Introduction

Queuing are the most frequently encountered problems in everyday life. For example, queue
at a cafeteria, library, bank, etc. Common to all of these cases are the arrivals of objects
requiring service and the attendant delays when the service mechanism is busy. Waiting lines
cannot be eliminated completely, but suitable techniques can be used to reduce the waiting
time of an object in the system. A long waiting line may result in loss of customers to an
organization. Waiting time can be reduced by providing additional service facilities, but it may
result in an increase in the idle time of the service mechanism.

Basic Te rminology

Queuing Mode l

It is a suitable model used to represent a service oriented prob lem, where customers arrive
randomly to receive some service, the service time being also a random variable.

Arrival

The statistical pattern of the arrival can be indicated through the probability distribution of the
number of the arrivals in an interval.

Service Time

The time taken by a server to complete service is known as service time.

Server

It is a mechanism through which service is offered.

Queue Discipline

It is the order in w hich the members of the queue are offered service. i.e, It is the rule
accordingly to which customers are selected for service when queue has been formed. The
most common disciplines are

1. First come First services(FCFS)

2. First in First Out(FIFO)
3. Last in First out(LIFO)
4. Selection for service in Random order(SIRO)

Poisson Process

It is a probabilistic phenomenon where the number of arrivals in an interval of length t follows

a Poisson distribution w ith parameter t, where is the rate of arrival.

Queue (Waiting lines)

A group of items waiting to receive service, including those re ceiving the service, is known as
queue.

Waiting t ime in queue (Wq)

Time spent by a customer in the queue before being served.

Waiting t ime in the system (WS)

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It is the total time spent by a customer in the system. It can be calculated as follows: Waiting
time in the system = Waiting time in queue + Service time

Queue length (Lq)

Number of persons in the system at any time

Average length of line

The number of customers in the queue per unit of time

Average idle t ime (p0 )

The average time for which the system remains idle

Bulk Arrivals

If more than one customer enters the system at an arrival event, it is known as bulk arrivals.
Note that bulk arrivals are not embodied in the models of the subsequent sections .

Queuing System

A queuing system can be completely described by

The input (or arrival Patten)

The service mechanism (or service pattern)
The queuing discipline
Customer’s behavior.

Gene ral form of Queuing Mode l

The general form of a queuing model as

(a / b/ c): (d / e)

1. a =Arrival Distribution
2. b =
3. c =
4. d =

Differe nt types of Queuing Mode l

1. (M/M/1): (∞/FIF O) system

2. (M/M/C): (∞/FIFO) system
3. (M/M/1): (∞/FIF O) system
4. (M/M/1): (∞/FIF O) system

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Operating characteristic of a Que uing System

Queuing length (Lq )

System length(LS )
Waiting time in queue (Wq)
Waiting time in system (WS ).

Traffic intensity/ Utilization Factor

It is the ratio of average arrival

Mean arrival rate

Where there are one server rate and average service rate
Mean service rate
Mean arrival rate
Where there are multi server rate and average service rate
Mean service rate C

Application of Queuing Mode l

1. Business situations (depart mental stores, cinema halls, petrol pumps, patients clinic,
airlines counters etc.)
2. Scheduling of jobs in production control.
3. Solution of inventory control.

The (M/M/1): (∞/F IFO) system

This is a queuing model in which the arrival is Marcovian and departure distribution is also
Marcovian, number of server is one and size of the queue is also Marcovian, no. of server is
one and size of the queue is infinite and service discipline is 1s t come 1s t serve (FCFS) and the
calling source is also finite .

Assumptions and Notations

1. n= number of customers in system

2. µ=mean service rate
3. =mean arrival rate
4. Pn(t)=probability of n customers in system at time t
5. Probability of one arrival in the system during ∆t = ∆t + O(h)
6. Probability of more than one arrival in the system during ∆t = O(h)
7. Probability of no arrival in the system during ∆t =1- ∆t + O(h)
8. Probability of one customer being service in time ∆t = µ ∆t + O(h)
9. Probability of more than one customer being service in time ∆t = O(h)
10. Probability of not a single customer being service in time ∆t =1- µ ∆t + O(h)

Let pn (t+∆t)be the probability of n customers in the system at the time t +∆t

For n>0

Event Number of Number of Number of Number of

customer at customer customer customer at
time t arrivals in dt departure in dt time t +dt

