Markovian models and numerical analysis of computer system behavior

The advent of multiple-access computing, the increasing variety of processors in systems, and the growing use of multiprocessing and multiprogramming in computing systems has put many new burdens on the computing system designer-planner-programmer. The selection of suitable system structure and programming structure, as well as the selection of scheduling rules, requires a much more detailed and precise understanding of the stochastic behavior of system traffic than has been required in the past. In short, the "architect" of system hardware and software is finding a need for more and more insight into the behavior of computers as networks of queues and processors.