QoS-PAR: a routing protocol for wireless ad hoc networks using a cross-layer autonomic architecture

There is a growing consensus in the research community that, combining cross-layering and autonomic paradigms are, until now, the best alternative for better QoS support in ad hoc networks. Most of the proposed cross-layer architectures are not autonomic. Further, most of them are localised i.e., nodes consider purely local information in their optimizations, which degenerates into selfish behaviour of individual wireless nodes. Unfortunately, this non-collaborative behaviour limits the overall system performance. In this paper, we present a QoS-position aided routing protocol (QoS-PAR) to be deployed over a wireless ad hoc network whose nodes use XLEngine, the distributed cross-layer architecture introduced. XLEngine combines cross-layering and autonomic concepts where nodes exchange their local views to construct a global network-wide view that can be used to optimise the network operation such as routing. QoS-PAR integrates admission control as well as resource reservation mechanisms. Extensive simulations using the J-Sim simulator show that QoS-PAR over XLEngine significantly outperforms the AODV protocol over the classic layered architecture.