Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Computer Communications
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comcom

VANETomo: A congestion identification and control scheme in connected

vehicles using network tomography
Anirudh Paranjothi c , Mohammad S. Khan a ,∗,1 , Rizwan Patan b , Reza M. Parizi d ,1 ,
Mohammed Atiquzzaman c ,1
a
East Tennessee State University, USA
b
VRS Engineering College, Andhra Pradesh, India
c University of Oklahoma, USA
d Kennesaw State University, GA, USA

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: The Internet of Things (IoT) is a vision for an internetwork of intelligent, communicating objects, which is
VANET on the cusp of transforming human lives. Smart transportation is one of the critical application domains of
Connected vehicles IoT and has benefitted from using state-of-the-art technology to combat urban issues such as traffic congestion
Congestion control
while promoting communication between the vehicles, increasing driver safety, traffic efficiency and ultimately
Network tomography
paving the way for autonomous vehicles. Connected Vehicle (CV) technology, enabled by Dedicated Short
Graphlets
Range Communication (DSRC), has attracted significant attention from industry, academia, and government,
due to its potential for improving driver comfort and safety. These vehicular communications have stringent
transmission requirements. To assure the effectiveness and reliability of DRSC, efficient algorithms are needed
to ensure adequate quality of service in the event of network congestion. Previously proposed congestion
control methods that require high levels of cooperation among Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network (VANET) nodes.
This paper proposes a new approach, VANETomo, which uses statistical Network Tomography (NT) to infer
transmission delays on links between vehicles with no cooperation from connected nodes. Our proposed
method combines open and closed loops congestion control in a VANET environment. Simulation results show
VANETomo outperforming other congestion control strategies.

1. Introduction
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a vision for an internetwork of
intelligent, communicating objects such as home appliances, vehicles,
factory machines, wearable devices and various types of sensors. The
convergence of technologies like ubiquitous wireless communications,
machine learning, real-time analytics and embedded systems has made
novel IoT applications possible in a multitude of domains [1]. The sheer
volume and potential heterogeneity of IoT devices are, however, cre-
ating new challenges regarding control, communication, coordination,
and data management.
The IoV (Internet of Vehicles), also known as Connected Vehicles,
is a subfield of IoT that uses Dedicated Short Range Communication
(DSRC) technology to enable vehicles to wirelessly communicate with
the neighboring vehicles, infrastructure, and pedestrians. Researchers
are actively studying connected vehicle (CV) technology to improve
the quality of vehicular transportation, focusing on the needs that
include passenger safety (e.g. emergency brake light warning, forward
collision warning, control loss warning, weather-related vehicle stabi-
lization activation), passenger comfort (e.g. Internet browsing, info-
tainment, downloading, electronic toll collection) and vehicular energy
efficiency [2,3]. These applications use different forms of vehicle-
to-transportation-network communication, known collectively as V2X,
to either inform decisions taken by network or automate procedures
initiated by a network’s drivers. The networks themselves are some-
what amorphous groups of interacting vehicles and roadside devices,
collectively known as VANETs [4,5]. Network science will be at the
helm to address these challenging issues.
The Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) protocol is the
industry standard for communication in VANETs. The basic DSRC
protocol meets latency requirements for safety-critical Intelligent Trans-
portation Systems (ITS) applications [6]. It supports the use of several
preset channels to exchange information about a vehicular network’s
state. One of these, the control channel (CCH), is monitored by DSRC

