General batch service disciplines - A product-form batch processing network with customer coalescence

A new batch service discipline is introduced that allows for customers of d ifferent classes to leave together in one batch. This so-called general bat ch service discipline is discussed for servers with signals and class-indep endent or class-dependent exponential service times. The equilibrium distri bution and the associated traffic equations are calculated and it is shown that such servers are quasi-reversible. This property allows to model a net work of servers with general batch service discipline that possesses a prod uct form equilibrium.