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arXiv:2204.13918 · Entropy

An Efficient Routing Protocol for Quantum Key Distribution Networks

Jia-Meng Yao, Yaxing Wang, Qiong Li, Haokun Mao, Ahmed A. Abd El‐Latif, Nan Chen

Published Jun 30, 2022• 27 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum key distribution (QKD) can provide point-to-point information-theoretic secure key services for two connected users. In fact, the development of QKD networks needs more focus from the scientific community in order to broaden the service scale of QKD technology to deliver end-to-end secure key services. Of course, some recent efforts have been made to develop secure communication protocols based on QKD. However, due to the limited key generation capability of QKD devices, high quantum secure key utilization is the major concern for QKD networks. Since traditional routing techniques do not account for the state of quantum secure keys on links, applying them in QKD networks directly will result in underutilization of quantum secure keys. Therefore, an efficient routing protocol for QKD networks, especially for large-scale QKD networks, is desperately needed. In this study, an efficient routing protocol based on optimized link-state routing, namely QOLSR, is proposed for QKD networks. QOLSR considerably improves quantum key utilization in QKD networks through link-state awareness and path optimization. Simulation results demonstrate the validity and efficiency of the proposed QOLSR routing protocol. Most importantly, with the growth of communication traffic, the benefit becomes even more apparent.

