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Showing papers on "Service level published in 2000"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss for the first time how the Internet is being used in managing the major components of supply chains including transportation, purchasing, inventory management, customer service, production scheduling, warehousing, and vendor relations.

455 citations


Book
17 Apr 2000
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a strategy for facilities management and develop a policy for outsourcing and retaining services in-house vs. outsourcing change management Human resources management implications Policy and procedures for outsourcing policy and procedure for in-source provision Service specifications, service level agreements and performance Employment, health and safety considerations Workplace productivity Facilities management service providers Managing service provider and supplier relationships Contract management and financial control Benchmarking best practice Public-private partnerships Education, training and development Appendix A Glossary.
Abstract: An introduction to facilities management Developing a strategy for facilities management Retaining services in-house vs. outsourcing Change management Human resources management implications Policy and procedures for outsourcing Policy and procedures for in-house provision Service specifications, service level agreements and performance Employment, health and safety considerations Workplace productivity Facilities management service providers Managing service provider and supplier relationships Contract management and financial control Benchmarking best practice Public-private partnerships Education, training and development Appendix A Glossary.

267 citations


Patent
Michel K. Bowman-Amuah1
31 Aug 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, a system, method and article of manufacture are provided for managing an environment in a development architecture framework, where service of a system is managed based on service level agreements and/or operations level agreements.
Abstract: A system, method and article of manufacture are provided for managing an environment in a development architecture framework. Service of a system is managed based on service level agreements and/or operations level agreements. A plurality of system management operations are performed. The system management operations include start-up and shut-down operations, back-up and restore operations, archiving operations, security operations, and performance monitoring operations. Service is planned in order to anticipate and implement changes in the system.

254 citations


Book
05 Apr 2000
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the importance of SLM in the context of service level management and present a case study for service level agreement (SLA) negotiation and implementation.
Abstract: Introduction. I: THEORY AND PRINCIPLES. 1. The Challenge. Mission Impossible. Divergent Views. Technical Challenge. What Is SLM? Pros and Cons. Other Service Providers. The Importance of SLM. Why Now? Summary. 2. The Perception and Management of Service Levels. Availability. Performance. Workload Levels. Security. Accuracy. Recoverability. Affordability. Summary. 3. Service Level Reporting. Audience. Types of Reports. Frequency of Reporting. Real-Time Reporting. Summary. 4. Service Level Agreements. The Need for SLAs. Functions of SLAs. Types of SLAs. SLA Processes. Summary. 5. Standards Efforts. IT Infrastructure Library. Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) SLA Working Group. Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)-Application Management MIB. Application Response Measurement Working Group. Summary. II: REALITY. 6. Service Level Management Practices. Lack of Common Understanding. Current Service Level Management Practices. Summary. References. 7. Service Level Management Products. Monitoring Tools. Reporting Tools. SLM Analysis. Administration Tools. Summary. III: RECOMMENDATIONS. 8. Business Case for Service Level Management. Cost Justifying Proactive Service Level Management. Quantifying the Benefits of Service Level Management. A Sample Cost Justification Worksheet. Summary. 9. Implementing Service Level Management. Planning the Rollout. Going Live with SLM. Following Through. Summary. 10. Capturing Data for Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Metrics for Measuring Service Levels. Methods for Capturing Service Metrics. Monitoring Individual Components and Aggregating Results. Inspecting Network Traffic for Application Transactions. End-to-End Service Level Measurement. Common Architectures and Technologies for Data Capture Solutions. Summary. 11. Service Level Management as Service Enabler. The Ascendance of IP. A Spectrum of Providers. The Importance of SLAs in the Service Environment. Different Strokes. Smart Implementation. Advice for Users. Advice for Service Providers. Summary. 12. Moving Forward. Establishing the Need for Service Level Management. Defining the Services to Be Managed. Communicating with the Business. Negotiating Service Level Agreements. Managing to the Service Level Agreement. Using Commercial Management Solutions. Continuously Improving Service Quality. Evolution of Service Level Management Standards. Evolution of Management Solution Capabilities. IV: APPENDIXES. Appendix A. Internal Service Level Agreement Template. About the SLA. About the Service. About Service Availability. About Service Measures. Appendix B. Simple Internal Service Level Agreement Template. Appendix C. Sample Customer Satisfaction Survey. Rating Service Quality. General Comments. Current Usage. Future Requirements. Optional Information. Appendix D. Sample Reporting Schedule. Daily Report. Weekly Report. Monthly Report. Quarterly Report. Appendix E. Sample Value Statement & Return on Investment (ROI) Analysis for a Service Provider Delivering an SAP Application. Summary of Value. Return on Investment (ROI) Value Areas. Benefit Areas. Return on Investment Analysis. Summary. Appendix F. Selected Vendors of Service Level Management Products. Glossary. Index.

