A Note on Optimization Problems of a Parallel System With a Random Number of Units

Abstract

This paper is concerned with a parallel system that have a random number of units. The distribution of the number of units is assumed to follow a power series class of distributions which contains well-known distributions such as modified or truncated Poisson, geometric, and logarithmic distributions. Optimal number of units and replacement time for the system which minimizes the mean cost rate are computed. The results extend the results in the literature from Poisson distribution to a wider class of distributions.