Networking at any time and any place paves the way for a large number of possible applications in ad hoc networks, from disaster relief in remote areas to network extension. Thus, for the past decades, many works have been proposed trying to make ad hoc networks a reality. The importance of broadcasting in networking and the broadcast nature of the wireless medium have encouraged researchers to join their efforts on designing efficient dissemination algorithms for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs). The many different challenges that MANETs face, such as limited network resources, network partitions, or energy restrictions, gave rise to many different approaches to overcome one or more of those problems. Therefore, literature reveals a huge variety of techniques that have been proposed for efficient message dissemination. In this article, we make an in-depth review of the existing state-of-the-art techniques, as well as propose a new taxonomy that provides a global overview of the most relevant existing algorithms.

In this work, we focus on vehicular ad hoc networks, also called VANETs, which are communication networks that devices (in this case vehicles) use to exchange messages in a distributed fashion, i.e., using no preexisting infrastructure. We first assess the feasibility of relying on a tree-based topology management structure for mobile ad hoc networks and in particular for VANETs. Next, we enhance DAGRS, an existing decentralized model for enabling distributed tree management and build BODYF on it, an efficient broadcast algorithm. Several broadcasting algorithms of the state of the art are implemented in order to compare the performance of BODYF. The approach is validated by simulation through three realistic scenarios located in Luxembourg city: the city center for both pedestrian and vehicles, and a highway environment. The comparison is made in terms of the coverage achieved by the broadcasting process as well as the complexity of the messages. DAGRS/BODYF approach outperforms other existing protocols in terms of both the number of devices reached and the network use.

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Evolutionary algorithms are metaheuristic algorithms that provide quasioptimal solutions in a reasonable time. They have been applied to many optimization problems in a high number of scientific areas. In this survey paper, we focus on the application of evolutionary algorithms to solve optimization problems related to a type of complex network like mobile multihop ad hoc networks. Since its origin, mobile multihop ad hoc network has evolved causing new types of multihop networks to appear such as vehicular ad hoc networks and delay tolerant networks, leading to the solution of new issues and optimization problems. In this survey, we review the main work presented for each type of mobile multihop ad hoc network and we also present some innovative ideas and open challenges to guide further research in this topic.