On the Analysis of Content Dissemination through Real Vehicular Networks

The advances in wireless technologies and the automotive industry lead to the appearance of Vehicular Ad-hoc NETwork (VANET). Consequently, new interests have emerged regarding the introduction of new applications and services for non-urgent content (e.g. videos, ads, touristic information) dissemination for vehicular network environments. The nodes of a VANET are equipped with On-Board Units (OBUs) to enable the communication with other vehicles and to the infrastructure through Road Side Units (RSUs). OBUs enable content dissemination by the mobile nodes while RSUs are static boards deployed along the road or/and strategic locations (e.g. intersections and high buildings). This paper studies and designs how data can be efficiently disseminated using real vehicular boards (RSUs and OBUs) equipped with Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) interfaces in vehicular networks. It evaluates a content distribution strategy (Local Rarest Bundle First (LRBF)) through a vehicular testbed composed by real RSUs and OBUs equipped with IEEE 802.11p (WAVE) communication interfaces. The experimentation results, performed using real vehicular boards, show that the LRBF strategy provides a high delivery of content through the vehicles, with a limited amount of resources.