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: anirudh.paranjothi@ou.edu (A. Paranjothi), adhoc.khan@gmail.com (M.S. Khan), prizwan5@gmail.com (R. Patan),
rparizi1@kennesaw.edu (R.M. Parizi), atiq@ou.edu (M. Atiquzzaman).
1
Senior Member, IEEE.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comcom.2020.01.017
Received 9 October 2019; Received in revised form 21 December 2019; Accepted 7 January 2020
Available online 10 January 2020
0140-3664/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A. Paranjothi, M.S. Khan, R. Patan et al.
devices at periodic intervals for road safety messages, including pe-
riodic updates and event-driven messages, and Basic Safety Messages
(BSM). BSMs are periodically broadcast by each vehicle to its neigh-
boring vehicles. They convey a vehicle’s status, including its speed,
position, direction, and acceleration. CV applications use BSMs to track
neighboring vehicles and respond to dangerous situations to prevent
possible accidents [7,8]. This combination of messages renders the
CCH susceptible to possible congestion, packet loss, and delay, due
to attempts to flood a VANET with critical, event-driven messages
concurrently with periodic broadcasts. This potential degradation of
the quality of service (QoS) risks the safety of the drivers as well as
the users of ITS applications [9].
VANETs create challenges for congestion control that are more
difficult than those presented by other types of mobile ad hoc networks
(MANETs). VANETs have two main components: vehicles equipped
with onboard units (OBUs) and roadside units (RSUs). Fig. 1 illustrates
a traffic network that is serviced by a VANET. The region in the VANET
consists of vehicles and RSUs. Each RSU is enclosed by a circle that
shows its transmission range. RSU transmission ranges are overlapped,
which allows every vehicle in the VANET to connect to at least one
RSU. When a vehicle enters the VANET, the VANET’s topology changes.
The loads on the VANET’s RSUs also change as vehicles request services
from them. High-speed movements of vehicles in the VANET produce
frequent changes in network topology and congestion.
In Fig. 1, overloaded RSU regions are enclosed by a red circle as
more number of vehicles requesting services at the same time resulting
in network congestion and unsuccessful communication for vehicles
try to establish a connection with an RSU after being overloaded. The
normally loaded and least loaded RSU are represented in green and
yellow circles respectively results in the least network congestion and
successful communication between vehicles and RSU.
This paper proposes VANETomo, a strategy for identifying con-
gested nodes and controlling congestion in VANETs. VANETomo is
designed to route data traffic through a VANET’s least congested relay
devices, or roadside units (RSUs), to allow vehicles to dynamically
select the least congested access points along their respective paths.
Our algorithm, unlike earlier algorithms, identifies congested nodes
using Network Tomography (NT), a technique proposed by Vardi [10]
for estimating end-to-end traffic intensity without the aid of data from
a network’s internal components. NT uses statistical inference to esti-
mate network performance from repeated measurements of traffic on a
network’s links. This approach quickly estimates delay in a network
without expecting any cooperation from internal nodes. Thus, the
overhead at RSUs is very low when compared to earlier approaches
discussed in Section 2 (Related Work). Communication delay on the
links in our approach is negligible because RSUs do not communicate
with each other to find the loads on the links between them.
In our approach, a Controller Module (CM) running in a vehicle’s
onboard unit (OBU) uses NT to infer the likelihood of delays on
a network’s links. Loads on links are then estimated by correlating
load with link delay. Nodes with heavy loads are identified as highly
congested nodes.
Once congested nodes are identified, we use a combination of open-
loop and closed-loop methods to reduce congestion. Our algorithm’s
open-loop component uses the CM to inform vehicles about network
congestion. Vehicles then use this information to select an optimal
RSU through which to send messages. The closed-loop component uses
the CM to inform RSUs about network congestion; Overloaded RSUs
then use this information to forward requests to other RSUs with less
load. This use of a Network Tomography-based hybrid strategy for
congestion control differentiates this work from most congestion control
strategies, which use one or the other rather than both [10–14].
Due to its use of statistical inference to quantify congestion, our
scheme accounts for all factors leading to delayed response or packet
loss at RSUs. These contributing factors may include but are not limited
to a buffer overflow, collision, and a lack of bandwidth or processing
power.
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Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289
We validated the proposed scheme by conducting extensive simu-
lations using urban and highway scenarios. VANETomo outperformed
when compared with MoTabu [11], PRBC [12], CABS [13], and
UoTabu [14] in terms of average delay, packet loss, packet loss ratio,
and average throughput.
To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to implement an
NT approach to study congestion identification and control in VANETs.
The paper’s key contributions can be summarized as follows:
• VANETomo statistically infers the network to identify the opti-
mum link available.
• Network congestion is inferred in the network by solving the
Network tomography problem.
• Once congestion is identified then network traffic can be routed
more efficiently to reduce congestion in a VANET.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 gives the
related work. Section 3 presents the proposed approach, and its inner
workings. Section 4 talks about the proposed VANETomo algorithm.
In Section 5, we present the performance evaluation and simulation
results followed by a conclusion in Section 6.
2. Related work
Networks implement congestion control to enable better use of
bandwidth and provide higher QoS. VANETs pose a particular problem
for congestion control, due to the need to fit a variable workload to an
inherently unstable network topology. Strategies for VANET congestion
control can be divided into those that address congestion after it occurs
and those that address congestion before it occurs. We now discuss
several congestion control schemes, broadly classified into the post and
pre congestion control.
2.1. Post congestion control
Trishita et al. [15] presented a congestion control mechanism for
VANETs that dynamically shares available bandwidth between each
node’s service and control channels. Each node (vehicle) is treated
as a combination of a message manager module (MMM), which man-
ages message transmission and reception; a congestion control module
(CCM), which schedules message delivery using a waiting queue; and a
bandwidth manager module (BWM), which does dynamic calculations
of bandwidth. Their approach incurs high rates of message loss when
multiple vehicles are near one another.
Dahiya et al. [16] described a strategy for load balancing that routes
messages based on queue length, diverting messages from nodes with
longer queues to nodes with lightly loaded queues. Routing overhead
of this scheme is high when compared to AODV.
2.2. Pre-congestion control
Pre-congestion control strategies can be divided into three cate-
gories, based on the type of routing protocol they use.
(1) Unicast/multicast routing : Unicast and multicast routing is often
implemented in VANETs, using variations of the AODV (Ad-hoc On-
Demand Distance Vector) protocol. Rani et al. [17] proposed a modified
AODV routing protocol that prioritizes routes whose nodes have shorter
queue lengths. Ding et al. [18] proposed a strategy for reducing the
AODV-related overhead that selects stable routes based on Route Ex-
piration Time (RET) and routes weight. Abedi et al. [19] improved
AODV’s stability and reduced overhead by restricting the number of
requests and routes. Li et al. [20] proposed an optimized version of
AODV that adds a packet header to RREQ packets.
Each of these four schemes has its particular limitations. Those
presented in [17,18] fail to account for router stability and complex
routing scenarios; they suffer from routing overhead. That in [19] has
A. Paranjothi, M.S. Khan, R. Patan et al.
Fig. 1. Illustration of a VANET environment.. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
a very high delay when compared to AODV. While delays in [20] are
less, so is the packet delivery ratio.
(2) Location-based routing : This involves load balancing based on
geographical location. Geographic and Traffic Load based Routing
(GLTR), proposed by Li et al. [21], is intended for urban environments.
GLTR assumes that each vehicle is equipped with GPS (Geographic
Positioning Systems) or navigation settings. It selects the best route
based on less traffic to avoid overloading nodes.
Geographic Load Balancing Routing in Hybrid VANET (GLRV), de-
veloped by Wu et al. [22], assumes an architecture that combines Wire-
less Mesh Networks (WMN) and Ad-hoc networks. QoS Location-Aided
Gateway Advertisement and Discovery, proposed by Aljeri et al. [23],
allows RSUs to connect to heterogeneous networks to relay data to
balance network loads. A final protocol by Van et al. [24] first selects
a gateway RSU based on efficiency, then routes data based on location.
Schemes in [21–24] have high overhead due to the re-routing of
packets.
(3) Priority-based protocols: Taherkhani and Pierre [25], proposed
two congestion control strategies to prioritize and schedule safety and
service messages. These strategies consist of a priority assignment unit,
which prioritizes messages based on static and dynamic factors and
message size, together with a message scheduling unit, which resched-
ules control and service channel queues before transferring messages to
channels. These priorities are embedded in packet headers.
Mitra et al. [26] devised a mobility model for studying the feasibility
of mobile gateways in VANETs. Their model assumes that vehicles
connected to wireless LANs and cellular radios act as gateways to do
load balancing.
Wu et al. [27] proposed a fast handoff technique to achieve load
balancing in a connected vehicle environment. The authors’ ‘‘Quality
Scan’’ scheme manages load balancing at access points while improv-
ing the network’s QoS. This Quality Scan mechanism, however, also
increases overall network. Schemes [25–27] either use a closed loop or
open loop congestion control approach, but not both.
In [11], Taherkhani and Pierre provided a dynamic and distributed
strategy for congestion control in VANETs. This strategy has com-
ponents for congestion detection and congestion control. Congestion
is detected by sensing channel usage level and comparing it with a
predefined threshold, set to 70% in wireless communication channels.
Congestion is controlled by implementing a Meta-Heuristic MOTabu
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Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289
