UCM-AODV: Utility-based Cache Management for AODV Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

Data access is a crucial topic that has drawn a big attention in VANETs. One can attribute this to the prevalent network segmentation introduced by the node's mobility. Hence, cooperative cache scheme has been introduced to minimize network latency. Consequently, cooperative caching (CC) improves the data access performance in a VANETs environment. CC mandates multiple caching vehicles to share and manage cached contents. This work provides a novel system model in which cache replacement can be greatly avoided if the overheard data item (DI) is of no utility. The proposed caching scheme measures the popularity of a DI according to its utility as either high or low, based on relevant parameters. A DI is prefetched when its utility is high. Otherwise, overhearing nodes simply discard a DI if it is of low utility. The performance of the proposed scheme has been evaluated using NS2 simulator and is compared with other cooperative caching schemes. Performance analysis shows that the proposed model outperforms caching strategies found in literature. In addition, it shows a serious mitigation in delay and control overhead compared with the standard AODV.