Pricing and setup/closedown policies in unobservable queues with strategic customers

In this paper we study unobservable Markovian queueing systems with three types of setup/closedown policies: interruptible, skippable and insusceptible setup/closedown policies, respectively. For a system with the interruptible setup/closedown policy, service starts as soon as a customer arrives during a closedown time; However, for a system with the skippable setup/closedown policy, customers arriving in a closedown time (if any) can be served only after the closedown time finishes and the following setup time can be skipped; Then for a system with the insusceptible setup/closedown policy, customers arriving in a closedown time can??t be served until the following setup time finishes. We assume that customers need a price for service, and derive the equilibrium and socially optimal balking strategies for customers as well as the maximal social welfare. Then we make pricing control to motivate customers to adopt the optimal strategies and obtain an appropriate price that also maximizes server??s profit. Moreover, we numerically make some comparisons between the various performance measures.     

An optimal age maintenance for an M/G/1 queueing system

This paper discusses an optimal age maintenance scheme for a queueing system. Customers arrive at the system according to a Poisson process. They form a single queue and are served by a server with general service distribution. The system fails after a random time and corrective maintenance is performed at the failure. A preventive maintenance is also performed if the system is empty at age T where ‘age’ refers to the elapsed time since the previous maintenance was completed. If the system is not empty at age T, the system is used until it fails. At the failure, the customers in the system are lost and the arriving customers during the maintenance are also lost. By renewal theory, we study the optimal value of T which minimizes the average number of lost customers over an infinite time horizon.     

Analysis of ticket queues with reneging customers

In this paper we analyse queues in which customer waiting positions are represented by ticket numbers. The customers at any time can observe the number being served and may leave the queue without obtaining the service (reneging). Assuming the customers’ tendency to renege depends dynamically on the difference between their ticket number and the number being served, we develop an approximation procedure in order to calculate the percentage of reneging customers. We give a detailed exposition of the analysis for the case of single-server system and provide a highlight of extension to multi-server systems. As an application of the approximating procedure, we also illustrate numerically that, under a hypothetical reneging behaviour, offering customers extra information on the actual queue length can reduce the customer reneging percentage by as much as 65%.     

Waiting-Time Asymptotics for the M/G/2 Queue with Heterogeneous Servers

In this paper, we consider a c-server queuing model in which customers arrive according to a batch Markovian arrival process (BMAP). These customers are served in groups of varying sizes ranging from a predetermined value L through a maximum size, K. The service times are exponentially distributed. Any customer not entering into service immediately orbit in an infinite space. These orbiting customers compete for service by sending out signals that are exponentially distributed with parameter . Under a full access policy freed servers offer services to orbiting customers in groups of varying sizes. This multi-server retrial queue under the full access policy is a QBD process and the steady state analysis of the model is performed by exploiting the structure of the coefficient matrices. Some interesting numerical examples are discussed.     

Equilibrium pricing in an M/G/1 retrial queue with reserved idle time and setup time

Power consumption is a ubiquitous and challenging problem in modern society. To save energy, one should turn off an idle device which still consumes about 60% of its peak consumption and switch it on again when some jobs arrive. However, it is not tolerate for delay sensitive applications. Therefore, there is a trade-off between power consumption and delay performance. In this paper we study an M/G/1 retrial queueing system with setup times in which the server keeps idle for a reserved idle time after completion of a service. If there are arrivals during this reserved idle time, these customers can be served immediately. Otherwise, the server will be turned off for saving energy until a new customer comes to activate the server. The setup time follows an exponential distribution. Based on the reward-cost function and the expected payoff, all customers will make decisions on whether to join or balk the system upon arrival. Given these strategic behaviors we study the optimal pricing strategies from the perspective of the server and social planner, respectively. The optimization of the reserved idle time for maximizing the server’s profit is also studied. Finally, numerical experiments are presented to illustrate the impact of system parameters on the customers’ equilibrium behavior and profit maximization solutions.     

带有止步和状态相依的M/Ej/1/N排队系统的矩阵解法

研究了带有止步和服务率依赖于状态的M/Ej/1/N排队系统.顾客到达系统时,以一定的概率选择进入系统或止步(不进入系统).顾客接受服务的服务率依赖于系统中的顾客数,当系统中的顾客数不超过临界值k时,服务员慢速服务;否则,服务员快速服务.利用分块矩阵的方法,推出了稳态概率向量所满足的矩阵形式的迭代公式,给出了稳态概率的表达式和计算过程.作为特例,考虑了N=4时系统稳态概率的计算.在此基础上,还求出了系统的一些性能指标,并建立了以临界值k为控制变量的费用模型.通过数值分析,求出了使费用函数最小的最优临界值k*,并进一步研究了模型参数对最优临界值和最优费用的影响.     