algorithm that uses a closed-loop congestion control strategy. The algo-
rithm tunes transmission range, transmission rate and minimizes delay
and jitter by selecting the best option from a list of candidate solutions.
The scheme, however, also incurs excessive routing overhead.
Stanica et al. [28] present a CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Ac-
cess with Collision Avoidance) strategy for connecting communication
channels. This strategy was reformulated by the IEEE820.11p (WAVE)
standard and is now standard for congestion control in VANETs. This
approach, however, performs poorly under high loads.
In [29], Torrent-Morenoet al. propose the D-FPAV (Distributed-Fair
Power Adjustment for the Vehicular environment) approach for VANET
congestion control. D-FPAV avoids packet collision during safety mes-
sage exchange between vehicles. These safety messages consist of emer-
gency messages, which are broadcast only in certain situations, and
beacon messages, periodic broadcasts of information associated with
vehicles like speed, direction, and velocity. The authors refer to this
policy as their ‘‘concept of fairness’’. The policy allows users to make
informed decisions during dangerous situations. The strategy’s use
of reduced power transmissions for congestion control reduces the
transmission range of beacon messages, a significant drawback of this
approach.
In [12], Djahel and Y. Ghamri-Doudane proposed PBRC, a three-
stage strategy to reduce overutilization of bandwidth by beacons. Their
approach first assigns priorities to messages to transmit. This allows
PBRC to prioritize the delivery of emergency messages over normal
messages. It then uses congestion detection as a basis for adjusting
transmission power for beacon messages. The scheme, however, incurs
high transmission delays.
In [13], Bai, Oh, and Jung proposed CABS, an algorithm that like
TDMA provides beacon transmissions in a defined time interval. This
time interval is calculated based on channel load at a particular time
and knowledge about the context in which messages are transmitted.
CABS provides high reliability when compared to other approaches.
However, CABS does not account for the MAC layer implementation
to address the different time slots for different transmissions.
In [14], Taherkhani and Pierre proposed a heuristic UOTabu (Uni-
Objective Tabu search) strategy for congestion control. UOTabu adjusts
message transmission range and rate based on channel usage. These
adjustments are determined based on a delay function, which serves as
the algorithm’s objective function and whose value the algorithm seeks
A. Paranjothi, M.S. Khan, R. Patan et al.
to minimize. Dynamic change in a network’s topology can restrict the
effective calculation of delay.
In [30], Darus et al. proposed two algorithms. One, a measurement
based congestion detection and control algorithm, detects congestion
based on the length of the CCH’s packets queue. The algorithm discards
queued BSM messages when it determines that the CCH is congested.
The algorithm initiates congestion control, freezing all safety messages
except the event-driven safety messages if a number of safety messages
in the CCH’s queue exceeds a threshold value. The other algorithm is
an event-driven rebroadcast algorithm that uses forward and makeup
phases to avoid the loss of messages when the CCH is congested. In this
scheme, the authors assumed a congestion control threshold of 70% in
wireless communication channels. Channel usage levels exceeding 70%
will limit the scheme’s scalability.
In [31], Fadilah and Rahman describe a scheme for warning vehicles
of impending collisions. Their scheme is based on calculations involving
time gaps: the time that a car needs to avoid a potential collision with
a car in front of it. Time gaps are calculated from information obtained
from beacon messages.
Fadilah and Rahman propose the use of adaptive periodic beacon-
ing to convey time gap data. Fixed rate periodic beaconing schemes
impose a transmission-rate-based tradeoff between channel congestion
and non-optimal message dissemination. Adaptive schemes avoid these
problems by adjusting parameters like beacon frequency, window con-
tention size, and transmission power based on network topology. They
modify the beacon interval to reduce congestion in wireless links. The
transmission power is affected by beacon power; low beacon power
limits transmissions to a vehicle’s nearest neighbors, while higher
power increases the number of neighbors that receive a message.
Adaptive contention-window-size-based beaconing schemes [31]
adjust a contention window to reduce beacon collisions. Fadilah and
Rahman’s adaptive rate control algorithm varies the rate of periodic
safety message (PSM) generation based on vehicular safety. PSMs can
cause packet loss and increase the busy channel percentage due to the
short CCH interval. This creates safety risks for vehicles. Adaptive time
gap based congestion control schemes improve CCH utilization [31] by
keeping transmission power constant while varying the rate of packet
generation. A distance-based wait time method selects rebroadcast
nodes and retransmits messages to mitigate multipath fading in multi-
hop networks. The appropriate time gap settings improve performance
and compensate for in-vehicle distractions. Adaptive rate control algo-
rithms [31] have higher packet success rates at times of higher packet
density as compared to times of lower vehicle density. These algorithms
yield lower end-to-end delays than fixed rate transmission with variable
values of vehicle speed and density. Reducing the minimum time gap
can only improve the CCH busy percentage by compromising safety.
In [32], Bellache et al. propose a proactive CBF2C strategy to reduce
congestion control while providing transmission redundancy whenever
possible. The strategy uses the busy channel ratio to determine a
retransmission threshold and does timed retransmissions until a retry
threshold is reached. In [33], these authors propose a similar packet
forwarding algorithm (CBF2C) for distributed congestion control. The
algorithm monitors the channel load status. Based on this load it adapts
the message retransmission rate. Willis et al. [34] propose a distributed
congestion control scheme that prioritizes transmissions to nearer vehi-
cles over transmissions to more distant vehicles. Their scheme balances
adjustments to transmission power and transmission rate. A second dis-
tributed congestion control scheme by Math et al. [35] focuses more on
packet count that specific threshold values. Their PDR-DCC algorithm
reduces channel congestion by selecting the lowest permissible data
rate that ensures maximum coverage.
Chen et al. [36] propose a congestion control scheme based on
a non-cooperating bargaining game. The game divides vehicles into
clusters, each of which has a leader. The clusters’ leaders negotiate
with each for an optimal combination of transmission power and packet
generation rate for their members. Ideally, negotiations should yield an
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Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289
equilibrium state that maximizes each player’s utility without channel
congestion.
In [37], Qureshi et al. propose a dynamic congestion control scheme
(DCCS) for congestion detection and communication channel control.
Weighing factors are used for congestion detection. DCCS controls con-
gestion using either an adaptive congestion control scheme or message
origination-based queue freezing.
All the above congestion control approaches assume a high level of
cooperation from network elements to identify congested nodes. Such
assumptions are not realistic in an environment, where network topol-
ogy is changing very rapidly. Comparison of the existing congestion
control approaches with VANETomo is discussed in Appendix.
3. Proposed approach: VANETomo
In what follows, we present an algorithm for detecting and control-
ling VANET congestion. Our strategy for controlling congestion uses a
combination of anticipatory and reactive techniques to route messages
to nodes that are more likely to be lightly loaded. Our algorithm
for detecting congestion uses network tomography (NT) to reduce
its impact on network bandwidth. The algorithm provides dynamic
load balancing by inferring link delays of connected nodes statistically
without assuming any co-operation between them. The use of NT to
infer internal network characteristics was first proposed by Vardi [10].
Other related work includes Khan et al.’s stitching algorithm for mea-
suring performance in dynamic networks like MANETs [38,39]. Their
algorithm integrates the dynamic performances of a network’s links,
thereby enabling estimates of local and global network performance.
Also, Pan et al. [40] used NT in a study of multipath routing to examine
the relationship between sub-paths. Their simulations showed that high
degrees of accuracy could be obtained from flows of 200 packets per
probe.
This section is divided into four subsections: (a) Classification of
RSUs, (b) Identification of congested nodes, (c) Congestion control, and
(d) Congestion identification and control algorithm: VANETomo.
3.1. Classification of RSUs
VANET performance characteristics like load, delay and throughput
depend on the number of vehicles requesting services from its RSUs. For
instance, consider a region near a traffic signal where vehicle density
is high. An RSU in this region is likely to receive a large number of
requests from vehicles for Internet access or to relay messages to the
destination. As the number of requests at an RSU increase, congestion
at the RSU also increases. Eventually, the RSU becomes overloaded
with requests. Conversely, if an RSU is in a region with sparse vehicle
density, the number of requests at this RSU is likely to be low. The RSU
should remain idle for more extended periods of time, experiencing low
levels of congestion. Since congestion at an RSU leads to overload, the
load is treated as a means of classifying RSUs. Our scheme classifies
RSUs based on a number of vehicles they are servicing, a maximum
threshold limit of load on RSU (THMAX ), and a minimum threshold limit
of load on RSU (THMIN ) as given below.
(A) Least-loaded RSU : In regions with low vehicle density (i.e., rural
areas), service requests at an RSU are likely to be low, thus load on
RSU is slight. If the load on RSU is below THMIN , then the RSU is said
to be least-loaded.
(B) Normally loaded RSU : If an RSU’s load is between THMIN and
THMAX , the RSU is said to be normally loaded. If a considerable number
of vehicles enter the range of a normally loaded RSU and request
service at the same time, then the RSU may become overloaded. Con-
versely, if most vehicles in the range of a normally loaded RSU leave
and no other vehicles enter the range, the RSU becomes least-loaded.
(C) Over-loaded RSU : If high numbers of vehicles try to access an RSU at
the same time, thereby creating a load on the RSU that exceeds THMAX ,
the RSU is said to be overloaded.
A. Paranjothi, M.S. Khan, R. Patan et al. Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289

