A Global Optimization-Based Routing Protocol for Cognitive-Radio-Enabled Smart Grid AMI Networks

Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) networks, which are an integral component of the smart grid ecosystem, are practically deployed as a static multihop wireless mesh network. Recently, routing solutions for AMI networks have attracted a lot of attention in the literature. On the other hand, it is expected that the use of cognitive radio (CR) technology for AMI networks will be indispensable in near future. This paper investigates a global optimization-based routing protocol for enhancing quality of service in CR-enabled AMI networks. In accordance with practical requirements of smart grid applications, we propose a new RPL-based routing protocol, termed as directional mutation ant colony optimization-based cognitive RPL (DMACO-RPL), for CR-enabled AMI networks. This protocol utilizes a global optimization algorithm to select the best route from the whole network. In addition, DMACO-RPL explicitly protects primary (licensed) users while meeting the utility requirements of the secondary network. System-level simulations demonstrate that the proposed protocol enhances the performance of existing RPL-based routing protocols for CR-enabled AMI networks.