Variance Reduction in Simulation of Multiclass Queueing Networks

We use simulation to estimate the steady-state performance of a stable multiclass queueing network. Standard estimators have been seen to perform poorly when the network is heavily loaded. We introduce two new simulation estimators. The first provides substantial variance reductions in moderately-loaded networks at very little additional computational cost. The second estimator provides substantial variance reductions in heavy traffic, again for a small additional computational cost. Both methods employ the variance reduction method of control variates, and differ in terms of how the control variates are constructed. Work supported in part by NSF grant DMI-0224884 Work supported in part by NSF grants DMI-0224884 and ECS 940372