Strong consistency of infinitesimal perturbation analysis for tandem queueing networks

Strong consistency of infinitesimal perturbation analysis for the sojourn times in a class of tandem queueing networks is proved. Service times at the queues are correlated, and they are affine functions of the variable parameters. Differentiability of the average sojourn times is not assumed, but proved. The analysis is not based on assumptions of regenerative cycles of the networks but on stability and ergodicity of the queueing processes involved. The proof of strong consistency is based on a set of abstract conditions, described in terms of properties of the sample performance functions. These conditions are first shown to be sufficient for strong consistency, and then their validity for the networks in question is proved.Research supported in part by the NSF under grants Nos. ECS85-15449 and CDR-8803012, under ONR contract nos. N00014-90-K-1093 and N00014-89-J-1023, and under Army contract no. DAAL-03-83-K-0171. This author is now with the Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215.