Model Queuing System
Learning Overview
• Queuing System Models: Modeling waiting lines and
service processes
• Discrete Simulation: Simulating systems by events
(step-by-step through time)
• Continuous Modeling: Using differential equations to
model smooth system behavior
• Numerical Methods: Techniques (e.g. Euler, Runge-
Kutta) to simulate continuous models
What is a Queueing System?
• A queueing system is a model of waiting lines –
customers (or jobs) wait for service
• Real-life examples: bank teller lines, supermarket
checkouts, call center hold queues
• Goal: predict performance (e.g. average wait time,
queue length) and optimize service resources
Components of a Queueing Model
• Arrivals: How customers arrive to
the system (arrival rate/pattern,
e.g. random Poisson arrivals)
• C
haracteristics: The waiting line’s
capacity and discipline (e.g.
unlimited length, FIFO order)
• Mechanism: Number of servers
and service time distribution (how
service is provided)
• Population & Departure: Source of
customers (finite or infinite) and
what happens after service
(leaving system)
Queueing System Performance
• Key Metrics: Average waiting time, average queue
length, server utilization (busy fraction)
• Little’s Law: $L = \lambda W$ – average number in
system = arrival rate × average time in system
• Example: If customers arrive at 10 per hour and each
spends $0.5$ hour on average, about $L = 10×0.5 = 5$
customers are typically in the system
• Models help determine needed servers or capacity to
meet performance targets (e.g. reduce wait times)
Discrete-Event Simulation (DES)
Basics
• Discrete-event simulation models a system as a
sequence of distinct events in time
• Changes in the system state occur at specific event
times (e.g. an arrival or a service completion)
• No change between events: the simulation clock jumps
from one event to the next – periods with no events are
skipped
• Useful for systems that are naturally event-driven (e.g.
customers arriving/leaving, machines breaking down
and getting repaired)
How a Discrete Event Simulation
Works
• Event List & Clock: DES maintains a timeline of future events. It
always executes the next imminent event and advances the
clock to that time
• State Updates: When an event occurs, the system’s state is
updated. (Example: on a “customer arrival” event, increase
queue length by 1)
• Randomness: Random draws often determine event timings or
outcomes (to mimic real-life variability, e.g. random service
durations)
• Repetition for Statistics: The simulation can run over many
events (or multiple runs) to collect average performance
metrics
Example of DES – Simulating a Bank
Queue
Scenario: Customers arriving to a bank teller (single-server
queue)
• Entities & Events:
• Entities: Customer, Teller (server)
• Events: Customer Arrival, Service Start, Service End
Event logic:
• On arrival: if teller free, start service; if busy, customer joins queue
• On service end: customer departs; if others waiting, start service for next
in queue
• Outcome: Simulation collects stats like wait times, queue
lengths, teller utilization for the bank
Continuous System Modeling
• Continuous systems: State variables change
continuously over time, not just at discrete events
• Time is treated as a continuous variable; every moment
can see a slight change in state
• Model form: Typically defined by differential
equations that describe the rate of change of system
state over time
• Common in physical processes (engineering, science)
and population models (e.g. growth, decay)
Example – Continuous Model of a
Car’s Speed
• Imagine modeling a car’s speed on a road over time (accelerating
and braking)
• State variable: the car’s speed (which can change continuously
every second)
• Dynamics: If the driver presses the accelerator, the car’s speed
increases smoothly; if braking, the speed decreases smoothly (no
instant jumps)
• Differential equation: $dv/dt = a(t)$ – car’s acceleration $a(t)$
(which can vary with time) determines the rate of change of
speed
• This is a continuous system: time steps could be as small as
needed to capture smooth speed changes
Summary & Key Takeaways
• Queuing Systems: Useful models for waiting lines – help predict wait times,
queue lengths, etc., given arrival and service processes. Tools like queueing theory
(e.g. Little’s Law) and simulation help optimize service capacity.
• Discrete-Event Simulation: Step-by-step simulation jumping through events.
Great for systems where changes happen at distinct moments (arrivals,
departures). Provides detailed performance insights by “playing out” the process
in silico.
• Continuous System Modeling: Represents systems with continuously changing
state using differential equations. Captures smooth dynamics (e.g. physical
processes, population changes) that are not event-driven.
• Big Picture: These quantitative modeling techniques complement each other.
Queuing formulas give quick estimates for simple cases, discrete-event simulation
handles complex processes with randomness, and continuous modeling (with
numerical integration) tackles systems governed by physics or other continuous
laws. Together, they form a toolkit for analyzing and designing a wide range of
real-world systems in engineering and management.
