BINOMIAL-GATED SERVICE - A METHOD FOR EFFECTIVE OPERATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF POLLING SYSTEMS

In this work we propose a new service method, the binomial-gated service, designed for cyclic polling systems. The important properties of this method are 1) it allows to prioritize the N system queues using a set of priorities {p(i)} (1 less-than-or-equal-to i less-than-or-equal-to N), and 2) it is mathematically analyzable. The combination of these two properties allows system designers to prioritize the different queues, to predict the customer delay and to effectively optimize the system performance according to the customer needs. The method can be implemented in the token ring network and in many other communication systems. We analyze the nonsymmetric cyclic-polling system with binomial-gated service and derive equation sets from which the expected delay figures can be calculated numerically. A pseudoconservation law for nonsymmetric systems and a closed-form mean-delay expression for fully symmetric systems are derived as well. The effect of the priority parameters on the system performance is demonstrated in numerical examples.