Estimating the Required Resources in a Vehicular Ad Hoc Network Using Queueing Theory Models

In this paper, we evaluate the performance of a Vehicular Ad Hoc Network (VANET) exploiting the M/M/c and the M(N)/M/c queueing models in order to determine the number of the resources that are required to satisfy the Quality of Service (QoS). To evaluate the system’s performance we examine various quantities, such as the system’s waiting time, the throughput and the number of users being served. These performance metrics are important for a VANET as they directly affect the QoS. The queueing models are employed in the following cases: a) when a vehicle communicates directly with a gNodeB (vehicle-to-infrastructure communication) and b) when a vehicle communicates with other vehicles on the road (vehicle-to-vehicle communication) in order to transmit indirectly its request to the destination gNodeB. Based on our study, we show that when the minimum possible resources are exploited, the number of users being served may be highly reduced and consequently the system’s throughput can be decreased. Therefore, this condition should be adopted only when it is guaranteed that the system’s overall performance will not be dangerously affected.