BUFFER STORAGE DESIGN IN COMPUTER SYSTEMS WITH SEVERAL INCOMING DATA FLOWS,

In designing information systems of the centralized control type or regulation and computer systems, problems of queuing theory and the investigation of operations arise since these systems contain both informational and computing portions between which data flows circulate. Complex relationships must be solved when selecting computer speed with respect to volume and intensity of information arrival, volume of computations involved in processing one report, and capacity of various types of memories and other parameters of the system. A method for solution of some problems connected with the servicing of an instrument with a finite queue, which can be used in calculation of the capacity of a buffer memory and in many other cases, is presented. Theoretical problems are analyzed, and a numerical example is given in the form of a control system in which the role of the servicing apparatus is played by a digital computer, the input flows of requests being signals from various input channels transducers. For processing of these signals, the external memory of the computer must store as many programs as there are different channels. The servicing time of each request is determined by the complexity of the program and the time required to re-write the program into the operative memory. A calculation of the buffer memory capacity required between input channels and the computer is performed.