MGMtool: a performance modelling tool based on matrix geomatric techniques

Over the last two decades a considerable amount of e ort has been put in the development and application of matrix geometric techniques for the analysis of queueing systems of which the embedded Markov chain exhibits a regular structure Most of this work however has been presented in either a mathematical context or in a purely application oriented context In this paper we present MGMtool a performance analysis tool which allows its users to easily specify queueing systems in terms of interarrival and service time distributions MGMtool then takes care of the translation of this description to an underlying Markov chain that exhibits a matrix geometric solution Subsequently MGMtool takes care of the derivation of the measures speci ed by the user A particular measure of interest that can be derived is the caudal curve This measure gives insight in the tail behaviour of the queue With MGMtool models are speci ed via C procedure calls This turns out to be a very exible approach for modelling queueing systems it also allows for the easy evaluation of models over parameter ranges We present the underlying mathematics of MGMtool and various architectural and imple mentation issues In the examples we show how MGMtool can be used for modelling Markov modulated Poisson processes and various other interarrival and service time distributions.