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Queuing

This technical report discusses queuing systems and their analysis. It defines queuing as occurring when demand exceeds available capacity, such as at bottlenecks. The key components of a queuing system are identified as the arrival rate of customers, the service rate, the number of servers, and the queue discipline (such as first-in first-out). Input parameters for analysis include the mean arrival and service rates, expressed as flows over time. Common queue disciplines are also outlined.

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Alexa Buquir
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136 views4 pages

Queuing

This technical report discusses queuing systems and their analysis. It defines queuing as occurring when demand exceeds available capacity, such as at bottlenecks. The key components of a queuing system are identified as the arrival rate of customers, the service rate, the number of servers, and the queue discipline (such as first-in first-out). Input parameters for analysis include the mean arrival and service rates, expressed as flows over time. Common queue disciplines are also outlined.

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Alexa Buquir
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Buquir, Sandra Alexa P.

April 1, 2019
CE-4204

TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 2


THE QUEUING SYSTEM

OUTLINE
I. Queuing
II. The Queuing System
A. Input Parameters

One of the major issues in the analysis of any traffic system is the analysis
of delay. It may be defined as the difference between the actual travel time
on a given segment and some ideal travel time of that segment. This raises the
question as to what is the ideal travel time. In practice, the ideal travel time
chosen will depend on the situation; in general, however, there are two
particular travel times that seem best suited as benchmarks for comparison
with the actual performance of the system. These are the travel time under
free flow conditions and travel time at capacity.

Most recent research has found that for highway systems, there is
comparatively little difference between these two speeds. That being the
case, the analysis of delay normally focuses on delay that results when
demand exceeds its capacity; such delay is known as queuing delay, and
may be studied by means of queuing theory. This theory involves the analysis
of what is known as a queuing system, which is composed of a server; a stream
of customers, who demand service; and a queue, or line of customers waiting
to be served.

I. Queuing

Queuing is the study of traffic behavior near a certain section where


demand exceeds available capacity. Queues can be seen in many common
situations: boarding a bus or train or plane, freeway bottlenecks, shopping
checkout, exiting a doorway and the like. In transportation engineering,
queueing can occur at red lights, stop signs, bottlenecks, or any design-based
or traffic-based flow constriction. When not dealt with properly, queues can
result in severe network congestion or "gridlock" conditions, therefore making
them something important to be studied and understood by engineers.
Figure 1. A queue developed due to the stop light

Queuing analysis provides ways of assessing the impacts of these


activities by knowing the magnitude of vehicular delay and the extent of
queue propagated.

II. THE QUEUING SYSTEM

Queue
Arrival Rate Service Rate
Discipline

Input Source Service Served Customers


Queue
(Customers) Facility (leaving)

Figure 2. Components of a basic queuing system

A. Input Parameters

The input source can be further elaborated by the following


parameters:

1. Mean arrival rate (λ)

Mean arrival rate is the rate at which customers arrive at a


service facility. It is expressed in flow (customers/hour or
vehicles/hour in transportation scenario) or time headway
(seconds/customer or seconds/vehicle in transportation
scenario). If inter arrival time that is time headway (h) is known,
the arrival rate can be found out from the equation:

2. Mean service rate (μ)

Mean service rate is the rate at which customers (vehicles


in transportation scenario) depart from a transportation facility. It
is expressed in flow (customers/hour or vehicles/hour in
transportation scenario) or time headway (seconds/customer or
seconds/vehicle in transportation scenario). If inter service time
that is time headway (h) is known, the service rate can be found
out from the equation:
3. The Number of Servers

The number of servers that are being utilized should be


specified and in the manner they work, that is they work as parallel
servers or series servers has to be specified.

4. Queue discipline

Queue discipline is a parameter that explains how the


customers arrive at a service facility. The various types of queue
disciplines are:

1. First in first out (FIFO)

If the customers are served in the order of their arrival,


then this is known as the first-come, first-served (FCFS) service
discipline. Prepaid taxi queue at airports where a taxi is
engaged on a first-come, first-served basis is an example of
this discipline.

Figure 3. A line at a bus stop which describes the FIFO


discipline

2. First in last out (FILO)

Sometimes, the customers are serviced in the reverse


order of their entry so that the ones who join the last are served
first. For example, assume that letters to be typed, or order
forms to be processed accumulate in a pile, each new
addition being put on the top of them. The typist or the clerk
might process these letters or orders by taking each new task
from the top of the pile. Thus, a just arriving task would be the
next to be serviced provided that no fresh task arrives before
it is picked up. Similarly, the people who join an elevator first
are the last ones to leave it.
3. Served in random order (SIRO)

Under this rule customers are selected for service at


random, irrespective of their arrivals in the service system. In
this every customer in the queue is equally likely to be
selected. The time of arrival of the customers is, therefore, of
no relevance in such a case.

4. Priority scheduling

Under this rule customers are grouped in priority classes


on the basis of some attributes such as service time or urgency
or according to some identifiable characteristic, and FIFO rule
is used within each class to provide service. Treatment of VIPs
in preference to other patients in a hospital is an example of
priority service.

5. Processor (or Time) Sharing

The server is switched between all the queues for a


predefined slice of time (quantum time) in a round-robin
manner. Each queue head is served for that specific time. It
doesn't matter if the service is complete for a customer or not.
If not, then it'll be served in its next turn. This is used to avoid the
server time killed by customer for the external activities (e.g.
Preparing for payment or filling half-filled form).

REFERENCES

Civil Engineering - Traffic Engineering & Management. (2012, June 25).


Retrieved from https://nptel.ac.in/courses/105101008/45

Sigua, R.C. (2008). Fundamentals of Traffic Engineering. The University of the


Philippines Press, Diliman, Quezon City.

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