Bulk queue

In queueing theory, a discipline within the mathematical theory of probability, a bulk queue (sometimes batch queue) is a general queueing model where jobs arrive in and/or are served in groups of random size.^: vii Batch arrivals have been used to describe large deliveries and batch services to model a hospital out-patient department holding a clinic once a week, a transport link with fixed capacity and an elevator.

Networks of such queues are known to have a product form stationary distribution under certain conditions. Under heavy traffic conditions a bulk queue is known to behave like a reflected Brownian motion.