An Efficient Decomposition Method for the Approximate Evaluation of Tandem Queues with Finite Storage Space and Blocking

This paper presents an efficient method for evaluating performance measures for a class of tandem queueing systems with finite buffers in which blocking and starvation are important. These systems are difficult to evaluate because they have large state spaces and because they cannot be decomposed exactly. The approximate decomposition approach we describe is based on system characteristics such as conservation of flow. Comparisons with exact and simulation results indicate that the approach is very accurate.