Fig. 2. Pictorial representation of classification of RSUs based on the number of vehicles.

Fig. 3. Classification of RSUs based on Threshold.

This three-way classification of RSUs is based on numbers of vehi-

cles and thresholds. Consider a roadmap with RSUs deployed on roads
as shown in Fig. 2. RSU3 , RSU5 , RSU8 , RSU9 , and RSU16 are under-
loaded as very few vehicles are trying to access them. RSU1 , RSU4 ,
RSU6 , RSU7 , RSU10 , RSU12 , RSU13 , and RSU15 are normally loaded as Fig. 4. 4-node graph.
a reasonable number of vehicles is trying to access them. RSU2 , RSU11 ,
and RSU14 are overloaded as many vehicles are trying to access them,
overloading them with requests. Link delays are inferred from overall end-to-end delays by us-
ing Eq. (1), which models the NT of VANET as an inverse matrix
3.2. Identification of congested nodes problem.

Our approach identifies congested nodes through an inverse NT Y = AX (1)

technique. Unlike other forward measurement approaches, NT does
not require significant cooperation from network elements to estimate
network characteristics (see Fig. 3). Congested nodes are identified in
two steps:
1. Estimating link delay between RSUs by using the NT technique
2. Estimating load on RSU through correlation between delay to load.
In particular, nodes with high loads are assumed to have high
congestion.
3.2.1. Estimating link delay between RSUs using NT
The NT technique is a promising alternative method to direct evalu-
ation of network performance. The technique infers a network’s internal
characteristics (e.g., link delay) from continuous measurements of ex-
ternal characteristics (e.g., end-to-end delay). Overall end-to-end delay
in a region at time period ‘‘t ’’ is estimated from the data of previous
delays in that particular region at time instances 𝑡1 , 𝑡2 , 𝑡3 , … , 𝑡𝑛 .
In the above equation, ‘‘Y’’ represents a vector of measurements ob-
served at various time periods (e.g. overall end-to-end delay from
source to destination nodes); ‘‘A’’ represents a path matrix, where value
1 represents that the particular path is chosen to forward information
and value 0 represents otherwise; and ‘‘X’’ represents the estimated time
independent performance vector (e.g., link delay). By varying Y vector
values, link delays can be estimated through the NT technique.
For instance, consider the four-node network at time period t as
represented in Fig. 4. The end-to-end delay 𝑦1 for path1 through node-1,
node-2, and node3 and 𝑦2 for path2 through node1 , node2 , and node4
are estimated from repeated measurements. Here, the path matrix A
for the network shown in Fig. 4 is given in Eq. (2). In this matrix A, an
entry’s value is 1 if its associated link was used to relay the message.
e1 e2 e3
[ ] [ ] ⎡𝑥1⎤
𝑦1 1 1 0 ⎢𝑥2⎥
= (2)
𝑦2 1 0 1 ⎢ ⎥
⎣𝑥3⎦

279
A. Paranjothi, M.S. Khan, R. Patan et al.
Let Y = (𝑦1 , 𝑦2 , 𝑦3 , … , 𝑦𝑛 .)′ be the n-dimensional vector of measure-
ments of end-to-end delays corresponding to X, where 𝑦𝑗,1≤𝑗≤𝑛 is the
end-to-end delay of the 𝑗th path. Let X = (𝑥1 , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 , … , 𝑥𝑚 )′ be the m-
dimensional vector that represents link delays, where 𝑥𝑖,1<i<m is the link
delay of the 𝑖th link. Through repeated measurements of vector Y, the
values in vector X – i.e., the link delays – are inferred.
Our approach expects no information from nodes (RSUs) about their
current loads. Instead, the delay is determined based on probability
distribution. Papers [38,39] present detailed mathematical modeling of
this technique in a dynamic network.
3.2.2. Estimating load on RSU through correlation between delay to load
Load and delay are highly correlated network performance param-
eters. In a network, the presence of high load implies a high delay
in forwarding packets and vice versa. Our approach focuses primarily
on two sources of delay: route discovery delay, which a node incurs
when it tries to communicate with neighboring nodes to identify the
best node to relay packets, and load transfer delay, which occurs
while packets are being transferred between the source and destination
nodes [41]. Communication delay is assumed to be negligible, as RSUs
do not use DSRC to communicate with each other.
Load transfer delay depends on the load on the network links. Due to
the correlation between load and delay, if load transfer delay is known,
the load can be measured by Eqs. (3) and (4), [41]:
([ ]−1 )
1 + exp 𝐿𝑖𝑗 (𝑡) ∗ 𝑑 ∗ 𝛽
𝜃𝑖𝑗 (𝑡) = 𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑛 − [ ]−1 (3)
1 − exp( 𝐿𝑖𝑗 (𝑡) ∗ 𝑑 ∗ 𝛽 )
where
𝜃𝑖𝑗 (𝑡) = average transfer delay;
𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑛 = minimum possible transfer delay;
d = constant;
𝛽 = parameter characterizing the transfer delay;
𝐿𝑖𝑗 (𝑡) = load on network
The load 𝐿𝑖𝑗 (𝑡) in network can be obtained from Eq. (3) as follows:
1 reconstructed.
𝐿𝑖𝑗 (𝑡) = [( ) ]
𝑑 −𝜃 (𝑡) −1
( 𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑗 )
d ∗ 𝛽 ∗ ln 𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑛 −𝜃𝑖𝑗 (𝑡) +1
RSUs are classified as least loaded, normally loaded or overloaded
based on the solutions to the above equation. Congested nodes are iden-
tified from this information. In our approach, all these computations are
carried out in the CM within the OBU mounted inside the vehicle.
4. Congestion control mechanism
Our approach uses two congestion control methods: a pre-
congestion control method, which is applied at least-loaded RSUs, and
post-congestion control methods, applied at overloaded RSU.
4.1. Definitions
This section presents definitions used in subsequent sections. These
definitions are integral to the proposed scheme.
(a) Active nodes:
The nodes in a network that actively participate in forwarding a
message from source to destination are referred to as active nodes with
respect to that message. In our example (as shown in Fig. 5), all nodes
other than node 10 and node 19 are regarded as active nodes.
(b) Active topology:
The topology formed with a set of active nodes is referred to as
a message’s active topology. The active topology formed for nodes in
Fig. 5 is shown in Fig. 6.
Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289
Fig. 5. RSUs represented as nodes.
(c) Passive nodes:
Nodes in the network that do not participate in forwarding a
message from source to destination are termed passive nodes relative to
that particular message. In our example, node10 and node19 are passive
nodes.
(d) Graphlets:
Graphlets are the small, isomorphic, connected and included sub-
graphs of a large network [42]. Our scheme uses graphlets to construct
representations of VANETs that yield approximate, fast characteriza-
tions of network performance. Comprehensive evaluations of network
performance in real time for large and dynamic networks like VANETs
are impractical. Thus, our algorithm divides a network into subgraphs
and evaluates the performance of each subgraph individually.
(e) Active Graphlets:
Due to the difficulty of estimating the end-to-end delay of large
networks, our approach extracts graphlets from networks dynamically,
based on the node at which a vehicle is located. Fig. 6 illustrates the
extraction of active graphlets from the active network topology. When
the active graphlets are combined, the original active topology can be
(4)
For instance, assume a vehicle in this network is at node2 at time
𝑡2 The CM extracts the active graphlet with node2 ’s neighbor nodes –
node 1, node 3, and node 9 – from the topology, then measures end-
to-end delays for the graphlet’s links through the NT technique. The
delays obtained for these links are correlated with the load on the links
and provided to the vehicle. The vehicle is then assumed to use these
load statistics to identify and connect to the least loaded RSU in this
graphlet. By repeating this process, the vehicle consistently chooses less
heavily loaded RSUs in its path from source to destination.
The nodes that the vehicle at RSU1 might traverse en route to the
destination are shown in Fig. 7. For example, assume that a vehicle
moves from node1 at time t1 to node2 at time t2. After node 2, the vehi-
cle can connect to node 3 or node 9. By using the techniques mentioned
above, the CM estimates the load on the links in this particular active
graphlet at time period t2 and provides this information to the vehicle,
which connects to the more lightly loaded node 9. Similar inferences
at successive points in time might then cause the vehicle to select node
11, node 12, node 17, node 22, node 23, node 24, and node 25.
4.2. Pre-congestion control method
Pre-congestion control seeks to limit congestion before an RSU is
overloaded. The method provides a list of least loaded RSUs to vehicles
in a VANET region, assuming that vehicles will connect to these RSUs
when they can. Using this information, the RSUs that are likely to
become overloaded can be prevented from entering into the overloaded
state.
For a better understanding of our approach, consider the vehicular
network scenario shown in Fig. 8. The scenario assumes a huge flux
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Fig. 6. Active topology.
of vehicles and 25 RSUs. It is assumed that vehicles in the network
communicate with RSUs to forward safety-related messages and request
services for comfort applications.
It is difficult to monitor and control a dynamic and huge network
like a VANET. Thus, the algorithm partitions the VANET’s geographical
area into smaller regions (defined by graphlets) and enables an OBU
with the limited computational power to monitor network character-
istics like delay, load, and efficiency in each region. The diameter of
the region (graphlet) can be varied using the MAX_HOP field in our
probe packets described in the earlier section. The CM maintains a
delay database of the current region and computes the associated delays
for the next region when it approaches the current region’s boundary
node. This information regarding previous delays is used to infer link
delays using the NT technique.
Fig. 7. Nodes to which vehicle connects.
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Assume that a vehicle’s source and destination points are in regions
serviced by RSU1 and RSU25 respectively. While moving from source
to destination, the vehicle tries to connect to an available RSU in its
range. When a vehicle can connect to two or more RSUs, it connects to
the RSU with least load.
4.3. Post-congestion control method
Post-congestion control seeks to reduce congestion at overloaded
RSUs. The method uses CMs to provide lists of less loaded RSUs to
overloaded RSUs, so that these RSUs can forward overload to these
less loaded RSUs. To reduce overhead on other RSUs, this list is only
provided to overload RSUs.
Among the available methods for load balancing, the best way
to manage overloaded RSUs is to forward excess requests to RSUs
with less load. In our approach, each RSU decides where to forward
overloaded requests. The CM correlates delay as calculated using NT
techniques with load, then passes load statistics to overloaded RSUs.
These overloaded RSUs then use this information to choose less loaded
RSUs and send them excess requests.
For instance, assume that the nodes 8 and 16 are overloaded and
nodes 17 and 24 are less loaded than other nodes. The information
regarding load at each RSU is given to nodes 8 and 16. As it is assumed
that the vehicle does not move backward, the nodes that are along
the route to the destination are chosen to forward these overloaded
requests. Assume that among the available nodes, nodes 17 and 24
have the least load in the direction of the destination. In this situation,
overloaded requests would be forwarded from node 8 to node 17
through node 13 and from node 16 to node 24, thereby reducing the
load on nodes 8 and 16 and the delay on these links (see Fig. 9).
5. VANETomo algorithm
VANETomo is developed to identify congested nodes and provide
information on such nodes to OBUs and RSUs for better congestion con-
trol. The formal presentation of the VANETomo is given in Algorithm
1.
A. Paranjothi, M.S. Khan, R. Patan et al.
Fig. 8. Roadmap.
The algorithm uses four inputs: a path matrix, a delay list (stored in
CMs, consisting of overall end-to-end delays for each of the network’s
graphlets), the minimum threshold limit (THMIN ), and the maximum
threshold limit (THMAX ). When a vehicle enters a region corresponding
to a graphlet, it scans the RSUs to find the region’s available RSUs.
Scan_Rsu() is used to do this scan; the result will be stored in variable
R. These available RSUs are used to extract the region’s topology, using
extract_topology(R). The result is stored in variable T for future use.
Once the topology is extracted, the delay list is accessed from the
centralized controller (Steps 5 through 8). This delay list contains
a list of historical delays calculated at earlier times. Each historical
delay is stored in a 𝑦𝑖 . (i.e., y1 , y2 , y3 , y4 , . . . , yn ). We use the NT
technique to infer the links’ delays; the call to NT(Y 𝑛 , A𝑛𝑚 ) does these
inferences. The path matrix Anm and the vector of path delays Yn are
passed as parameters to the NT function to infer Xm , where Xm =
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Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289
(x1 , x2 , x3 , … , xm ) is an m-dimensional vector of link delays. Inferred link
delays from network tomography are stored into 𝑋𝑚 .
Inferred link delays are then correlated to load, using
Correlation(x 𝑗 ). The result of each correlated load is stored in an Lj
variable. Nodes whose correlated loads are less than THMIN or exceed
THMAX are classified as least loaded and overloaded, respectively. Least
loaded, overloaded, and normally loaded nodes are stored in variables
Lleast , Lover, and Lnormal respectively for future use. Steps 13–26 perform
these operations.
Finally, least loaded and normally loaded RSUs are sent to the
vehicles for pre-congestion control and to overloaded nodes for post-
congestion control. A flow chart for Algorithm 1 is provided in Fig. 10.
6. Performance evaluation and results
VANETomo’s performance was evaluated using scenarios that simu-
lated highway (with eight lanes, four in each direction) and urban (with
four lanes, two in each direction) networks to reflect different levels of
congestion.
6.1. Experimental setup
The proposed scheme aims to find the best RSU to connect with,
based on estimating the level of congestion at each RSU from the round-
trip end-to-end delay of probe requests. Probe messages are forwarded
using the control channel (178). The 2016 release of the IEEE 1609.3
standard provides for optional fields in WSMP packet headers. These
fields can be used to relay probe messages for congestion detection.
In Fig. 4, node-1 represents a vehicle-mounted OBU that is con-
nected to an RSU (node-2). We assume this vehicle has subscribed to a
non-safety infotainment application. We further assume that the OBU is
communicating with the RSU using one of the service channels (SCH).
The IEEE 1609.4 standards’ alternating mode allows the OBU to use the
first 50 ms of every 100 ms timeslot for the control channel (CCH) and
the second 50 ms for the service channel (SCH). This allows the OBU to
simultaneously transmit and receive on both CCH and SCH every 0.1 s.
While the SCH is used for the infotainment application, the CCH acts as
the common channel for control and probe messages. To select the next
RSU node, the vehicle (node1 ) will send a probe packet to RSU (node2 )
with a relay request. The RSU will then relay the probe to node3 and
node4 through the control channel.
While the details of the implementation of relaying probe packets
are out of scope, it should be noted that probe packets will contain at
least the following fields in the WSMP header:
A. Paranjothi, M.S. Khan, R. Patan et al. Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289

