A Novel Computational Procedure for the Waiting-Time Distribution (In the Queue) for Bulk-Service Finite-Buffer Queues with Poisson Input

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the waiting-time distribution for a finite-space, single-server queueing system, in which customers arrive singly following a Poisson process and the server operates under (a,b)-bulk service rule. The queueing system has a finite-buffer capacity ‘N’ excluding the batch in service. The service-time distribution of batches follows a general distribution, which is independent of the arrival process. We first develop an alternative approach of obtaining the probability distribution for the queue length at a post-departure epoch of a batch and, subsequently, the probability distribution for the queue length at a random epoch using an embedded Markov chain, Markov renewal theory and the semi-Markov process. The waiting-time distribution (in the queue) of a random customer is derived using the functional relation between the probability generating function (pgf) for the queue-length distribution and the Laplace–Stieltjes transform (LST) of the queueing-time distribution for a random customer. Using LSTs, we discuss the derivation of the probability density function of a random customer’s waiting time and its numerical implementations.