Kølenet

Kølenet is a concept used in queuing theory and network design to describe a distributed arrangement of service stations connected by queues, through which items or tasks pass. In this usage, a kølenet models how arrivals, service processes, and routing decisions interact to determine system performance such as throughput and latency. The term combines the Norwegian word kø for queue and net for network; in literature, variants and examples may refer to it as a queueing network or kølenet, with definitions varying by author.

A kølenet consists of nodes that act as servers, each with an input queue and a service mechanism. Items move from node to node according to a routing schema, which can be probabilistic or deterministic. Queues typically operate under a discipline such as first-in, first-out, though other rules may apply. The network can be open, with arrivals from outside, or closed, with a fixed population circulating among nodes.

Analytical methods for kølenet are drawn from queuing theory. Classical models include open and closed networks, including Jackson networks, using assumptions like Poisson arrivals and exponential service times. More advanced analyses relax these assumptions or use simulation to estimate performance under heavy traffic or nonstationary conditions.

Applications of the kølenet concept appear in manufacturing lines, data processing pipelines, cloud services, telecommunications, and logistics, where understanding bottlenecks and resource utilization is important. Related concepts include general queueing networks, Little’s law, and Petri nets.

See also: queuing theory, Jackson network, Petri net, Little’s law, queueing network.