Fig. 9. Nodes with overloaded requests.

Table 1
WSMP header fields and description.
Fields Description
SRC Current sender’s MAC address
DST Current destination’s MAC address
HOP Current Hop#
ORIG Original probe sender’s MAC address
TS Timestamp of sending a probe message
TR Trace of route
MH Maximum number of allowed hop (in integer)
R Relay request? (Yes/No)
SCH Service channel to connect with
TTL Maximum time-to-live
Resp True when it is a response to the probe

RSU, that RSU responds to the probe, specifying the service channel
(SCH) for the OBU to connect to. The RSU’s response to the probe
follows the same path in reverse with the help of traceroute (TR)
information updated in the probe header every hop. Once the OBU that
originated the probe receives the response from the RSU, the overall
end-to-end delay is used to infer link delays corresponding to the path
specified by TR.

6.2. Simulation scenarios

VANETomo’s performance was evaluated using network and mo-

bility simulators. VANETs were simulated with the NS2 (version NS
2.35) network simulator. We chose NS2 because complex scenarios
can be easily tested and it is widely used by researchers [43,44].
Fig. 10. Flow chart of VANETomo. Vehicular mobility was simulated using the SUMO (Simulation of Urban
Mobility) mobility simulator. SUMO is an open source traffic simula-
tor [45,46] that generates road topologies and patterns of vehicular
SRC DST HOP ORIG TS TR MH R SCH TTL Resp. movement [47]. NS2 and SUMO were connected using MOVE (MObility
model generator for VEhicular networks), which converted traffic pat-
The fields are described in Table 1. tern movements in SUMO to node movements in NS2 [48]. This com-
In this scenario, the maximum hop count is set to 2. While this bination of NS2, SUMO and MOVE created an environment analogous
maximum can be increased to 3 or 4 hops, we prefer to specify a small to a VANET, which we used to evaluate VANETomo. TwoRayGround
number of hops to assure the efficiency of routing. The current hop and Nakagami propagation models were used for traffic propagation
number (Hop) is updated during each relay and checked against the in highway and urban scenarios respectively. Poisson distribution was
maximum hop number (MH). If the maximum hop is reached at any used for data generation.

