Intelligent Link Failure Prediction and Optimization-Based QoS Routing in MANETs

Abstract

This paper proposes an Intelligent Link Failure Prediction and QoS-Aware Routing framework for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) using the Harris Hawk Optimization (HHO) algorithm to achieve reliable and efficient data transmission under highly dynamic network conditions. The proposed model integrates proactive link failure prediction with HHO-based multi-objective route optimization to select stable, energy-efficient, and QoS-compliant paths. The framework is implemented and evaluated using the SimPy simulation environment under a realistic node mobility and traffic workload generated using Random Waypoint mobility with CBR and VBR traffic patterns, which is widely adopted for MANET performance evaluation. The proposed method is compared with Multi-Agent Deep Learning (MADL), Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning (MADRL), and the Communication-Aware Hierarchical Routing Framework (CAHRF). Experimental results demonstrate that the HHO-based approach significantly improves network performance by increasing the Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR) by 9.8-15.6%, reducing Link Failure Recovery Time by 21.4-34.7%, extending Network Lifetime by 18.2-27.9%, and decreasing Control Packet Cost by 16.5-25.3% compared to the benchmark methods. These improvements confirm that the proposed HHO-driven intelligent routing framework provides a robust, scalable, and QoS-aware solution for reliable communication in highly dynamic MANET environments.