Optimal rate allocation in unreliable, assembly/disassembly production networks with blocking

We consider finite-buffered production networks, in which each machine is capable of performing a single assembly and/or disassembly operation and it is subject of operation-dependent failures. We address the problem of allocating processing and repair rates to each machine so as to maximize the throughput of the system. This problem is shown to be equivalent to a convex minimization problem. The optimal allocation is found using a steepest-descent algorithm that employs discrete-event simulation for performance evaluation and gradient estimation