1. Arrival Process: This refers to the pattern or distribution of the arrival of customers or entities to the queue. It can be modeled using various probability distributions such as Poisson, exponential, or deterministic.
2. Service Process: This represents the pattern or distribution of the time taken to serve each customer or entity in the queue. It can also be modeled using various probability distributions such as exponential, normal, or deterministic.
3. Queue Discipline: This refers to the rules or policies that determine the order in which customers are served from the queue. Common queue disciplines include first-come-first-served (FCFS), last-come-first-served (LCFS), priority-based, or random.
4. Queue Length: This represents the number of customers or entities waiting in the queue at a given point in time. It can be measured as the actual number of customers or as the average queue length.
5. Queue Capacity: This refers to the maximum number of customers or entities that the queue can accommodate at any given time. It is often limited by physical constraints or resource availability.
6. Queueing System Performance Measures: These are metrics used to evaluate the performance of a queuing system. Common performance measures include average waiting time, average service time, average queue length, queue utilization, and system throughput.
7. Queueing Models: These are mathematical models that are used to analyze and predict the behavior of queuing systems. Different models exist for different types of queuing systems, such as single-server, multi-server, finite-source, or infinite-source.
8. Queueing Networks: These are queuing systems that consist of multiple interconnected queues. Queueing networks are used to model complex systems where customers or entities move between different queues.
9. Queueing Theory Applications: Queuing theory has various practical applications, such as optimizing service levels in call centers, designing efficient transportation systems, managing inventory in supply chains, or improving customer flow in retail environments.