Figure above shows a typical queuing system in a communication network that receives information in the form of packets. Packets arrive at the input port from various information sources at different times. The queuing system has one or more servers, and the service time of a packet depends on the size of the packet and also some random factors. After the packet is processed, it will be forwarded to the output port to be transmitted to the next destination. If all the servers are busy, then the arriving packet will be put in a buffer where it waits until a server becomes available. Since the size of the buffer is finite, packets that arrive when the buffer is fully occupied will be rejected.

The given system can be represented using mathematical model for the ease of system analysis and design.

b) Demonstrate how Markov chain can be used to model and analyse the queuing process of packets in the buffer.

Sistem / System Ketibaan Paket/ Packet Arriving Penyangga/ Buffer Pelepasan Paket / Packet Departing Barisan Menunggu/ Waiting Queue Paket Ditolak/ Rejected Packet Pelayan / Servers Rajah / Figure