Towards Intelligent Caching and Retrieval Mechanisms for Upcoming Proposals on Vehicular Delay-Tolerant Networks

Abstract

Vehicular delay-tolerant networks (VDTNs) are opportunistic networks that enable connectivity in challenged scenarios with unstable links where end-to-end communications may not exist. VDTN architecture handles non-real time applications using vehicles to relay messages between network nodes. To address the problem of intermittent connectivity, network nodes store messages on their buffers, carrying them through the network while waiting for transfer opportunities. The storage capacity of the nodes affects directly the network performance. Therefore, it is important to incorporate suitable network protocols using self-contained messages to improve communication that supports store-carry-and-forward operation procedures. Clearly, such procedures motivate content caching and retrieval. This paper surveys the state-of-the art on intelligent caching and retrieval mechanisms focusing on ad-hoc and delay tolerant networks (DTN). These approaches can offer important insights for upcoming proposals on intelligent caching and retrieval mechanisms for VDTNs