Multiq: A multi-tier multi-list based priority queue structure for stochastic discrete event simulation

Abstract

Priority queues have an acute effect in stochastic discrete event simulations for as much as 40% of a simulation execution time is consumed by the pending event set management. This article describes a novel approach to develop a multi-tier multi-list based priority queue which we coin as MultiQ. The MultiQ is shown empirically to be stable and insensitive to priority increment distribution. Furthermore, MultiQ is 100% faster on the average than the current expected O(1) Calendar Queue and its variants in all scenarios and queue sizes. In some scenarios, the MultiQ is more than one magnitude faster. These evidence add justifications for it to be implemented in discrete event simulators.