ExTODS: Experimental 5G-Enabled Testbed for Distributed Optimization of Distribution Systems

Distributed optimization has emerged as a scalable and privacy-preserving alternative to centralized control for power distribution networks. Yet most studies evaluate these algorithms in simulation settings, leaving their performance under real-world wireless networks largely unexplored. To address this, we present ExTODS (Experimental Testbed for Optimization of Distributed Systems), a 5G-enabled testbed for the distributed optimization of distribution grids. The distributed optimization in ExTODS is carried out using Raspberry Pi devices communicating over a commercial 5G network. We used ExTODS to solve a Distributed Optimal Power Flow (DOPF) optimization problem to minimize the voltage deviation on the IEEE 123-bus feeder. In this work, we used the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) technique, and we evaluated the optimal solution based on iteration count, total computation time, and convergence rate. Our results show that ExTODS's threshold strategy achieves reliable convergence despite variable latency and intermittent data loss, demonstrating the practical deployability of distributed optimization in distribution grids.