Diffusion approximation for an overloaded X model via a stochastic averaging principle

In previous papers we developed a deterministic fluid approximation for an overloaded Markovian queueing system having two customer classes and two service pools, known in the call-center literature as the X model. The system uses the fixed-queue-ratio-with-thresholds (FQR-T) control, which we proposed as a way for one service system to help another in face of an unexpected overload. Under FQR-T, customers are served by their own service pool until a threshold is exceeded. Then, one-way sharing is activated with customers from one class allowed to be served in both pools. The control aims to keep the two queues at a pre-specified fixed ratio. We supported the fluid approximation by establishing a functional weak law of large numbers involving a stochastic averaging principle. In this paper we develop a refined diffusion approximation for the same model based on a many-server heavy-traffic functional central limit theorem.     

The gravity p-median model

In this paper we propose a new model for the p-median problem. In the standard p-median problem it is assumed that each demand point is served by the closest facility. In many situations (for example, when demand points are communities of customers and each customer makes his own selection of the facility) demand is divided among the facilities. Each customer selects a facility which is not necessarily the closest one. In the gravity p-median problem it is assumed that customers divide their patronage among the facilities with the probability that a customer patronizes a facility being proportional to the attractiveness of that facility and to a decreasing utility function of the distance to the facility.     

带有负顾客的M/M/c多重工作休假排队

考虑服务台在休假期间不是完全停止工作,而是以相对于正常服务期低些的服务率服务顾客的M/M/c工作休假排队模型.在此模型基础上,针对现实的M/M/c排队模型中可能出现的外来干扰因素,提出了带有负顾客的M/M/c工作休假排队这一新的模型.服务规则为先到先服务.工作休假策略为空竭服务异步多重工作休假.抵消原则为负顾客一对一抵消处于正常服务期的正顾客,若系统中无处于正常服务期的正顾客时,到达的负顾客自动消失,负顾客不接受服务.首先,由该多重休假模型得到其拟生灭过程及生成元矩阵,然后运用矩阵几何方法给出系统队长的稳态分布表达式和若干系统指标.     

Mixed gated/exhaustive service in a polling model with priorities

In this paper we consider a single-server polling system with switch-over times. We introduce a new service discipline, mixed gated/exhaustive service, that can be used for queues with two types of customers: high and low priority customers. At the beginning of a visit of the server to such a queue, a gate is set behind all customers. High priority customers receive priority in the sense that they are always served before any low priority customers. But high priority customers have a second advantage over low priority customers. Low priority customers are served according to the gated service discipline, i.e. only customers standing in front of the gate are served during this visit. In contrast, high priority customers arriving during the visit period of the queue are allowed to pass the gate and all low priority customers before the gate. We study the cycle time distribution, the waiting time distributions for each customer type, the joint queue length distribution of all priority classes at all queues at polling epochs, and the steady-state marginal queue length distributions for each customer type. Through numerical examples we illustrate that the mixed gated/exhaustive service discipline can significantly decrease waiting times of high priority jobs. In many cases there is a minimal negative impact on the waiting times of low priority customers but, remarkably, it turns out that in polling systems with larger switch-over times there can be even a positive impact on the waiting times of low priority customers.     

A multi-class discrete-time queueing system under the FCFS service discipline

The problem with the FCFS server discipline in discrete-time queueing systems is that it doesn’t actually determine what happens if multiple customers enter the system at the same time, which in the discrete-time paradigm translates into ‘during the same time-slot’. In other words, it doesn’t specify in which order such customers are served. When we consider multiple types of customers, each requiring different service time distributions, the precise order of service even starts to affect quantities such as queue content and delays of arbitrary customers, so specifying this order will be prime. In this paper we study a multi-class discrete-time queueing system with a general independent arrival process and generally distributed service times. The service discipline is FCFS and customers entering during the same time-slot are served in random order. It will be our goal to search for the steady-state distribution of queue content and delays of certain types of customers. If one thinks of the time-slot as a continuous but bounded time period, the random order of service is equivalent to FCFS if different customers have different arrival epochs within this time-slot and if the arrival epochs are independent of customer class. For this reason we propose two distinct ways of analysing; one utilizing permutations, the other considering a slot as a bounded continuous time frame.     

Analysis of stationary discrete-time GI/D-MSP/1 queue with finite and infinite buffers

This paper considers a single-server queueing model with finite and infinite buffers in which customers arrive according to a discrete-time renewal process. The customers are served one at a time under discrete-time Markovian service process (D-MSP). This service process is similar to the discrete-time Markovian arrival process (D-MAP), where arrivals are replaced with service completions. Using the imbedded Markov chain technique and the matrix-geometric method, we obtain the system-length distribution at a prearrival epoch. We also provide the steady-state system-length distribution at an arbitrary epoch by using the supplementary variable technique and the classical argument based on renewal-theory. The analysis of actual-waiting-time (in the queue) distribution (measured in slots) has also been investigated. Further, we derive the coefficient of correlation of the lagged interdeparture intervals. Moreover, computational experiences with a variety of numerical results in the form of tables and graphs are discussed.     

