A Simulation Study on the Variability Function of the Arrival Process in Queueing Networks

Abstract

In queueing network analysis, arrival processes are usually modeled as renewal processes by matching mean and variance. The renewal approximation simplifies the analysis and provides reasonably good estimate for the performance measures of the queueing systems under moderate conditions. However, high variability in arrival process or in service process requires more sophisticated approximation procedures for the variability parameter of departure/arrival processes. In this paper, we propose an heuristic approach to refine Whitt's variability function with the -interval squared coefficient of variation also known as the index of dispersion for intervals(IDI). Regression analysis is used to establish an empirical relationships between the IDI of arrival process and the IDI of departure process of a queueing system.