@article {10.3844/jcssp.2026.130.146, article_type = {journal}, title = {Q-Optimizer: An AI-Based Optimization Framework for Efficient SDN Routing and QoS Enhancement}, author = {Goteti, Deepthi and Reddy, Vurrury Krishna}, volume = {22}, number = {1}, year = {2026}, month = {Feb}, pages = {130-146}, doi = {10.3844/jcssp.2026.130.146}, url = {https://thescipub.com/abstract/jcssp.2026.130.146}, abstract = {With their rigid layers, traditional networks do not meet evolving traffic demands. As a result, they tend to face congestion along with un-optimized routing. SDN controls traffic management by introducing a programmable control plane, enabling dynamic and intelligent network management. However, older routing techniques, such as Dijkstra's and Multipath, suffer from low adaptability, leading to a rise in latency and packet loss. The addition of Q-learning with Q-Optimizer in SDN is the aim of this study in order to improve the Quality-of-Service metrics, such as throughput, Round Trip Time (RTT), jitter, and Packet Loss Ratio (PLR). Experimental results from Mininet using the Ryu controller demonstrate that Q-Optimizer improves throughput by 36.49%, reduces RTT by 46.09%, minimizes jitter by 95.01%, and lowers Packet Loss Ratio (PLR) by 63.32% compared to Dijkstra’s algorithm. Compared to Multipath routing, Q-Optimizer improves throughput by 13.25%, reduces RTT by 33.22%, decreases jitter by 25.32%, and lowers PLR by 55.61%. Even compared to Q-Learning, it shows improvements in achieving an 11.76% increase in throughput, 26.05% lower RTT, 14.81% less jitter, and 34.48% lower PLR. The statistical validation using one-way ANOVA confirms that these improvements are significant, reinforcing Q-Optimizer's effectiveness in SDN environments. A one-way ANOVA test (F = 785.78, p = 0.0000). The outcomes reveal that AI-driven SDN frameworks are more impactful than traditional approaches and provide scalable and innovative solutions to current global networking infrastructures.}, journal = {Journal of Computer Science}, publisher = {Science Publications} }