178 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A decentralized auction-based approach to pricing of edge-allocated bandwidth in a differentiated services Internet with an explicit necessary and sufficient condition for the stability of the game is constructed, which determines the sustainability of any set of service level agreement configurations between Internet service providers.
Abstract: This paper presents a decentralized auction-based approach to pricing of edge-allocated bandwidth in a differentiated services Internet. The players in our network economy model are one raw-capacity seller per network, one broker per service per network, and users, to play the roles of whole-sellers, retailers, and end-buyers, respectively, in a two-tier wholeseller/retailer market, which is best interpreted as a "sender-pay" model. With the progressive second price auction mechanism as the basic building block, we conduct a game theoretic analysis, deriving optimal strategies for buyers and brokers, and show the existence of networkwide market equilibria. In addition to pricing, another key consideration in building differentiated network services is the feasibility of maintaining stable and consistent service level agreements across multiple networks where demand-driven dynamic allocations are made only at the edges. Based on the proposed game-theoretic model, we are able to construct an explicit necessary and sufficient condition for the stability of the game, which determines the sustainability of any set of service level agreement configurations between Internet service providers. These analytical results are validated with simulations of user and broker dynamics, using the distributed progressive second price auction as the spot market mechanism in a scenario with three interconnected networks, and two services based on the proposed standard expedited forwarding and assured forwarding per-hop behavior.

146 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Jun 2000
TL;DR: It is found that it is not easy to regulate the service level achieved by a TCP flow by solely setting the profile parameters, so conditions that determine when the bucket size influences the achieved rate are derived, and rates that can be achieved and those that cannot.
Abstract: The Differentiated services (diffserv) architecture has been proposed as a scalable solution for providing service differentiation among flows without any per-flow buffer management inside the core of the network. It has been advocated that it is feasible to provide service differentiation among a set of flows by choosing an appropriate “marking profile” for each flow. In this paper, we examine (i) whether it is possible to provide service differentiation among a set of TCP flows by choosing appropriate marking profiles for each flow, (ii) under what circumstances, the marking profiles are able to influence the service that a TCP flow receives, and, (iii) how to choose a correct profile to achieve a given service level. We derive a simple, and yet accurate, analytical model for determining the achieved rate of a TCP flow when edge-routers use “token bucket” packet marking and core-routers use active queue management for preferential packet dropping. From our study, we observe three important results: (i) the achieved rate is not proportional to the assured rate, (ii) it is not always possible to achieve the assured rate and, (iii) there exist ranges of values of the achieved rate for which token bucket parameters have no influence. We find that it is not easy to regulate the service level achieved by a TCP flow by solely setting the profile parameters. In addition, we derive conditions that determine when the bucket size influences the achieved rate, and rates that can be achieved and those that cannot. Our study provides insight for choosing appropriate token bucket parameters for the achievable rates.

134 citations


Patent
30 Nov 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, a time-based monitoring mechanism for monitoring Service Level Agreements (SLAs) over specific time intervals is described, where data is received for defining one or more tests for monitoring the level of network service that is being provided to a particular customer.
Abstract: A Time-Based Service Monitoring mechanism for monitoring Service Level Agreements (SLAs) over specific time intervals is described. To provide for the time-based monitoring of service, data is received for defining one or more tests for monitoring the level of network service that is being provided to a particular customer. Based on the received data, information is created and stored that defines a specific time range for when the one or more tests are to be enforced. The one or more tests are distributed to one or more agents that are configured to communicate with devices that are associated with the network. The devices are then configured to perform the one or more tests within the specific time range. Based on the results, the customer is provided information indicating whether they are receiving the level of service that has been guaranteed by the service provider over the specific time intervals.