Equilibrium threshold strategies in observable queueing systems with setup/closedown times

This paper considers two types of setup/closedown policies: interruptible and insusceptible setup/closedown policies. When all customers are served exhaustively in a system under the interruptible setup/closedown policy, the server shuts down (deactivates) by a closedown time. When the server reactivates since shutdown, he needs a setup time before providing service again. If a customer arrives during a closedown time, the service is immediately started without a setup time. However, in a system under the insusceptible setup/closedown policy, customers arriving in a closedown time can not be served until the following setup time finishes. For the systems with interruptible setup/closedown times, we assume both the fully and almost observable cases, then derive equilibrium threshold strategies for the customers and analyze the stationary behavior of the systems. On the other hand, for the systems with insusceptible setup/closedown times, we only consider the fully observable case. We also illustrate the equilibrium thresholds and the social benefits for systems via numerical experiments. As far as we know, there is no work concerning equilibrium behavior of customers in queueing systems with setup/closedown times.     

带止步与中途退出策略的M~x/M/1/N单重工作休假排队系统

研究了带有止步和中途退出的M~x/M/1/N单重工作休假排队系统.顾客成批到达,到达后每批中的顾客,或者以概率b决定进入队列等待服务,或者以概率1-b止步(不进入系统).顾客进入系统后可能因为等待的不耐烦而在没有接受服务的情况下离开系统(中途退出).系统中一旦没有顾客,服务员立即进入单重工作休假.首先,利用马尔科夫过程理论建立了系统稳态概率满足的方程组.其次利用矩阵解法求出了稳态概率的矩阵解并得到了系统的平均队长、平均等待队长以及顾客的平均消失概率等性能指标.最后通过数值例子分析了工作休假时的低服务率η和休假率θ这两个参数对系统平均队长的影响.     

有负顾客到达的M/G/1休假可修排队系统

采用补充变量法和母函数的方法研究了有负顾客到达的M/G/1休假可修排队系统,其中负顾客的抵消规则是带走正在接受服务的正顾客并使得服务器处于修理状态.休假策略是空竭服务多重休假.文中给出了系统存在稳态的充要条件,系统稳态队长分布的概率母函数及系统可靠度的L变换.     

有负顾客到达的M／O／1休假可修排队系统

采用补充变量法和母函数的方法研究了有负顾客到达的M/G／1休假可修排队系统,其中负顺客的抵消规则是带走正在接受服务的正顺客并使得服务器处于修理状态．休假策略是空竭服务多重休假．文中给出了系统存在稳态的充要条件．系统稳态队长分布的概率母函数及系统可靠度的L变换．     

Lower bounds for the two-stage uncapacitated facility location problem

In the two-stage uncapacitated facility location problem, a set of customers is served from a set of depots which receives the product from a set of plants. If a plant or depot serves a product, a fixed cost must be paid, and there are different transportation costs between plants and depots, and depots and customers. The objective is to locate plants and depots, given both sets of potential locations, such that each customer is served and the total cost is as minimal as possible. In this paper, we present a mixed integer formulation based on twice-indexed transportation variables, and perform an analysis of several Lagrangian relaxations which are obtained from it, trying to determine good lower bounds on its optimal value. Computational results are also presented which support the theoretical potential of one of the relaxations.     

带有止步和中途退出的成批到达的M~x/M/R/N同步休假排队系统的性能分析

研究了带有止步和中途退出的Mx/M/R/N同步休假排队系统.顾客成批到达.到达的顾客如果看到服务员正在休假或者全忙,他或者以概率b决定进入队列等待服务,或者以概率1-b止步(不进入系统).系统根据一定的原则以概率nk在未止步的k个顾客中选择n个进入系统.在系统中排队等待服务的顾客可能因为等待的不耐烦而在没有接受服务的情况下离开系统(中途退出).系统中一旦没有顾客,R个服务员立即进行同步多重休假.首先,利用马尔科夫过程理论建立了系统稳态概率满足的方程组.其次,在证明了相关矩阵可逆性的基础上,利用矩阵解法求出了系统稳态概率的明显表达式,并得到了系统的平均队长、平均等待队长及顾客的平均损失率等性能指标.     

The Clustered Orienteering Problem

In this paper we study a generalization of the Orienteering Problem (OP) which we call the Clustered Orienteering Problem (COP). The OP, also known as the Selective Traveling Salesman Problem, is a problem where a set of potential customers is given and a profit is associated with the service of each customer. A single vehicle is available to serve the customers. The objective is to find the vehicle route that maximizes the total collected profit in such a way that the duration of the route does not exceed a given threshold. In the COP, customers are grouped in clusters. A profit is associated with each cluster and is gained only if all customers belonging to the cluster are served. We propose two solution approaches for the COP: an exact and a heuristic one. The exact approach is a branch-and-cut while the heuristic approach is a tabu search. Computational results on a set of randomly generated instances are provided to show the efficiency and effectiveness of both approaches.