Markov-modulated traffic with nearly complete decomposability characteristics and associated fluid queueing models

This paper considers fluid queueing models of Markov-modulated traffic that, due to large differences in the time-scales of events, possess structural characteristics that yield a nearly completely decomposable (NCD) state-space. Extension of domain decomposition and aggregation techniques that apply to approximating the eigensystem of Markov chains permits the approximate subdivision of the full system to a number of small, independent subsystems (decomposition phase), plus an ‘aggregative’ system featuring a state-space that distinguishes only one index per subsystem (aggregation phase). Perturbation analysis reveals that te error incurred by the approximation is of an order of magnitude equal to the weak coupling of the NCD Markov chain. The study in this paper is then extended to the structure of NCD fluid models describing source superposition (multiplexing). It is shown that efficient spectral factorization techniques that arise from the Kronecker sum form of the global matrices can be applied through and combined with the decomposition and aggregation procedures. All structural characteristics and system parameters are expressible in terms of the individual sources multiplexed together, rendering the construction of the global system unnecessary. Finally, besides providing efficient computational algorithms, the work in this paper can be recast as a conceptual framework for the better understanding of queueing systems under the presence of events happening in widely differing time-scales.