126 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Important planning tasks which have to be addressed at postal and express shipment companies are identified and corresponding optimization models are defined.

109 citations


Patent
29 Sep 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, a method and apparatus for adaptively enforcing Quality of Service (QoS) policies for one or more flows of packets in a packet-switched network based on network feedback information is presented.
Abstract: A method and apparatus for adaptively enforcing Quality of Service (QoS) policies for one or more flows of packets in a packet-switched network based on network feedback information. In one aspect, packets of a first group of flows are assigned to a first service level. Then-current interface congestion information for network traffic that is mapped to the first service level and that is passing through an interface of a network device in the network is received. Based on the then-current interface congestion information one or more flows from the first group of flows are selected. Packets from the one or more flows are then assigned to a second service level.

106 citations


Patent
17 Nov 2000
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a system for automatically monitoring and managing Service Level Agreements on behalf of Service Providers (such as Application Service providers) based on a specialized SLA language that can translate complex or simple service level Agreements into measurable and controllable criterion.
Abstract: The present invention describes a system for automatically monitoring and managing Service Level Agreements on behalf of Service Providers (such as Application Service providers). The system is based on a specialized SLA language that can translate complex or simple Service Level Agreements into measurable and controllable criterion. The system enables Application Service providers to set up customized Service Level Agreements with customers, and monitor, modify and control all aspects of these agreements, including billing, sales, Customer Relation Management, customer support and Quality of Service. The technology on which the present invention is based is a formula driven language that translates Service Level Agreement details into commands. As such these details can be tracked and processed to produce detailed reports and summaries.

104 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the performance of two different inventory models, namely a simple and an advanced model, for spare parts in a production plant of a confectionery producer in the Netherlands.
Abstract: This paper examines the performance of two different (s, Q) inventory models, namely a simple and an advanced model, for spare parts in a production plant of a confectionery producer in the Netherlands. The simple approach is more or less standard: the undershoot of the reorder level is not taken into account and the normal distribution is used as the distribution of demand during lead-time. The advanced model takes undershoots into account, differentiates between zero and nonzero demands during lead-time, and utilises the gamma distribution for the demand distribution. Both models are fed with parameters estimated by a procedure that forecasts demand sizes and time between demand occurrences separately (intermittent demand). The results show that the advanced approach yields a service level close to the desired one under many circumstances, while the simple approach is not consistent, in that it leads to much larger inventories in meeting the desired service level for all spare parts.

Patent
21 Nov 2000
TL;DR: A call center is configured to determine variable rest periods for one or more agents, based at least in part on factors such as call center service state and agent occupancy as mentioned in this paper, which can be used to implement features such as many-to-many work assignment, justin-time (JIT) delivery of work, next opportunity for service (NOS) indicators, thereby facilitating the processing of communications in the call center.
Abstract: A call center is configured to determine variable rest periods for one or more agents, based at least in part on factors such as call center service state and agent occupancy. The call center service states may include a number of designated service states associated with a particular skill or type of communication supported by one or more agents of the call center. A particular one of the states represents a branded service level, while other states represent over-service and under-service conditions. The rest period determined for one or more of the agents can be used to implement features such as many-to-many work assignment, just-in-time (JIT) delivery of work, next opportunity for service (NOS) indicators, thereby facilitating the processing of communications in the call center.

