Cycle times in a serial fork-join network

Abstract

This paper presents formulas for approximating the distribution of the cycle time of a job in a two-stage fork-join network in equilibrium. The key step is characterizing the departure process from the first node. Statistical tests justify that the approximate distribution is a good fit to the actual one. We discuss related approximations for m-stage networks, and present a formula for approximating the mean cycle time in a m-stage fork-join network. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.