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 1 n 0 0 n
2 n+1 0 1 n
3 n-1 1 0 n
4 n 1 1 n

p n (t dt ) p n (t )(1 dt )(1 dt ) p n 1 (t )(1 dt )( dt ) p n 1 (t )( dt )

or, p n (t dt ) p n (t ) p n (t )( dt dt ) p n 1 (t )( dt ) p n 1 (t )( dt ) o(dt )

p n (t dt ) p n (t ) o(dt )
or, ( ) pn p n 1 (t ) p n 1 (t )
dt dt

Taking the limit dt→0, we get the following differential equation,

d
p n (t ) ( ) pn p n 1 (t ) p n 1 (t ) …………………….(1)
dt

For n=0

Event Number of Number of Number of Number of

customer at customer customer customer at
time t arrivals in dt departure in dt time t +dt
1 0 0 --- 0
2 1 0 1 0

p0 (t dt ) p0 (t )(1 dt ) p1 (t )( dt )(1 dt ) o(dt )

Or, p0 (t dt ) p0 (t ) p0 (t )( dt ) p1 (t )( dt ) o(dt )

p 0 (t dt ) p 0 (t ) o(dt )
Or, p0 p1 (t ) ……………………………….(2)
dt dt

Taking the limit dt→0, we get the following differential equation,

d
p0 (t ) p0 p1 (t ) , when n=0.
dt

For steady state conditions

d
p ' n (t ) p n (t ) 0
dt

Therefore, the above reduces to differential equations,

( ) pn pn 1 pn 1 0 , where n>0

p0 p1 0 , where n=0.

We have p1 p0 . Putting n=1, 2, 3,…n we get

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 2

p2 p0
3

p3 p0

……………………..

pn p0 , where n>0

p0 1 , Hence pn 1

Characteristics

n
1. Expected Length of Queue ( Lq ) (n 1) p n
i 1

n n
n pn pn
i 1 i 1

LS (1 p0 )

LS [1 (1 )] LS

n
2. Expected Length of System: ( LS ) n pn
i 1

n
n
n p0
i 1

n
n
n1
i 1

n
n 1
1 n
i 1

2
1 1 2 3 ......
1

Therefore, LS

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 LS 1
3. Waiting time in System: (WS )

4. Variance of Queue length: (Wq ) WS

( )

Working Formulae

1. Probability of zero units in the queue ( P0 ) 1

2

2. Average queue length ( Lq )

( )
3. Average number of units in the system ( LS )

4. Average waiting time of an arrival (Wq )

( )
1
5. Average waiting time of an arrival in the system (WS )

Example 1: A Television repairman finds that the time spent on his jobs has an exponential
distribution with mean 30 minuets. If he repairs the sets in the order in which they come in,
and if the arrivals of sets are approximately Poisson with an average rate of 10 per 8 hours
day which is the repairs man idle time each day ?Find the expected number of units in the
system and in the queue ?

Solution: it is a (M\M\1: (∞\FCFS) queuing system.

Where, = mean arrival rate =10/8 units per hour

µ=mean service rate =2mins per hour.

Therefore = /µ=10/8.2=5/8

5
1. Expected number of units in the system LS sets
1 3
2
2 5
2. Expected number of units in the queue ( Lq ) = ( Lq )
8 =
(1 ) (1 5 )
8
3. Probability of repairman being idle =probability of having no T.V sets in the system
5 3
( p0 ) 1 =1 =
8 8
3
4. Therefore repairman will remain idle for 8 3 hours per day.
8

Exercises
1. What do you understand by a queue? Give some important applications of queuing theory.

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2. A barber w ith a one- man shop takes exactly 30 minutes to complete one haircut. If
customers arrive according to a Poisson process at a rate of one every 40 minutes, how long
on the average must a customer wait for service?

3. a) Define a queue. What are the basic characteristics of a queuing system?

b) Prove that Lq LS of ( M / M / 1) : ( / FCFS ) queuing model. WBUT CH-08

c) Prove that Ls of ( M / M / 1) : ( / FCFS ) queuing model

4. For a ( M / M / 1) : ( / FCFS ) queuing model, derive the expressions for: WBUT

a) The steady state equation.
b) Expected number of customers in the system.
c) Expected number of customers in the queue.

5. A two channel waiting line with Poisson arrival has a mean arrival rate of 50 per hour and
exponential service with a mean service rate of 75 per hour for each channel. Find

(i) The probability of the empty system.

(ii) The probability that an arrival in the system will have to wait.

Pre pared by Dr. Dipa k Kumar Ja na

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