Computer Networks and Systems

This text, intended for a first course in performance evaluation, is a self-contained treatment covering all aspects of queuing theory. It starts by introducing readers to the terminology and usefulness of queuing theory and continues by considering Markovian queues in equilibrium, Little's law, reversibility, transient analysis and computation, and the M/G/I queuing system. A subsequent chapter covers the product form solution for networks of queues, presenting a topological explanation for its existence. Case studies of distributed queuing networks arising in industrial applications are shown. The final chapters explain techniques for numerical solutions, such as the convolution algorithm and mean-value analysis; discuss the panacea technique, discrete time queuing systems and simulation; and describe the new area of stochastic Petri networks. An appendix reviews probability theory.