Patent
09 Feb 2000
TL;DR: In this article, a hierarchical remediation on unmet service needs associated with work items queued in a work processing facility is used in order to maximize the achievement of service level goals.
Abstract: Hierarchical remediation on the unmet service needs associated with work items queued in a work processing facility is used in order to maximize the achievement of service level goals. A hierarchical remediator and corresponding hierarchical remediation method may each be employed in a work distributor or an automatic call distributor ("ACD"). The hierarchical remediator determines which work item among pending work items of different types will be distributed to an available server. The hierarchical remediator and its corresponding hierarchical remediation method ensure that more important jeopardized service levels receive greater remedial compensation than the less important ones. The hierarchy of distinct service classes associated with jeopardized service levels may comprise one input to the hierarchical remediator. The hierarchical remediator may also consider a skill preference profile for the available server as another input. The hierarchical remediator generates a composite preference value for each alternate work item from among the work items queued in the work processing facility. The hierarchical remediator selects which work item to assign to the available server by identifying the work item having the highest composite preference value. The hierarchical remediator and the corresponding hierarchical remediation method may be directed to apply one of a variety of user-supplied functions in order so complete the calculations associated with the composite preference values.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors considered the dynamical effect of lateral emergency transhipments within a supply chain and tested various different strategies for improving customer service via the MIT Beer Game, and concluded that the three strategies can be integrated to significantly improve supply chain performance.
Abstract: Considers the dynamical effect of lateral emergency transhipments within a supply chain. It tests various different strategies for improving customer service via the MIT Beer Game. Four distinct strategies are considered. “Electronic point of sales (EPOS)”, where marketplace information is forwarded to all players throughout the supply chain; “Excel”, where the stock levels in all echelons are controlled by the factory; “Emergency transhipments”, where an express transportation route bypassing an echelon in the supply chain is permitted; “Eliminate”, where an echelon is removed from the supply chain. The Beer Game strategies are also studied via a simulation exercise. Results show that the Excel strategy is flawed, whereas the EPOS strategy has a strong impact on inventory cost, Emergency transhipments has a strong impact on customer service level and Eliminate results in less stock for an improved customer service level. Combinations of the three viable strategies are also tested. This paper concludes that the three strategies can be integrated to significantly improve supply chain performance.

Patent
Gee-Gwo Mei1, Kun-Lung Wu1, Philip S. Yu1
24 Aug 2000
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a data processing system that provides users with differentiated services by defining, for individual ones of the plurality of content providers, a plurality of levels of services for users, and for responding to service level tables received from individual content providers.
Abstract: A data communications network includes network servers, clusters of network servers, as well as content providers and service providers, such as ISPs and ASPs, and further includes at least one data processor that operates under control of a stored program resident on a memory media. The stored program directs operation of the data processor to provide users with differentiated services by defining, for individual ones of the plurality of content providers, a plurality of levels of services for users, and for responding to service level tables received from individual ones of the plurality of content providers, where individual ones of users are assigned to one of the plurality of levels of service. There is also at least one resource requirement table for defining at least a minimum set of resources required for realizing individual ones of said plurality of service levels. The program further directs operation of the at least one data processor to merge the plurality of resource requirement tables into a merged resource requirement table for use by a particular one of the network servers. The particular one of the network servers assigns differentiated service levels to incoming user requests in accordance with the service level tables, and in accordance with the merged resource requirement tables and currently available resources. The resources can include one of numbers of available servers, available memory capacity, and available bandwidth. The program further controls operation of the at least one data processor to redirect an incoming user request to a network server having sufficient available resources to provide a specified level of service for the user request.

