STORAGE ASSIGNMENT POLICY TRADEOFFS

A model is presented for developing the state probability distribution of aggregate space requirements in a randomized storage system as a f unction of the level of variation in item retrieval activity. This mod el provides a tool to analyse tradeoffs in space requirements and retr ieval efficiency associated with dedicated and randomized storage poli cies. The technique extends previous work by accounting for space redu ctions associated with randomized storage in estimating average item r etrieval costs. A sample problem is presented along with an analysis o f randomized and dedicated storage policy performance.