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Table 2
Parameters for simulation in the highway and urban scenarios.
Parameters Value
Road Length 2000 ma , 572 m × 672b m
Number of lanes 8 lanes (4 in each direction)a and 4 (2 in each direction)b
Number of vehicles 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200
Vehicles speed 55–75 mpha and 15–45 mphb
Bandwidth 10 MHz
MAC type IEEE 802.11p
Propagation model TwoRayGrounda , and Nakagamib
MAC buffer size 14 Frames
Contention window 15–1023
Simulation time 200 s
Simulation runs 30
a
Highway scenario.
b Urban scenario.
Fig. 11. Effect of change in number of vehicles on packet loss ratio in highway
scenario.

6.3. Simulation parameters & metrics

We considered the following six parameters for simulation in urban

and highway scenarios: (a) Road length, (b) Number of lanes, (c)
Number of vehicles, (d) Vehicle speed, (e) MAC type, and (f) Simulation
time. These parameters are presented in Table 2.
In VANETs, vehicles and network infrastructure communicate using
IEEE802.11 standards. We used the following three metrics to evaluate
our proposed algorithm’s performance:
Average delay: This metric specifies the amount of time required for a
packet to travel from source to destination.
Average throughput : In communication networks, average throughput is
the average rate of successful message transmission over communica-
tion channels.
Packet loss ratio: This is the ratio of packets lost to packets transmitted. Fig. 12. Effect of change in number of vehicles on average delay in highway scenario.

6.4. Simulation results

VANETomo was compared with peer approaches including,

MoTabu [11], PRBC [12], CABS [13], UoTabu [14] in terms of average
delay, packet loss, packet loss ratio and average throughput. The results
are divided into the highway and urban scenarios. Figs. 11–20 compare
various congestion control techniques in highway and urban scenarios.

6.4.1. Effect of changing number of vehicles

This subsection describes the effect of changing the number of ve-
hicles on various network performance metrics (e.g., average through-
put, average delay and packet loss ratio) for highway (Figs. 11–13)
and urban (Figs. 14–16) scenarios. In each evaluation, VANETomo
outperformed the remaining congestion control strategies.
6.4.1.1. Highway scenario. Figs. 11–13 show the results corresponding
to the highway scenario, where the level of congestion is low.
6.4.1.1.1. Packet loss ratio (highway) .
Fig. 11 shows packet loss ratio as a function of vehicle count. In
the 50-vehicle simulation, these ratios were 13% for PRBC, 8% for
CABS, 2% for UOTabu, and 1% each for MOTabu and VANETomo. In
the 200-vehicle simulation, the ratios increase to 27% for PRBC, 23%
for CABS, 12% for UOTabu, 4%, for MOTabu, and 3% for VANETomo.
MOTabu and VANETomo were clearly less sensitive than the other
four algorithms to increases in vehicular traffic, with VANETomo (2%
increase) slightly outperforming MOTabu (3% increase).
6.4.1.1.2. Average delay (highway) .
The second goal of congestion control is to reduce delay. Fig. 12
shows average transmission delay in milliseconds as a function of
vehicle count. In the 50-vehicle simulation, these delays are 12 ms for
PRBC, 8 ms for CABS, 4 ms each for UOTabu and MOTabu, and 3.8 ms
for VANETomo. In the 200-vehicle simulation, delays increase to 48 ms
for PRBC, 33 ms for CABS, 10 ms for UOTabu, 8 ms for MOTabu, and
7.5 ms for VANETomo. VANETomo’s relative insensitivity to vehicle
Fig. 13. Effect of change in number of vehicles on average throughput in highway
scenario.
counts is due to its use of NT in place of direct probes of network
elements to identify congested nodes. This imposes less overhead on
network elements than other strategies.
6.4.1.1.3. Average throughput (highway) .
Fig. 13 shows average throughput as a function of a number of
vehicles. For all strategies, throughput increases as the number of
vehicles increases. Throughputs for the 50 vehicles simulations are 4.5
Mbps for UOTabu and 4.6 Mbps each for MOTabu and VANETomo. (For
clarity, CABS and PBRC are omitted from the graph). In the 200 vehicle
simulation, throughputs increase to 35.5 Mbps for UOTabu, 38 Mbps
for MOTabu, and 38.8 Mbps for VANETomo. VANETomo’s increase in
average throughput of 34.2 Mbps is the largest of the strategies.
6.4.1.2. Urban scenario. In an urban scenario, the level of congestion is
high because the density of vehicles is high in small regions. Figs. 14–16
shows the results.

