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OPTIMAL CONTROL OF FLEXIBLE SERVERS IN TWO TANDEM QUEUES WITH OPERATING COSTS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2007

Dimitrios G. Pandelis
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Industrial EngineeringUniversity of Thessaly38334 Volos,Greece, E-mail: d_pandelis@mie.uth.gr

Abstract

We consider two-stage tandem queuing systems with dedicated servers in each station and flexible servers that can serve in both stations. We assume exponential service times, linear holding costs, and operating costs incurred by the servers at rates proportional to their speeds. Under conditions that ensure the optimality of nonidling policies, we show that the optimal allocation of flexible servers is determined by a transition-monotone policy. Moreover, we present conditions under which the optimal policy can be explicitly determined.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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