Submitted for publication. Optimal resource capacity management for stochastic networks A.B. Dieker H. Milton Stewart School of ISyE, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332,
[email protected] S. Ghosh, M.S. Squillante Mathematical Sciences Department, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598,
[email protected],
[email protected] We develop a general framework for determining the optimal resource capacity for each station comprising a stochastic network, motivated by applications arising in computer capacity planning and business process management. The problem is mathematically intractable in general and therefore one typically resorts to either overly simplistic analytical approximations or very time-consuming simulations in conjunction with metaheuristics. In this paper we propose an iterative methodology that relies only on the capability of observing the queue lengths at all network stations for a given resource capacity allocation. We theoretically investigate the proposed methodology for single-class Brownian tree networks, and further illustrate the use our methodology and the quality of its results through extensive numerical experiments. Key words : capacity allocation; capacity planning; queueing networks; resource capacity management; stochastic networks; stochastic approximation History : This paper was first submitted on ??? 1. Introduction Stochastic networks arise in many fields of science, engineering and business, where they play a fundamental role as canonical models for a broad spectrum of multi-resource applications. A wide variety of examples span numerous application domains, including communication and data networks, distributed computing and data centers, inventory control and manufacturing systems, call and contact centers, and workforce management systems. Of particular interest are strategic planning applications, the complexity of which continue to grow at a rapid pace.