use threads; use Thread::Queue qw( ); my $num_drives = 3; my $num_discs = 12; my $q = Thread::Queue->new(); $q->enqueue( 1..$num_discs ); $q->enqueue( (undef) x $num_drives ); for my $drive (1..$num_drives) { ... eject disc ... async { while (defined(my $disc = $q->dequeue())) { print("Please insert disc $disc in drive $drive\n"); ... wait for disc to be present ... ... read disc ... ... eject disc ... } }; } $_->join for threads->list();