Matrix-analytic Methods Theory and Applications : Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference : Adelaide, Australia, 14-16 July 2002

Matrix-analytic methods are fundamental to the analysis of a family of Markov processes rich in structure and of wide applicability. They are extensively used in the modelling and performance analysis of computer systems, telecommunication networks, network protocols and many other stochastic systems of current commercial and engineering interest.This volume deals with: (1) various aspects of the theory of block-structured Markov chains; (2) analysis of complex queueing models; and (3) parameter estimation and specific applications to such areas as cellular mobile systems, FS-ALOHA, the Internet and production systems.