Two competing discrete-time queues with priority (Q1118267)

A Markovian analysis of a single-server system with two parallel competing FCFS queues with unbounded buffers is given. Service times are constant and time is divided into slots of the length of a service time each. The consecutive numbers of tasks arriving at the queues during time slots form an i.i.d. process. One queue has priority over the other in that it competes for the server in each time slot where it is non-empty. The other applies for service in independently chosen time slots only. If both queues compete for the server in the same time slot they both fail. This is a simplified model of certain communication protocols. The author uses generating function techniques to derive expressions for the steady- state queue lengths.