveDevice, ReceiveFirmware HTTP Ingests raw data, calculates load percentages, and triggers downstream processing.
GridMonitor Timer (10s) Performs periodic health checks to detect anomalies like grid overloads or offline devices.
FirmwareProcessor Blob Automates the OTA update flow whenever a new firmware binary is uploaded.
ProcessAlerts Queue Decouples critical alarm logging and processing from the main data ingestion flow.

🌐 Web API & Background Worker

📊 Dashboard

Tech: Node.js-based web application.

Feature Description
Live Grid State Real-time visualization of the power grid status.
Device Management List and monitor all registered smart inverters.
Firmware Interface Dedicated UI for uploading and deploying firmware updates across the grid.

🛠 Clean Code Principles

The project strictly adheres to clean code standards:

📋 Prerequisites

🖥 Local Environment Setup

Before running the applications, configure the storage connection strings:

A. Azure Functions (local.settings.json) Create or update the local.settings.json file in the root of your Azure Functions project. This file configures the serverless runtime, trigger schedules, and connection details for all storage services (Table, Blob, and Queue).

 {
  "IsEncrypted": false,
  "Values": {
    "AzureWebJobsStorage": "UseDevelopmentStorage=true",
    "FUNCTIONS_WORKER_RUNTIME": "dotnet-isolated",
    "GridMonitorSchedule": "*/10 * * * * *",
    "AzureTableOptions:ConnectionString": "UseDevelopmentStorage=true",
    "AzureTableOptions:TelemetriesTable": "Telemetries",
    "AzureTableOptions:DevicesTable": "Devices",
    "AzureTableOptions:DeviceStatusesTable": "DeviceStatuses",
    "AzureTableOptions:FirmwaresTable": "Firmwares",
    "AzureBlobOptions:FirmwareBlob": "firmware-updates",
    "AzureBlobOptions:ConnectionString": "UseDevelopmentStorage=true",
    "AzureQueueOptions:AlertQueue": "alert-queue",
    "AzureQueueOptions:DeviceStatusQueue": "device-status-queue",
    "AzureQueueOptions:ConnectionString": "UseDevelopmentStorage=true",
    "ParallelSettings:MaxDegreeOfParallelism": 20
  }
}

B. ASP.NET Core Web API (appsettings.json) Update the appsettings.json file in your Web API project. This configuration allows the Web API to host the SignalR Hub, manage CORS for the Dashboard, and enables the Background Worker to poll the status queue.

{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Information",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "*",
  "WebApi": {
    "CorsPolicyName": "_reactAppPolicy",
    "ReactOrigin": "http://localhost:5173",
    "DeviceHubRoute": "/device-status-hub"
  },
  "AzureQueueOptions": {
    "ConnectionString": "UseDevelopmentStorage=true",
    "DeviceStatusQueue": "device-status-queue"
  },
  "AzureTableOptions": {
    "ConnectionString": "UseDevelopmentStorage=true",
    "DevicesTable": "Devices",
    "FirmwaresTable": "Firmwares",
    "DeviceStatusesTable": "DeviceStatuses"
  },
  "AzureBlobOptions": {
    "ConnectionString": "UseDevelopmentStorage=true",
    "FirmwareBlob": "firmware-updates"
  },
  "ParallelSettings": {
    "MaxDegreeOfParallelism": 20
  }
}

Infrastructure Initialization (Tools Project)

Before starting the Azure Functions or the Web API, you must initialize the storage resources in your local emulator (Azurite) or Azure account. This is done via the Tools console application.

Infrastructure

Running the Backend

  1. Open the solution in Visual Studio 2022.
  2. Set both the Azure Functions and Web API projects as startup projects.
  3. Press F5.
    • The Azure Functions Core Tools console will open, listing all detected function endpoints (e.g., ReceiveTelemetry, GridMonitor).
    • The Web API will start, hosting the SignalR Hub and REST endpoints.

Console Tool

Web Api

Running the Inverter Simulator

  1. Run the Inverter Telemetry Simulator (Console Application).
  2. Follow the prompts to register a device — enter DeviceName, NominalPower, DeviceType (Solar Panel or Wind Turbine), and Location.
  3. Once registered, the simulator enters a loop, sending telemetry data every 10 seconds to the cloud.

Console Simulator

Running the Dashboard

  1. Open a terminal in the Dashboard project directory.
  2. Install dependencies: 
    npm install
  3. Start the application: 
    npm run dev
  4. The dashboard will be available at the address shown in the terminal (typically http://localhost:5173).

Dashboard

Devices

Firmware

Deployment to Azure

  1. Azure Portal – Create a Function App (Consumption plan) and a Storage Account.
  2. Visual Studio – Right-click the project → Publish → Select Azure Function App → Choose your created resource.
  3. Configuration – Update the cloud endpoint URLs in the Simulator and Dashboard to point to your deployed Azure services.

📄 License

This project is the intellectual property of the author. It is distributed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more information.

Note: This system was designed and developed by the author as part of the “Cloud Application Development in Smart Grids” course at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, Novi Sad. While the project was created within an academic framework, all implementation details, architecture design, and source code are the sole property of the author.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are what make the academic community such an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions you make are greatly appreciated.

This site is open source. Improve this page.