Patent
18 Feb 2000
TL;DR: In this article, a method and system for controlling and guaranteeing a service level agreement (SLA) based on a communications outbound link bandwidth usage to a plurality of customers having electronic business activity hosted by at least one server as a server farm is presented.
Abstract: A method and system for controlling and guaranteeing a service level agreement (SLA) based on a communications outbound link bandwidth usage to a plurality of customers having electronic business activity hosted by at least one server as a server farm, includes monitoring the outbound communications bandwidth usage by each customer traffic to determine a level of service being provided to each customer with respect to the agreed service level agreement in each service cycle time per unit of time. The flow of incoming requests to each customer business activity application is controlled so as to guarantee a level of service previously agreed to the customer by queuing requests to the customer and by selectively dropping requests to the customer to guarantee the agreed service levels to the customer. The controlling process controls and guarantees each outbound link usage based service level agreement by controlling the flow of incoming requests to the at least one server.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The study explores the inventory replenishment policies for the cases with time-varying demand, linearly increasing deterioration rate, partial back-ordering, constant service level and equal replenishment intervals over a fixed planning horizon to derive the upper bound of replenishment number for a specific planning horizon and find the solution of service level under a given number of replenishing.
Abstract: The study explores the inventory replenishment policies for the cases with time-varying demand, linearly increasing deterioration rate, partial back-ordering, constant service level and equal replenishment intervals over a fixed planning horizon. Since it is difficult to solve the problem directly, we derive the upper bound of replenishment number for a specific planning horizon and find the solution of service level under a given number of replenishment. The optimal solutions of replenishment number and service level are then determined. Numerical examples and sensitivity analyses are also provided to illustrate the solution procedure.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The model and solution procedures can be used to manage the fill rate or fill rate within a "time window" service measures and it is shown that it is possible to prespecify backorder cost rates to achieve desired service levels.
Abstract: We analyze the problem of minimizing average inventory costs subject to fill-rate type of service-level constraints in serial and assembly production/distribution systems. We propose optimal and heuristic procedures to solve this problem. Our model and solution procedures can be used to manage the fill rate or fill rate within a "time window" service measures. We also relate our service-constrained model to the traditional model with back-order costs and show that it is possible to prespecify backorder cost rates to achieve desired service levels. We explore the inventory cost impact of such a practice, and we find that the cost penalty can be very high.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
26 Mar 2000
TL;DR: A game theoretic model of capacity provisioning in a differentiated services Internet is considered, able to construct an explicit necessary and sufficient condition for the stability of the game, which determines the sustainability of a given set of SLA configurations among peering ISP.
Abstract: A key consideration in building differentiated network services is the feasibility of maintaining stable and consistent service level agreements across multiple networks where allocations are made only on the edges. To investigate this, we consider a game theoretic model of capacity provisioning in a differentiated services Internet. The players are one raw-capacity seller per network, one broker per service per network, and users, to play the roles of wholesellers, retailers and end users respectively in a two-tier wholeseller/retailer market. Based on this model, we are able to construct an explicit necessary and sufficient condition for the stability of the game, which determines the sustainability of a given set of SLA configurations among peering ISP. The analytical results are validated with simulations of user and broker dynamics, using distributed progressive second price auctions as the spot market mechanism in a scenario with three interconnected networks, and two services.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Three different route choice models (one deterministic and two stochastic models) are compared, and the effect of using each of them on estimating network capacity reliability is examined.
Abstract: The issue of planning for adequate capacity in transportation systems to accommodate growing traffic demand is becoming a serious problem. Recent research has introduced "capacity reliability" as a new network performance index. Capacity reliability is defined as the probability that a network can accommodate a certain volume of traffic demand at a required service level given variable arc capacities, while accounting for drivers' route choice behavior. Previous papers on this topic provide a comprehensive methodology for assessing capacity reliability along with extensive simulation results. However, an important issue that remains is what type of route choice model should be used to model driver behavior in estimating network capacity reliability. Three different route choice models (one deterministic and two stochastic models) are compared, and the effect of using each of these models on estimating network capacity reliability is examined.

