Analysis of a discrete time table polling system with MAP input and time‐limited service discipline

An iterative procedure based on the MAP/PH/1 and MAP/PH/1/K queues with vacation is presented for approximating the performance measures of a table polling system. Each queue has a time limit after which it relinquishes the server. This is formally known as the token holding time (THT) in IEEE 802.5 and IEEE 802.4 standards. The polling table can be tailored such that queues with limits on the cycle time are visited more frequently, thus, limiting the delays for real time applications. The visit period and vacation period distributions were obtained based on the properties of the discrete phase distribution. Several examples are presented and they show that the algorithm converges fairly fast and gives reasonable results. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.