A considerate priority queueing system with guaranteed policy fairness

A discrete-time queuing system supporting two classes of customers (packets of information) with different priorities is analyzed. Unlike the head-of-the-line priority policy, the priority policy considered provides for limited service to the low-priority class, even in the presence of high-priority customers (considerate system). At the same time, it guarantees that no low-priority customer will be served before a previously arrived high-priority one (guaranteed policy fairness). The proposed policy can be seen as a compromise between the head-of-the-line priority policy and the classical gated/limited service priority policy. A general methodology is developed for the analysis of this policy