A comprehensive overview of Vehicular Ad hoc Network evaluation alternatives

Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) is attracting a growing attention from both research and industry, due to the important range of applications raised by VANETs, from road safety to traffic control, up to travel and comfort entertainment. Because of their particular characteristics, VANETs require the definition of specific networking techniques whose performance and feasibility need to be evaluated via an appropriate realistic evaluation method. In this paper, we present a practical taxonomy of evaluation techniques, outlining the evaluation alternatives used in the literature. This classification follows a comparative approach, describing the pros and cons of each one. Our ultimate aim is to allow the selection of a suitable tool regarding the designer specific needs to perform the evaluation.