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A. Paranjothi, M.S. Khan, R. Patan et al.
Fig. 14. Effect of change in number of vehicles on packet loss ratio in urban scenario.
Fig. 15. Effect of change in number of vehicles on average delay in urban scenario.
6.4.1.2.1. Packet loss ratio (urban) .
Fig. 14 shows the effect of a change in the number of vehicles
on packet loss ratio in an urban scenario. Packet loss ratio increases
for all strategies with the increase in a number of vehicles. VANE-
Tomo has an almost constant packet loss ratio for all vehicle densities
from 50 to 200 vehicles. The packet loss ratio of congestion control
strategies for 50 vehicles is 0.13%, 0.08%, 0.03%, 0.02% and 0.018%
for PRBC, CABS, UOTabu, MOTabu and VANETomo respectively. For
200 vehicles, packet loss ratios increase to 0.29%, 0.21%, 0.14%,
0.027% and 0.024% for PRBC, CABS, UOTabu, MOTabu and VANE-
Tomo respectively. PRBC, CABS, and UOTabu, unlike MOTabu and
VANETomo, exhibit huge increases in packet loss. Fig. 12(b) shows that
the packet loss ratio for VANETomo is quite low when compared to
other strategies.
6.4.1.2.2. Average delay (urban) .
Fig. 15 shows that the variation in average delay when the number
of vehicles increases from 50 to 200 is 121 ms, 91 ms, 7 ms, 5 ms
and 3.4 ms respectively for PRBC, CABS, UOTabu, MOTabu, and VANE-
Tomo, respectively. Among all the strategies, VANETomo exhibits the
least delay. Also, UOTabu, MOTabu, and VANETomo incur less delay
than PRBC and CABS.
6.4.1.2.3. Average throughput (urban) .
Fig. 16 demonstrates that the average throughput increases for
different congestion control strategies as the number of vehicles in-
creases. When the number of vehicles increases from 50 to 200, the
increase in average throughput is 22 Mbps, 27 Mbps, 31 Mbps, 33 Mbps
and 35 Mbps for PRBC, CABS, UOTabu, MOTabu, and VANETomo,
respectively. VANETomo exhibits the highest average throughput in an
urban scenario at all vehicle densities.
6.4.2. Effect of changing simulation time
This subsection compares VANETomo’s performance to the other
congestion control schemes concerning changes in simulation time for
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Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289
Fig. 16. Effect of change in number of vehicles on average throughput in urban
scenario.
Fig. 17. Effect of change in simulation time on average delay in highway scenario.
the highway (Figs. 17 and 18) and urban (Figs. 19 and 20) scenarios.
Here the number of vehicles in the network is equal to 50.
6.4.2.1. Highway scenario.
Figs. 17 and 18 show the variation of average delay and throughput
concerning the simulation time.
6.4.2.1.1. Average delay (highway) .
Fig. 17 shows average packet delay, evaluated at 50, 100, 150,
and 200 s into the simulations. At 50 s, these delays are 1.19 s for
PBRC and CABS, 1.13 s for UOTabu, 1.04 s for MOTabu and 1s for
VANETomo. At 200 s, delays decreased to 0.46 s for PRBC and CABS,
0.35 s for UOTabu, 0.32 s for MOTabu and 0.26 s for VANETomo. All
five algorithms exhibit decreased delays as simulation time increase,
due to reduced delays in packet delivery. VANETomo exhibits the least
delay at all times.
6.4.2.1.2. Average throughput (highway) .
Fig. 18 shows average throughput, evaluated at 50, 100, 150, and
200 s of simulation time. For all strategies, average network throughput
increases gradually as simulation time increases, due to decreases in
congestion and packet loss. At 50 s, average throughputs is 0.17 Mbps
for the remaining five algorithms. At 200 s, throughputs increase to
1.53 Mbps for PRBC, 1.79 Mbps for CABS, 1.85 Mbps for UOTabu,
1.89 Mbps for MOTabu, and 1.95 Mbps for VANETomo. All strategies
exhibit linear increases in average throughput from the 50 s and
100 s, followed by near-constant throughput at later times. This linear
increase was due to controlling congestion and reducing the number of
packet loss, which increases the number of packets delivered over the
simulation time period. VANETomo’s average throughput is the highest
of all five.
6.4.2.2. Urban scenario.
Figs. 19 and 20 represent the effect of variation in simulation time
on average delay and throughput respectively. The congestion control
strategies are evaluated at the 50 s, 100 s, 150 s, 200 s simulation times.
A. Paranjothi, M.S. Khan, R. Patan et al.
Fig. 18. Effect of change in simulation time on average throughput in highway
scenario.
Fig. 19. Effect of change in simulation time on average delay in urban scenario.
Fig. 20. Effect of change in simulation time on average throughput in urban scenario.
6.4.2.2.1. Average delay (urban) .
In Fig. 19, the average delay is reduced with increases in simulation
time for all congestion control strategies. VANETomo clearly exhibits
less delay than all other strategies at most simulation times. For all
strategies, the average delay is reduced more for simulation times
between 50 and 100 s. After 100 s, the decrease in average delay is
minimal.
6.4.2.2.2. Average throughput (urban) .
Fig. 20 shows increases in average throughput with an increase in
simulation time. There is huge increase in average throughput when
the simulation time is increased from the 50 s to 100 s. After 100 s,
the average throughput is almost constant. The variation in average
throughput when simulation time is increased from the 50 s to 200 s
is 1.24 Mbps, 1.38 Mbps, 1.53 Mbps, 1.59 bps and 1.62 Mbps for
PRBC, CABS, UOTabu, MOTabu, and VANETomo respectively. VANE-
Tomo exhibits more improvement in average throughput than other
strategies. Moreover, the average throughput of VANETomo is high at
all simulation times.
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Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289
Based on our simulation study for VANETomo, the average channel
load experienced per RSU within a network including 25 RSUs varies
from 0.2 Mbps (for 50 vehicles) to 1.6 Mbps (for 200 vehicles).
7. Conclusions and future work
VANETomo’s primary objective is to help route data traffic through
a VANET’s least congested nodes (RSUs). From this perspective, VANE-
Tomo is a congestion-aware load-balancing routing algorithm that uses
statistical inference to analyze congestion. The routing of vehicular
traffic was beyond the scope of this work. However, an extension
of VANETomo could in theory support data-driven navigation by au-
tonomous vehicles. These vehicles would follow routes that maximize
network connectivity and bandwidth resources over the entire travel
time.
As supported by the simulation results, the proposed algorithm
correlates delays on a network’s links as inferred from inverse net-
work tomography (NT) with loads on a network’s nodes. It reduces
congestion and improves communication performance by proactively
routing vehicles to less loaded nodes and routing messages away from
points of congestion. To enable the use of probe messages to assess
congestion in real time without recourse to direct queries of node
loading, VANETomo splits networks into active graphlets: a strategy
that accounts for the algorithm’s demonstrable scalability. Thus, the
idea is to infer the level of congestion through these probe packets
where the network diameter of the graphlets at each iteration could
be dynamically changed based on the density of RSU deployment. This
will minimize unnecessary handover from one RSU to another eliminate
ping-pong effects.
In our current implementation, we have kept graphlet diameters
constant. Our future implementation will investigate the benefits of
dynamic resizing of graphlets based on the market penetration rates
of DSRC technology. These rates will determine the density of RSU
deployment in urban areas.
Simulations of limited-access and urban highways involving be-
tween 50 and 200 active vehicles compared VANETomo against four
published algorithms for congestion control: PRBC, CABS, UOTabu and
MOTabu. VANETomo outperformed these four other algorithms at all
vehicle densities and simulation times, according to comparisons of
average delay, average channel load and throughput, and packet loss
ratio. These findings suggest VANETomo’s potential value as a tool for
identifying and controlling congestion in VANET environments.
Declaration of competing interest
No author associated with this paper has disclosed any potential or
pertinent conflicts which may be perceived to have impending conflict
with this work. For full disclosure statements refer to https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.comcom.2020.01.017.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Anirudh Paranjothi: Formal analysis. Mohammad S. Khan: Con-
ceptualization, Methodology, Writing - original draft, Formal analysis,
Supervision. Rizwan Patan: Visualization. Reza M. Parizi: Writing
- review & editing. Mohammed Atiquzzaman: Writing - review &
editing.
Appendix
See Table A.1.
A. Paranjothi, M.S. Khan, R. Patan et al. Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289

Table A.1
Comprehensive comparision of existing methodolgies.
Approach Year Objective Pros Cons
Trishita et al. [15] 2012 The authors used post congestion control Dynamic channel This approach suffers from high packet loss when
mechanism for the VANET environment. A allocation and number of vehicles increases in the urban
congestion control module dynamically allocates message delivery. environment.
messages in the channel and schedule a message
delivery based upon queuing techniques.
Dahiya et al. [16] 2012 The proposed approach performs congestion Dynamic routing The end-to-end delay of this approach is high.
control through load balancing. The algorithm messages and high High packet loss when the queues are heavily
dynamically performs load balancing by routing throughput. loaded.
the packets from heavily loaded queues to lightly
loaded queues.
Rani et al. [17] 2007 The authors modified the AODV routing protocol Priority based This approach is not suitable for complex routing
for congestion control. This approach performs routing and less scenarios due to high routing overhead.
multicast routing for routing the messages to the end-to-end delay.
least congested nodes and prioritize nodes with
shorter queue lengths.
Abedi et al. [19] 2009 Unlike [17], the proposed approach reduces Less routing This approach is not suitable for high vehicle
routing overhead by limiting number of requests overhead and high dense regions like downtown environment due to
in a time interval (t ). packet delivery large number of requests in a time period (t ).
ratio.
Li et al. [21] 2010 The proposed approach performs location-based Less packet loss High end-to-end delay and routing overhead. Not
routing to reduce congestion. The authors proposed ratio. suitable for highway environment.
an algorithm called Geographic and Traffic Load
based Routing (GLTR). In GTLR, each vehicle is
equipped with GPS to selects the best route based
on less traffic to avoid overloading nodes.
Wu et al. [22] 2011 The hybrid location-based routing protocol is used Less end-to-end High routing overhead, requires more bandwidth,
for congestion control. The hybrid protocol delay and packet not suitable for urban environment.
combines two commonly used paradigms: wireless loss.
mesh networks and ad hoc-networks to reduce
end-to-end delay and packet loss.
Aljeri et al. [23] 2013 The proposed work performs location-based routing Dynamic routing High routing overhead and end-to-end delay. Not
with the help of RSUs. RSUs contain information messages and high suitable for high dense vehicular regions like
of least and heavily loaded nodes. Thus, it helps in throughput. downtown environment.
routing the messages to the least congested nodes.
Taherkhani et al. 2016 This approach uses priority-based congestion Priority based Requires more bandwidth and high collision of
[25] control strategies to reduce congestion. The routing and high packets.
proposed technique consists of a priority throughput.
assignment unit, which prioritizes messages based
on factors like message size, type, etc.
Mitra et al. [26] 2004 The authors presented the load balancing Dynamic routing This approach is not suitable for complex routing
technique to reduce congestion in the VANET messages and high scenarios due to high routing overhead.
environment. The proposed technique assumes that throughput.
vehicles connected to wireless LANs and cellular
radios act as gateways to do load balancing.
Stancia et al. [28] 2012 The authors illustrated CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Less packet loss and This approach is not suitable for complex routing
Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance) strategy high throughput scenarios due to high routing overhead.
for connecting communication channels and
congestion control. Moreover, this approach
retransmits the dropped packets to increase the
packet delivery ratio.
Torrent-Moreno 2006 The authors proposed the D-FPAV (Distributed-Fair Suitable for high High communication overhead and delay.
et al. [29] Power Adjustment for the Vehicular environment) dense vehicular
approach for VANET congestion control. D-FPAV environment and
avoids packet collision during safety message less packet loss
exchange between vehicles. These safety messages ratio.
consist of emergency messages, which are
broadcast only in certain situations, and beacon
messages, periodic broadcasts of information
associated with vehicles like speed, direction, and
velocity.
Darus et al. [30] 2011 The authors proposed a pre-congestion control Less packet loss Requires more bandwidth when the number of
scheme to reduce congestion. The proposed ratio and end-to-end vehicles increases in the system and high jitter.
algorithm discards queued messages when it delay
determines that the CCH is congested and initiates
congestion control, freezing all safety messages
except the event-driven safety messages if a
number of safety messages in the CCH’s queue
exceeds a threshold value. In addition, the
algorithm retransmits the dropped packets to
increase the packet delivery ratio.

