Analysis of an infinite multi-server queue with an optional service

Abstract

This paper deals with an infinite-capacity multi-server queueing system with a second optional service (SOS) channel. The inter-arrival times of arriving customers, the service times of the first essential service (FES) and the SOS channel are all exponentially distributed. A customer may leave the system after the FES channel with a probability (1 - theta), or the completion of the FES may immediately require a SOS with a probability theta (0 <= theta <= 1). The formulae for computing the rate matrix and stationary probabilities are derived by means of a matrix analytical approach. A cost model is developed to simultaneously determine the optimal values of the number of servers and the two service rates at the minimal total expected cost per unit time. Quasi-Newton method and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method are employed to deal with the optimization problem. Under optimal operating conditions, numerical results are provided from which several system performance measures are calculated based on the assumed numerical values of the system parameters. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.