Performance Evaluation of IoT Protocols in Resource-Constraints Smart Home Networks

Abstract

Smart home systems rely heavily on internet of things (IoT) communication protocols to support real-time monitoring, automation, and energy efficient operation. However, the heterogeneity of IoT devices and resource constraints such as limited bandwidth, processing capability, and battery power complicate protocol selection. This paper presents a technical performance evaluation of four widely used IoT application layer protocols which include constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT), Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP), and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Using a unified simulation environment based on Omnet++6.2.0/Inet 4.5, the protocols were assessed under identical smart home network conditions. Key performance metrics include latency, throughput, packet delivery ratio (PDR), and energy consumption. The results demonstrate that CoAP achieves the lowest latency and energy consumption, making it suitable for delay sensitive and low power devices. MQTT and HTTP provide perfect packet delivery reliability due to their TCP based mechanisms, while HTTP offers the highest throughput at the expense of higher delay and energy cost. The findings highlight that protocol selection must be application specific, balancing performance requirements and resource limitations.