Delay characteristics in discrete-time GI-G-1 queues with non-preemptive priority queueing discipline

Priority scheduling for packets is becoming a hot topic, as attempts are being made to integrate voice services in existing data networks. In this paper, we consider a discrete-time queueing system with head-of-line (HOL) non-preemptive priority scheduling. Two classes of traffic will be considered, i.e., high-priority and low-priority traffic, which both generate variable-length packets. We will derive expressions for the probability generating function of the packet delay of the high-priority traffic and the low-priority traffic. From these, some performance measures (such as the mean value) will be derived. These will be used to illustrate the significance of priority scheduling and will be applied to an output queueing switch.