A survey on data dissemination in vehicular ad hoc networks

The rapid evolution of wireless communication capabilities and vehicular technology would allow traffic data to be disseminated by traveling vehicles in the near future. Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) are self-organizing networks that can significantly improve traffic safety and travel comfort, without requiring fixed infrastructure or centralized administration. However, data dissemination in VANET environment is a challenging task, mainly due to rapid changes in network topology and frequent fragmentation. In this paper, we survey existing data dissemination techniques and their performance modeling approaches in VANETs, along with optimization strategies under two basic models: the push model, and the pull model. In addition, we present major research challenges.