Book
01 Dec 2000
TL;DR: This book deals chiefly with the technical and service solutions that have been adopted in the universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), which grows from a mobile market that is now firmly consolidated, at least with regard to voice services.
Abstract: From the Book: Commercial start-up of the third-generation mobile system is scheduled for the year 2002. The name given to this system, at least in the European context, is the universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). Of the original idea conceived in the early 1980s, what remains today are the ambitious service features that the system must provide to the user: the ability to communicate in movement, anytime and anywhere, through an enormous variety of applications and universally usable terminals. These expectations are attracting increasing attention from the mass media, and are seen by the public at large as the natural evolution of a process which in a few short years has enabled the cellular telephone to enjoy a success that few would have thought possible. The mobile systems that we have now come to take for granted have done much to change how we live and communicate. Together with the potential offered by the Internet, they have even changed some of our ways of thinking, at levels that are far deeper than might seem at first sight. How we work, use information, represent concepts and exchange messages have all changed. To an ever-increasing extent, the new media bring together voice, images and data, or even make these different communication modes interchangeable. This is possible because of the common digital representation shared by information content, and the synthesis and coding techniques associated with it. Thus, the UNITS system springs from convergence between the worlds of telecommunications and information technology. The new mobile system could well prove to be an ambitious synthesis of the evolution of these two worlds, especially at the level of services. Aside from the shared expectations, however, preparing the way for the UNITS system has been a far from straightforward process, and many of the system's basic aspects are still open to different interpretations and solutions. At the moment, for example, specifications are addressing at least three different radio interface modes, two of which have been adopted at the European level. These different ways of responding to a shared vision of UNITS reflect the variety of interests at stake, and the unequal rates and stages of evolution in the countries involved. The different stances that have been taken up regarding the system's implementation are confirmed, however involuntarily, by the first letter in its acronym, which stands, not for unique, but for universal. And this latter characteristic is most likely to be achieved by making different techniques compatible at the service level, rather than by developing a single solution for all continental regions. Be this as it may, the system's complexity and the enormous economic interests hinging on it have led to the consolidation of certain technological and systems-related aspects, where a common vision now prevails. The major innovations that have been achieved range from the service creation approach to the associated features' independence of the network layers, and to the flexibility of the transport functions, which can cover a broad range of application requirements. In addition, the UMTS system's evolution is seen as a continuation of existing systems and services. The new system, in fact, grows from a mobile market that is now firmly consolidated, at least with regard to voice services. GSM operators, who have deployed (and continue to invest) massive financial resources and know-how in the complexities of specifying the system, are aiming at a relatively graceful transition (a sort of soft handover, as it were) from today's system to UMTS. Indeed, the UNITS specifications acknowledge this need for gradual migration by calling for multimode terminals and the adoption of network architectures that are largely derived from GSM solutions. Today, the standards-writing groups in Europe, Japan and to some extent in the United States are collaborating in defining a system which, if not unique, can truly be termed universal. This degree of convergence is by no means accidental, and has largely been achieved through the determination shown by TIM in its strategic contributions at the international level. This book deals chiefly with the technical and service solutions that have been adopted in this context. Though the topics covered are highly specialised by nature, every effort has been made to ensure that the basic concepts are accessible to a wide readership, as the book is addressed to decision makers in related industries in addition to those working in the specific technical sectors concerned. There can be no doubt that the book is one of the first to be published on the topic. With specifications still in a state of flux, any such effort to organise the many issues involved and put them in context is of enormous value, as it provides a consistent view of the entire system and the services it is expected to support. The preview of the UMTS system's content, technical scenarios and services that the book offers has been made possible by TIM's early commitment to drawing up specifications for UMTS, and the importance which the operator has from the outset assigned to meeting this new challenge. A significant part of this commitment was channelled through CSELT, which was directly involved in developing specifications and in assessing and testing candidate solutions. CSELT was thus able to consolidate its mastery of the mobile systems of the near future, building up a broad-based understanding of these systems and operative skills of great value. This is no mean achievement, if we think of the vital impact that this know-how can have on our country's growth prospects. Flavio Muratore Torino January 18, 2000

Patent
03 Oct 2000
TL;DR: In this article, a queue manager creates a prioritized list of delivery jobs and a delivery manager delivers the jobs in accordance with the prioritised list, and a routing manager determines optimal routes, e.g., least cost route for delivery of each job.
Abstract: Compliance with subscriber job delivery requirements is managed and tracked. Job requirements set forth in service level agreements are stored electronically as delivery parameters. A queue manager creates a prioritized list of delivery jobs. A delivery manager delivers the jobs in accordance with the prioritized list. A routing manager determines optimal routes, e.g., least cost route for delivery of each job. Retries of jobs that are not successfully delivered can be performed. delivery job sources include broadcast subscribers, high- and low-priority single address subscribers, free subscribers and off-peak subscribers.

