Blocking Probabilities in Erlang Loss Queues with Advance Reservation

We study the blocking probability in a continuous time loss queue, in which resources can be claimed a random time in advance. We identify classes of loss queues where the advance reservation results in increased or decreased blocking probabilities. The lower blocking probabilities are achieved because the system tends to favor short jobs. We provide analytical and numerical results to establish the connection between the system’s parameters and either an increase or decrease of blocking probabilities, compared to the system without reservation.