DOI
10.3390/e24070911

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Quantum key distribution (QKD) can provide point-to-point information-theoretic secure key services for two connected users. In fact, the development of QKD networks needs more focus from the scientific community in order to broaden the service scale of QKD technology to deliver end-to-end secure key services. Of course, some recent efforts have been made to develop secure communication protocols based on QKD. However, due to the limited key generation capability of QKD devices, high quantum secure key utilization is the major concern for QKD networks. Since traditional routing techniques do not account for the state of quantum secure keys on links, applying them in QKD networks directly will result in underutilization of quantum secure keys. Therefore, an efficient routing protocol for QKD networks, especially for large-scale QKD networks, is desperately needed. In this study, an efficient routing protocol based on optimized link-state routing, namely QOLSR, is proposed for QKD networks. QOLSR considerably improves quantum key utilization in QKD networks through link-state awareness and path optimization. Simulation results demonstrate the validity and efficiency of the proposed QOLSR routing protocol. Most importantly, with the growth of communication traffic, the benefit becomes even more apparent.
With exponential growth and associated milestones set in quantum information and quantum computing (QC) technologies, QC is becoming a threat to existing key encryption strategies that leverage asymmetric cryptographic algorithms like RSA (Rivest, Shamir, Adleman) encryption. Since these algorithms form the backbone of Internet communication, it becomes essential to utilize secure quantum methods for key generation and distribution. The quantum key distribution (QKD) networks have since been extensively researched and implemented with various communication protocols, primarily utilizing the Quantum Entanglement and Quantum Key Correction paradigms. Efficient routing is one of the significant problems in classical and hybrid networks. It is important to propose novel hybrid and efficient routing protocols based on modern optimization approaches to design secure, fidelitous, and efficient quantum information networks. We perform this optimization by generating a cost function to implement quantum optimization algorithms, namely the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA). We further draw a comparison with the state-of-the-art graph theory-based optimization techniques. The primary objective of this paper is to fabricate a robust quantum communication network and to subsequently analyze the effectiveness of quantum based techniques to carry out network routing and link optimization, generating scope for the utilization of quantum architecture to enhance security in Q KD networks.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a technique for sharing encryption keys between two adjacent nodes in an unconditionally secure manner based on quantum theory. From the viewpoint of network system research, QKD is considered to be a building block for providing secure link communication in network systems. Although the communication distance is subject to a limitation attributable to the QKD fundamentals, recent research and some QKD field trials of “key relaying” over a “QKD network” are overcoming this limitation. It also enables each node on the QKD network to exchange encryption keys with arbitrary nodes on the QKD network. However, the previous research didn't address a routing method on the QKD network in detail. This paper focuses on the routing issues on the QKD network, clarifies the requirements of the routing protocol, and proposes a routing solution designed for the key relaying on the QKD network. The proposed routing solution consists of 4 components: (1) a node interface architecture addressing both encrypted and unencrypted traffics, (2) a path selection algorithm based on the number of keys, (3) an IP address assignment scheme connecting unencrypted interfaces and encrypted interfaces, and (4) a routing protocol deployment method consuming no extra keys. The proposed routing solution allows the QKD network to select a suitable key relaying path according to the QKD system condition and to reduce the extra key consumption, which optimizes the key utilization on the QKD network. The proposed routing solution was implemented with a network emulating QKD technology and evaluated. The evaluation result shows that the proposed routing solution could select a path that stores enough keys, which is suitable for a QKD network. Additional impact analysis reveals that the proposed routing solution could save up to 52% of key consumption depending on the QKD key sharing speed and the routing protocol configuration.
Nowadays, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) has garnered widespread attention due to its ability to provide symmetric secret keys with information-theoretic security in point-to-point communication. Additionally, key relay technology has been introduced to complete end-to-end key distribution between remote parties by consuming keys in the intermediate links. The routing problem of selecting paths for key relay technology becomes crucial as it directly impacts the network's performance. In this paper, we focus on addressing the routing problem for a specific scenario to serve applications with real-time requirements. Real-time is a critical necessity for supporting various applications, such as video chatting and calling. To satisfy real-time requirements and achieve Quality of Service (QoS) provision to guarantee the completion time, we introduce a distributed routing protocol called Distributed Routing Protocol Based on Key Reservation (Q-RoKR). It reserves keys in advance along the selected path, thereby satisfying real-time requirements. We also propose a priority-awareness mechanism to address resource competition and make efficient use of keys in links. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our protocol effectively meets the real-time requirements and significantly improves throughput. Furthermore, our key efficiency approaches the optimal bound when compared to other comparison schemes.
As an emerging technology, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) can provide information-theoretically secure keys for cryptographic purposes and it attracts worldwide attention. To extend its service capabilities from point-to-point communication to arbitrary remote communication parties, large-scale QKD network construction is underway. However, the dynamic and limited available resources of QKD networks remain a major obstacle to routing design. Numerous studies aim at designing routing schemes to maximize the overall network performance. While these routing schemes efficiently support end-to-end key relaying, their effectiveness diminishes when addressing diverse Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. In this paper, we propose an on-demand routing scheme with QoS provisioning to enhance end-to-end key relaying rates. Our scheme operates in two phases: an on-demand resource probing phase to dynamically update global network resource information and a routing decision phase that leverages a maximum flow model to optimize key relaying while satisfying rate-demand constraints. Simulation results on the SimQN platform demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly improves end-to-end key relaying through-put and delay, providing effective QoS support for rate-demand QKD applications.
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) can achieve the secure distribution of keys among multiple users. By leveraging quantum bits for information interaction and transmission, theoretically, the quantum key distribution network is a method of confidential communication with unconditional security. In recent years, many researchers have been attempting to build small-scale quantum key distribution networks. However, the routing protocols in these small-scale networks are all designed for local quantum key distribution, while the practical research on wide-area quantum key distribution networks is relatively scarce, especially the lack of effective routing algorithms for key transmission. Wide-area quantum key distribution networks are characterized by a large number of nodes, large scale, and complex connection relationships, which lead to problems such as complex routing management and high node load pressure. To address this issue, this paper proposes a cross-domain routing model suitable for wide-area quantum key distribution networks, taking cross-domain user private networks on wide-area networks as the research object, and puts forward the concepts of “Interface” and “Link”. On this basis, based on a randomly constructed quantum user network, a novel link state advertisement method and a flooding mechanism are designed, and an inter-domain routing protocol for quantum keys and a key distribution method are provided. Based on this cross-domain model, automated routing management can be carried out, crossdomain quantum key transmission in user private networks can be achieved, and the key problems in the process of quantum key distribution can be effectively solved.
With the development of quantum computing and computer science, the risk of traditional cryptographic algorithms being cracked is increasing. Therefore, quantum key distribution (QKD) technology based on quantum physical properties has been developed to ensure the security of information communication. Large-scale QKD networks can be built using trusted relay technology, but the hops encryption and decryption process of trusted relay will consume extra keys, which makes it particularly important to choose a reasonable path to reduce the consumption of extra keys during key distribution. The existing routing algorithms mainly focus on the number of remaining keys and hops, but ignore the congestion information of the network, resulting in a high key exchange failure rate and an increase in key consumption. In view of this background, we propose a load balancing routing (LBR) algorithm, which can realize congestion control in QKD network by dynamically detecting link state with SDN controller. Simulation results show that LBR improves key request success rate by more than 10% and key utilization efficiency by about 5% compared with existing methods.