In the mathematical theory of
probability,
offered load is a concept in
queuing theory. The offered load is a measure of traffic in the queue. The offered load is given by
Little's law: the arrival rate into the queue (symbolized with
λ) multiplied by the mean holding time (symbolized with
τ), the average amount of time spent by items in the queue. Offered load is expressed in
Erlang units or
call-seconds per hour, a dimensionless measure.