IPv6 address autoconfiguration in geonetworking-enabled VANETs: characterization and evaluation of the ETSI solution

In this article we make a thorough characterization and evaluation of the solution standardized by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute for IPv6 transmission of packets over geographical location aware vehicular networks. In particular, we focus on IPv6 address auto-configuration, one of the required pieces to enable Internet connectivity from vehicles. Communications in vehicular networks are strongly dependent on the availability of multi-hop connectivity to the fixed infrastructure, so also we analyze the probability of achieving this connectivity under different circumstances, and we use the results to identify interesting target scenarios for address autoconfiguration mechanisms. Keeping those scenarios in mind, we perform a characterization and deep evaluation– analytically and by means of simulations–of the standardized IPv6 address au-toconfiguration solution; proposing some configuration guidelines and highlighting the scenarios where complementary enhancements might be needed.