Queueing-Aware Optimization of Reasoning Tokens for Accuracy-Latency Trade-offs in LLM Servers
Abstract
We consider a single large language model (LLM) server that serves a heterogeneous stream of queries belonging to distinct task types. Queries arrive according to a Poisson process, and each type occurs with a known prior probability. For each task type, the server allocates a fixed number of internal thinking tokens, which determines the computational effort devoted to that query. The token allocation induces an accuracy-latency trade-off: the service time follows an approximately affine function of the allocated tokens, while the probability of a correct response exhibits diminishing returns. Under a first-in, first-out (FIFO) service discipline, the system operates as an queue, and the mean system time depends on the first and second moments of the resulting service-time distribution. We formulate a constrained optimization problem that maximizes a weighted average accuracy objective penalized by the mean system time, subject to architectural token-budget constraints and queue-stability conditions. The objective function is shown to be strictly concave over the stability region, which ensures existence and uniqueness of the optimal token allocation. The first-order optimality conditions yield a coupled projected fixed-point characterization of the optimum, together with an iterative solution and an explicit sufficient condition for contraction. Moreover, a projected gradient method with a computable global step-size bound is developed to guarantee convergence beyond the contractive regime. Finally, integer-valued token allocations are attained via rounding of the continuous solution, and the resulting performance loss is evaluated in simulation results.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.10274,
title = {Queueing-Aware Optimization of Reasoning Tokens for Accuracy-Latency Trade-offs in LLM Servers},
author = {Emre Ozbas and Melih Bastopcu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.10274},
year = {2026}
}