Performance Analysis of Communication Networks (125114)

Year 2003/4, Term 1, August 28, 2003

B.R. Haverkort, L. Cloth
First set of homework problems (presentation: September 11, 2003, Room L204, 1+2)

1.1 Littles Law

For the following figure these rules hold:
Each terminal is processing at
most one job at a time. N CPU
Terminals
The average think time is 1/.
response time
The average processing time at
the CPU is 1/.
Give a lower bound for the average response time.

1.2 SMTP Server

A company has 1500 employees, each owning a personal computer. During work time each em-
ployee writes on average one e-mail per hour to a recipient outside the company. All e-mails are
handled by a single SMTP server. It checks the buffered e-mails for the recipients address (
0.02 sec), establishes a connection to the appropriate remote SMTP server ( 0.2 sec) and finally
transmits the message ( 2 sec).

1. Modelling the SMTP server as a queueing model, what is the arrival rate ?
2. Determine the average service time E[S] of the SMTP server.
3. What is the utilisation of the SMTP server?
4. What happens if the company increases its number of employees to 2000?

1.3 Expected Response Time of the M|M|1 Queue

How large can the utilisation in an M|M|1 queue be so that the expected response time is at most
n times the expected service time?

1.4 Waiting Time of the M|M|1 Queue

What is the maximum rate for calls coming to a telephone switch so that the expected waiting
time is at most three minutes (given that the average call lasts three minutes).

1.5 Time-sharing computer systems

Consider a time-sharing computer system that supports K users sitting behind their terminals
issuing commands. The time it takes a single user to interpret an answer from the central computer
before a new comand is issued is called the think time and takes, on average, E[Z] seconds. The
computer system can process a command in, on average, E[S] seconds. Now assume that there
are on average k commands (jobs) being worked upon by the central computer, hence, there are
K k jobs being processed by the users; the effective rate at which these users generate new
requests for the central computer then equals (K k)/E[Z].
1. Express the expected central computer response time E[R] in terms of K, k and E[Z] using
Littles law applied to the central computer.

1
 2. Let p0 equal the probability that the central computer is empty (all jobs are being worked
upon by the users). The throughput of the central computer can then be expressed as
(1 p0 )/E[S]. This can be understood as follows. If there would be an infinite supply of
jobs, the computer would on average process one every E[S] units of time, yielding a rate
of completion of 1/E[S]. However, with probability 1 p 0 there is no job for the computer
to work upon, hence its rate of completion is effectively decreased with that factor. Using
Littles law for the terminals, express the expected number of customers in the terminals,
i.e., K k, as a function of p 0 , E[S] and E[Z].
3. Show that the combination of the expressions derived in (a) and (b) yields:

KE[S]
E[R] = E[Z].
1 p0

4. Based on the possible values that p 0 can assume, derive the following lower bound for E[R]
thereby taking into account the fact that E[R] cannot be smaller than E[S]:

E[R] max{KE[S] E[Z], E[S]}

1.6 Robbery Analysis

Alarmed by the increasing number of bank robberies and concerned about their effect on bank
customers, the Banking Upper Management Society (BUMS) adopts the following policies at each
bank:
A tellers window is reserved for the exclusive use of bank robbers.
In order to conserve space, bank robberies may be committed only by a lone bandit.
If two or more robberies occur simultaneously, the robbers are served on a first-come, first-
served basis.
You are engaged as a consultant by the Bank Robbers Federation (BARF). Your job is to determine
if the proposed arrangement with the BUMS is adequate. The data you are given is:
Robbers arrive at random between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.; the average arrival
rate is five robbers per hour.
Teller service time is exponential with an average value of two minutes (for the robbers
teller). (Special robber withdrawal forms expedite service.)
The M|M|1 model seems to apply.
Determine
1. the average time a robber must queue for service.
2. the average time required for a robbery.
3. the probability the robbers teller is busy.