SDN-Enabled Cluster-based Evolving Graph Routing Scheme (SE-CEGRS)

Optimal routing in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs) presents significant challenges due to the dynamic nature of vehicular movements. Cluster-based routing schemes have emerged as promising strategies to manage the scalability and efficiency of routing in VANETs. However, they often face limitations in coverage due to their inherent reliance on distributive route discovery methods. This paper introduces the Software-Defined networking-enabled cluster-based Evolving Graph Routing Scheme (SE-CEGRS), designed to address these coverage challenges by integrating the flexibility and centralized control of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) with the established Cluster-based VANET-oriented Evolving Graph (CVoEG) framework. Unlike traditional CVoEG, which employs a distributive approach with Evolving Graph Dijkstra (EG-Dijkstra) for both intra- and inter-cluster communications, SE-CEGRS maintains this strategy for intra-cluster scenarios but shifts to a centralized model for inter-cluster communications. Our evaluation demonstrates that SE-CEGRS significantly outperforms conventional CVoEG in inter-cluster communication scenarios by offering reduced discovery times, lower communication overhead, and shorter average path lengths. The findings underscore SECEGRS’s potential to enhance the efficiency and scalability of routing in VANETs, pointing toward a new direction for future research and development in vehicular communication technologies.