Evaluating the effectiveness of QoS-Aware Routing Protocols for Cognitive Radio Ad-Hoc Networks

The provision of quality of service (QoS) is fundamental in cognitive radio ad hoc networks (CRAHNs). Cognitive radio technology has emerged as a promising solution to the underutilization of the spectrum. The advent of the Internet of things and smart devices is increasing the need for spectrum and robust QoS aware routing algorithms. The study examines factors affecting QoS routing in CRAHNs and analyses the related works and chooses two best performing routing protocols and evaluates their effectiveness in improving the quality of routing. The simulation tests were conducted utilizing the network simulation version 2 on Linux Operating System. Simulation results show that the Quality-Robustness Aware Cognitive Ad-hoc Routing Protocol (Q-RACARP) protocol outperformed the Robustness Aware Cognitive Ad-hoc Routing Protocol since it is optimized for QoS constraints. The Q-RACARP protocol incurs less delay, low packet loss, and achieves higher throughput. The protocols were evaluated in a small network environment and based on the results it is constantly increasing and should be therefore evaluated in large networks with high mobility to evaluate its effectiveness.