Patent
28 Jan 2000
TL;DR: The inventive work load manager (WLM) as discussed by the authors dynamically responds to changes in workload characteristics, based on performance goals set by the administrator, and manipulates the resources to achieve these goals.
Abstract: The inventive work load manager (WLM) dynamically responds to changes in workload characteristics. The WLM bases response on performance goals set by the administrator, and manipulates the resources to achieve these goals. The WLM receives performance information from performance monitors. The WLM examines the information from the performance monitors and compares the information with the goals using a Proportional Integral and Derivative controller. Based on the comparison, the WLM may increase, decrease, or leave unchanged, the resources devoted to an application. If the performance of an application is performance is lagging, e.g., if transactions are taking longer than the goal, then the WLM increases the entitlement. If an application is over-achieving, then the WLM will decrease its entitlement and allocate it to another application. The WLM uses an arbiter which allocates the resources between the different applications, based on the priorities of the applications. Consequently, the WLM creates a feedback loop between application performance and CPU entitlements.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, an inventory subject to a probabilistic non-unit sized demand pattern is considered, and an exact and an approximate reorder point calculation method for the (R, Q ) inventory policy is proposed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, an inventory location that serves downstream nodes (e.g. production processes, regional warehouses or customers) in a supply chain is considered, and a procedure for the determination of the probability distribution of the order waiting time in a discrete time periodic (r,S)-inventory system is developed.
Abstract: In this paper we consider an inventory location that serves downstream nodes (e. g. production processes, regional warehouses or customers) in a supply chain. It is pointed out, that the overall optimization of logistical processes should be based on the order delivery time as a critical unifying dimension. It is shown that the standard $\alpha-$ , $\beta-$ and $\gamma$ -service-levels used in inventory theory, when considered from the point of view of a downstream node in the supply chain, provide only limited information about the delay the orders observe. A procedure for the determination of the probability distribution of the order waiting time in a discrete time periodic (r,S)-inventory system is developed. Implications for the optimization of sub-processes in the supply chain are discussed.

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the behavior of local governments when they allocate home care services on elderly and disabled clients based on Norwegian data and demonstrate that service standards as well as economic constraints have an impact on the supply of home care.
Abstract: When private goods are publicly provided at subsidized prices, government authorities have to determine the distribution of services on recipients Such distributions are commonly based on legal regulations and professional guidelines Thus governments are assumed to develop service standards that are incorporated in the preferences for allocation of services The purpose of this paper is to analyse the behavior of local governments when they are allocating home-care services on elderly and disabled clients Based on Norwegian data it is demonstrated that service standards as well as economic constraints have an impact on the supply of home-care As expected the supply to individual clients increases with the degree of disablement The model estimates also show that service standards vary substantially between different client groups For instance, service levels for mentally retarded are rather high compared to elderly clients in non-single households Individual service standards are derived from observed behavior by means of model simulation, where the standards are defined for an average level of municipal incomes and prices The results are used to evaluate the degree of mismatch between service supply and common service standards in different local communities

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Close form expressions are presented to evaluate the means and variances of the effective lead times, the probability of no stockout at a fixed reorder level and the potential lost sales in an inventory model where two suppliers are used concurrently to replenish one stock item.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a mathematical model is formulated to capture the impact of item, equipment, storage configuration and operating parameters in less than unit load order picking systems, and the combined model is applied to predict the operating performance of a lot size, reorder point stock management system with respect to item retrieval throughput capacity, physical storage space requirements, inventory service level and system responsiveness.

Patent
31 Mar 2000
TL;DR: In this article, a generic automated tuning agent (GATA) is described for performance management, which consists of a target to be controlled and a GATA that performs this control.
Abstract: A system and method is described for generic automated tuning for performance management. The system comprises a target to be controlled and a generic automated tuning agent (GATA) that performs this control. The controlled target provides interfaces to metrics relating to workload, service levels, and configuration information, as well as a means to adjust tuning controls that determine resource allocations within the target. The GATA inputs the metrics, estimates new tuning control settings based on service objectives specified by administrators, and outputs the tuning control settings.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
08 Nov 2000
TL;DR: Methods to provide end-to-end capacity allocation to VPN connections in a single ISP domain are presented and the implementation of a bandwidth broker managing the outsourced VPNs for corporate customers that have service level agreements (SLAs) with their ISPs are shown.
Abstract: As today's network infrastructure continues to grow and Differentiated Services IP backbones are now available to provide various levels of quality of service (QoS) to VPN traffic, the ability to manage increasing network complexity is considered as a crucial factor for QoS enabled VPN solutions. There is growing trend by corporate customers to outsource such complicated management services to Internet service providers (ISP) not only to avoid the for economic reasons. We present methods to provide end-to-end capacity allocation to VPN connections in a single ISP domain and show the implementation of a bandwidth broker managing the outsourced VPNs for corporate customers that have service level agreements (SLAs) with their ISPs. We also present practical configuration examples of commercial routers for enabling QoS enabled VPN tunnels and show how the bandwidth broker can dynamically establish tunnels when users send connection requests from the WWW interface.