(continued on next page)

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Table A.1 (continued).

Approach Year Objective Pros Cons
Fadilah et al. [31] 2015 The proposed technique uses adaptive periodic Suitable for high High end-to-end delay and routing overhead. Not
beaconing to convey time gap data. Fixed-rate dense vehicular suitable for highway environment.
periodic beaconing schemes impose a environment and
transmission-rate-based tradeoff between channel less packet loss
congestion and non-optimal message ratio.
dissemination. Adaptive schemes avoid these
problems by adjusting parameters like beacon
frequency, window contention size, and
transmission power based on network topology.
Bellache et al. [32] 2017 The authors proposed a proactive strategy to Less packet loss High end-to-end delay, routing overhead, and
reduce congestion while providing transmission ratio and high requires more bandwidth for transmission of
redundancy to the channel. This strategy uses the throughput. messages.
busy channel ratio to determine a retransmission
threshold and does timed retransmissions until a
retry threshold is reached.
Chen et al. [36] 2017 The authors used clustering technique to reduce Dynamic routing High end-to-end delay and packet loss for complex
congestion in the VANET environment. The messages and high routing scenarios.
algorithm combines group of vehicles and creates throughput.
a cluster. Every cluster has cluster leader
responsible for coordinating all the members in
the cluster. The cluster leaders negotiate with each
for an optimal combination of transmission power
and packet generation rate for their members.
Ideally, negotiations should yield an equilibrium
state that maximizes each node utility without
channel congestion.
Proposed work VANETomo proposes a new approach, which uses Less end-to-end We have kept graphlet diameters constant.
(VANETomo) statistical Network Tomography (NT) to infer delay, high However, our future implementation will
transmission delays on links between vehicles with throughput, less investigate the benefits of dynamic resizing of
no cooperation from connected nodes. packet loss ratio, graphlets based on the market penetration rates of
VANETomo’s primary objective is to help route and performs better DSRC technology.
data traffic through a VANET’s least congested at all simulation
nodes (RSUs). From this perspective, VANETomo is times compared to
a congestion-aware load-balancing routing existing congestion
algorithm that uses statistical inference to analyze control techniques.
congestion.

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Computer Communications 151 (2020) 275–289
Anirudh Paranjothi received the B.E. degree in computer
science from Anna University, Chennai, India in 2014 and
his M.Sc. in computer science from Texas A&M University,
Kingsville in 2016. He is currently a Ph.D. student at the
University of Oklahoma. His research is Vehicular Ad-hoc
Networks (VANET), social networks, Computer networks,
Mobile cloud computing and Software engineering.
Mohammad S. Khan (SM’ 19) is currently an Assistant
Professor of Computing at East Tennessee State University
and the director of Network Science and Analysis Lab
(NSAL). He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Computer
Science and Computer Engineering from the University of
Louisville, Kentucky, USA, in 2011 and 2013, respectively.
His primary area of research is in ad-hoc networks, net-
work tomography, connected vehicles, and vehicular social
networks. He currently serves as an associate editor of IEEE
Access, IET ITS, IET WSS and Springer Telecommunication
Systems. He has been on technical program committees of
various international conferences and technical reviewer of
various international journals in his field. He is a member
of IEEE.
Rizwan Patan, is an Assistant Professor in the Depart-
ment of Computer Science and Engineering, Velagapudi
Ramakrishna Siddhartha Engineering College, Vijayawada,
India since 2019. Former Assistant Professor at school of
computing science and engineering, Galgotias University,
NCR Delhi, Indian from 2017–19. Dr. Rizwan is completed
his Ph.D. (Computer Science and Engineering) in 2017 at
school of computer science and engineering, VIT Univer-
sity, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, Indian and B. Tech and M.
Tech completed respectively 2012 and 2014 on Jawahar-
lal Nehru Technological University Anantapur, India. Dr.
Rizwan has published reputed 20 SCI journals and 10
free Scopus indexed journals, and also presented paper in
National/International Conferences, published book chapters
in CRC Press, IGI global, Elsevier, and Edited as books.
Dr. Rizwan has ten Indian patents one USA patent. Dr.
Rizwan is a guest editor for International Journal of Grid
and Utility Computing (Inderscience), Recent Patents on
Computer Science, Information Medical Unlock (Elsevier).
Neural Computing and Applications (Springer). Dr. Rizwan
received award from world research council and American
medical Council in the title of innovative researcher on Big
Data and IoT for year 2019.
Reza M. Parizi (SM’ 19) is the director of Decentralized
Science Lab (dSL) in the College of Computing and Software
Engineering at Kennesaw State University, GA, USA. He has
served for more than a decade in a variety of industrial and
academic positions with leading players in cybersecurity and
software development (e.g., Oracle). Prior to joining KSU,
he was an Assistant Professor at New York Institute of Tech-
nology (NYIT). He received a Ph.D. in Software Engineering
in 2012 and M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees in Computer Science
respectively in 2008 and 2005. His research interests are
R&D in decentralized computing and blockchain, IoT, AI-
powered malware and threat detection, and emerging issues
in the practice of secure software-run world applications. He
is a senior IEEE member, and a member of IEEE Blockchain
Community, and ACM
Mohammed Atiquzzaman obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. in
Electrical Engineering and Electronics from the University
of Manchester, Manchester, (UK). He is currently an Edith
Kinney Gaylord Presidential Professor in the School of
Computer Science at the University of Oklahoma, Norman,
OK, USA. His research interests are in communications
switching, transport protocols, wireless and mobile net-
works, ad hoc networks, satellite networks, Quality of
Service, and optical communications. Dr. Atiquzzaman is
the editor-in-chief of Journal of Networks and Computer
Applications, founding Editor-in-Chief of Vehicular Commu-
nications and has served or currently serves on the Editorial
Board of various IEEE journals and co-chaired numerous
IEEE inter-national conferences, including the IEEE Global
Communications Conference.