QUEUING MODEL

Queue

• A consecutive serve and linear arrangement of items.

• A line of people or things awaiting their turn to be attended to or to

proceed.

• eg.., printer, supermarkets, plates, downloads, vehicles etc…

Key Elements of Queueing Systems
The two important parts of queueing theory upon which the
whole concept are based:

• Customer: refers to anything that arrives at a facility and requires

service, e.g., people, machines, trucks, emails.
- denoted by the symbol lambda (λ).

• Server: refers to any resource that provides the requested service, e.g.,
repairpersons, atm machines, runways at airport.
- denoted by the symbol mu (μ).
Calling Population
The population of potential customers, may be assumed to be
finite or infinite. The key difference between ``finite'' and ``infinite''
population model is how the arrival rate is defined.

• Finite population model: if arrival rate depends on the number of

customers being served and waiting (Closed System).

• Infinite population model: if arrival rate is not affected by the number

of customers being served and waiting, e.g., systems with large
population of potential customers (Open System).
System Capacity
-a limit on the number of customers that may be in the waiting
line or system.

• Limited capacity, e.g., an automatic car wash only has room for 10 cars
to wait in line to enter the mechanism.

• Unlimited capacity, e.g., concert ticket sales with no limit on the

number of people allowed to wait to purchase tickets.
Arrival Processes – Infinite Population
• Random arrivals: inter-arrival times usually characterized by a
probability distribution. Most important model: Poisson arrival
process.

• Poisson (pwa:son) Distribution - expresses the probability of a given

number of events occurring in a fixed interval of time if these events
occur with a known constant rate.
• Scheduled arrivals: e.g., patients to a physician or scheduled airline
flight arrivals to an airport.

• At least one customer is assumed to always be present, so the server

is never idle because of the lack of the customers.
Arrival Processes – Finite Population
• A customer is pending when it is outside the queueing system and it is
a member of the potential calling population.

• Runtime of a given customer as the length of the time from departure

from the queueing system until the customer's next arrival to the
queue. Runtime essentially is the time when the customer is being
serviced.
Queue Behaviour
the actions of customers while in a queue waiting for service to
begin, for example:

• Balking: leave when they see that the line is too long,
• Reneging: leave after being in the line when it's moving too slowly,
• Jockeying: move from one line to a shorter line.
Two Major Categories of Queue

• FIFO – First In First Out or First Come First Serve (FCFS)

eg.., supermarket, jollibee, gasoline station, etc…

• LIFO – Last In First Out

eg.., truck – the last item placed on is removed first.
Models of Queue
• Single Queue, Single Server
Single Queue, Multiple Servers
Multiple Queue, Single Server
Multiple Queue, Multiple Servers
Formulas and Problem Solving
1. Average server utilization
ρ=λ/μ
2. Average number of customers waiting
Lq = λ^2 / μ(μ – λ) or ρ^2 / 1- ρ
3. Average number in system
Ls = ρ / 1- ρ or λ / μ-λ
4. Average waiting time
Wq = Lq = λ
λ μ(μ – λ)
5. Average time in the system
Ws = 1 / μ – λ or Ls / λ
6. Probability of 0 customers in system
P0 = 1 – λ/μ
7. Probability of exactly n customers in system
Pn = ρn P0
Measuring Queue Performance
• λ = the average arrival rate per time unit
• μ = average service time
• ρ = utilization factor (probability of all
• servers being busy)
• Lq = average number in the queue
• Ls = average number in the system
• Wq = average waiting time
• Ws = average time in the system
• P0 = probability of 0 customers in system
• Pn = probability of exactly n customers in system
Example: Single Server Queuing System
Customers arrive on average λ = 8/hr If P(10 in the system)
Average service time μ = 9/hr P10 = ρ^10(P0)
• ρ = 8/9 = 0.888 =(0.888)^10 (0.111)
= 0.0341 or 3.41%
• P0 = 1- 8/9 = 0.111
If P(no queue)
= P0 + P1
= 0.111 + (0.888)(0.111)
= 0.2098 or 21%
To find the expected number of costumers in the system and in the
queue,
• Ls = ρ/1- ρ = 0.888/(1-0.888) = 8
• Lq = ρ^2 / 1- ρ = (8/9)^2 / 1- 8/9 = 7.111

Waiting time in the system and in the queue,

• Ws = Ls / λ = 8/8 = 1hr
• Wq = Lq / λ = 7.111/8 = 0.888hr or 53 mins
THANQUEUE