Vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET) is considered an integral part of the future intelligent transportation system (ITS) that has the potential in improving traffic efficiency, road safety and traveler's comfort. VANET is a subset of mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) and does not depend on any fixed infrastructure. The nodes are highly mobile and the network topology changes rapidly. It differs from MANET in terms of architecture, characteristic, application and challenge. In this paper, the latest research progress in VANET network architecture, communication protocols, modeling and simulation, information management and cloud computing is surveyed; the research methods are briefly discussed; and the directions for future research and development are also provided.

VANET  /  routing protocols  /  simulation tools  /  vehicular cloud computing