Approximations for multi-server queues: System interpolations (Q1339073)

This invited paper gives a unifying approach to approximations for multi- server queues. Included in the presentation is a review to the extensive literature, 82 references are cited. The paper may be described by the author's summary: This paper provides a unifying method of generating and/or evaluating approximations for the principal congestion measures in a \(GI/G/s\) queueing system. The main focus is on the main waiting time, but approximations are also developed for the queue-length distribution, the waiting-time distribution and the delay probability for the Poisson arrival case. The approximations have closed forms that combine analytical solutions of simpler systems, and hence they are referred to as system-interpolation approximations or, simply, system interpolations. The method is consistent with and generalizes system interpolations previously presented for the mean waiting time in the \(GI/G/s\) queue.