Capacity is the maximum number of entities (1 – 999,999) allowed to process concurrently at an Activity.
Capacity is like the number of toll booths at an airport exit. Each booth operates independently and in parallel with the others. For example, if a checkout consisted of fifteen self-serve pay lanes, then a single activity could be used with a capacity of 15. A simple version of the booth example might look like the following:
Capacity is often dependent on the number of Resources tied to the activity. For example, if fifteen booths need resources, but only five resources are available, then the available capacity is only five of the fifteen. Because of resource unavailability, ten booths would remain unused.
The Input Queue and Output Queue also have a capacity (0 to 999,999). The Input Queue is a holding area for Entities before the Activity capacity. Action logic occurs after leaving the Input Queue and entering the capacity before performing the time in the Time field. The Output Queue holds entities until sufficient capacity exists at the destination activity.
- Scenario Parameters replace numeric values for experimentation purposes.
- Insert the abbreviation INF in any capacity field to represent the largest numeric value allowed (999,999).