Vertical handoff in vehicular heterogeneous networks using optimal stopping approach

Abstract

Currently, traditional Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) are evolving towards the vehicular heterogeneous networks. There is an urgent need for vehicular users to apply an efficient and intelligent interface for network switching to meet their QoS requirements. In this paper, we present an optimized algorithm for network interface switching problem in vehicular heterogeneous networks. The policy integrates with multiple metrics including monetary cost, available bandwidth, and data transfer delay. Besides, it is able to accurately predict the distribution of RoadSide Units (RSUs). The optimal stopping theory is leveraged to maximize the users' satisfaction degree over various user-specified preferences. The results of simulation show that the optimal-stopping-based policy significantly outperforms several existing policies.