A Synopsis of Simulation and Mobility Modeling in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs)

Vehicular communication is considered to be a backbone for many critical safety applications. In order to achieve a better implementation of any vehicular communication scenario, an efficient, accurate and reliable simulator is essential. Various open source and commercial simulating tools are available for this purpose. One of the key issues in this regard is the selection of a reliable simulator which implements all standard algorithms and paradigms giving accurate results. In this paper, we first present IEEE standard and protocols for vehicular communication, IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.x, also known as WAVE protocol stack. The paper then discusses the necessary requirements for a generic discrete event simulator which can be used to simulate Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks. Since not all the network simulators can be used in the scenario of vehicular communication, we highlight the key features of some network simulators in the context of vehicular ad-hoc networks. The paper also highlights some of the implementation limitations in these simulators. Furthermore, the paper presents a discussion on traffic simulators by emphasizing on the underlying mobility models used in order to generate the realistic traffic patterns. A comparative study of both network and traffic simulators show the pros and cons of these simulation tools. The paper suggests the appropriate choice of a network simulator to be used as a VANET simulator.