Some models of queueing control with switchover (Q1179364)

Control models with switchable server apply to the situation where there are several types of customers to be serviced by a flexible service facility. Practical applications of such models vary from time-sharing computer systems through traffic control systems to flexible manufacturing systems. The paper deals with optimal control over the infinite time horizon of some queueing systems with \(n\) input streams and flexible server. The server can control the \(n\)-dimensional queue size process \(\{Y_ t, t\geq 0\}\) by switching from serving one type of customer to the other. The arrivals are Poisson processes with customer type dependent parameters. The cost structure includes the holding costs rates \(c_ i\) and several types of lump costs (switchover costs, service interruption costs, etc.). A series of control models is proposed with the decision points at different system epochs (arrival epochs, departure epochs). Stochastic dynamic programming formulations are given for the expected total discounted cost and for average cost per time unit performance indices. Numerical algorithms are proposed and the performance of the optimal policies of the models is analyzed. The performance of some widely used heuristics (\(c\mu\) policy, serve the longest queue first, serve the queue with the maximal waiting cost rate first) is also investigated.