Incorporating System Overhead in Queuing Network Models

Multiclass queuing network models of multiprogramming computer systems are frequently used to predict the performance of computing systems as a function of user workload and hardware configuration. This paper examines three different methods for incorporating operating system overhead in multiclass queuing network models. The goal of the resultant model is to provide an accurate account of the processing performance and the system CPU overhead of each of the several different types of jobs (batch, timesharing, transaction processing, etc.) that together make up the multiprogramming workload. The first method introduces an operating sysbtm workload consisting of a fixed number of jobs to represent system CPU overhead processing. The second method extends the jobs' CPU service requests to include explicitly the CPU overhead necessary for system processing. The third method employs a communicating set of user and system job classes so that the CPU overhead can be modeled by switching jobs from user to system class whenever they require system CPU service. The capabilities and accuracy of the three methods are assessed and compared against performance and overhead data measured on a Univac 1110 computer.