Leveraging Internet Principles to Build a Quantum Network
Leonardo Bacciottini, Matheus Guedes de Andrade, Shahrooz Pouryousef, Emily A. Van Milligen, Aparimit Chandra, Nitish K. Panigrahy, Nageswara S. V. Rao, Gayane Vardoyan, Don Towsley
Designing an operational architecture for the Quantum Internet is challenging in light of both fundamental limits imposed by physics laws and technological constraints. Here, we propose a method to abstract away most of the quantumspecific elements and formulate a best-effort quantum network architecture based on packet switching, akin to that of the classical Internet. This reframing provides an opportunity to exploit the many available and well-understood protocols within the Internet context. As an illustration, we tailor and adapt classical congestion control and active queue management protocols to quantum networks, employing an architecture wherein quantum end and intermediate nodes effectively regulate demand and resource utilization, respectively. Results show that these classical networking tools can be effective in managing quantum memory decoherence and maintaining end-to-end fidelity around a target value.
Designing an operational architecture for the Quantum Internet is challenging in light of both fundamental limits imposed by physics laws and technological constraints. Here, we propose a method to abstract away most of the quantumspecific elements and formulate a best-effort quantum network architecture based on packet switching, akin to that of the classical Internet. This reframing provides an opportunity to exploit the many available and well-understood protocols within the Internet context. As an illustration, we tailor and adapt classical congestion control and active queue management protocols to quantum networks, employing an architecture wherein quantum end and intermediate nodes effectively regulate demand and resource utilization, respectively. Results show that these classical networking tools can be effective in managing quantum memory decoherence and maintaining end-to-end fidelity around a target value.
The second quantum revolution brings with it the promise of a quantum internet. As the first quantum network hardware prototypes near completion new challenges emerge. A functional network is more than just the physical hardware, yet work on scalable quantum network systems is in its infancy. In this paper we present a quantum network protocol designed to enable end-to-end quantum communication in the face of the new fundamental and technical challenges brought by quantum mechanics. We develop a quantum data plane protocol that enables end-to-end quantum communication and can serve as a building block for more complex services. One of the key challenges in near-term quantum technology is decoherence --- the gradual decay of quantum information --- which imposes extremely stringent limits on storage times. Our protocol is designed to be efficient in the face of short quantum memory lifetimes. We demonstrate this using a simulator for quantum networks and show that the protocol is able to deliver its service even in the face of significant losses due to decoherence. Finally, we conclude by showing that the protocol remains functional on the extremely resource limited hardware that is being developed today underlining the timeliness of this work.
The realization of a large-scale Quantum Internet is a long-term objective of quantum information science, aiming to interconnect quantum devices through the reliable distribution of entanglement across long distances. Unlike classical networks, quantum networks are constrained by decoherence, probabilistic operations, and the no-cloning theorem, which fundamentally alter network design principles. This paper presents a new simulation-driven study of a scalable and resilient Quantum Internet architecture based on adaptive, entanglement-centric networking. A detailed system model is developed, incorporating realistic quantum channel noise, memory decoherence, and repeater-assisted communication. Novel fidelity-aware routing and resource-adaptive entanglement management strategies are evaluated through extensive simulations. Mathematical models, algorithmic pseudocode, and performance analysis demonstrate how adaptive control significantly improves end-to-end fidelity and network throughput under non-ideal conditions. The results provide actionable design insights for future experimental and large-scale quantum networking deployments.
The realization of the Quantum Internet promises transformative capabilities in secure communication, distributed quantum computing, and high-precision metrology. However, transitioning from laboratory experiments to a scalable, multi-tenant network utility introduces deep orchestration challenges. Current development is often siloed within physics communities, prioritizing hardware, while the classical networking community lacks architectural models to manage fragile quantum resources. This tutorial bridges this divide by providing a network-centric view of quantum networking. We dismantle idealized assumptions in current simulators to address the "simulation-reality gap," recasting them as explicit control-plane constraints. To bridge this gap, we establish Software-Defined Quantum Networking (SDQN) as a prerequisite for scale, prioritizing a symbiotic, dual-plane architecture where classical control dictates quantum data flow. Specifically, we synthesize reference models for SDQN and the Quantum Network Operating System (QNOS) for hardware abstraction, and adapt a Quantum Network Utility Maximization (Q-NUM) framework as a unifying mathematical lens for engineers to reason about trade-offs between entanglement routing, scheduling, and fidelity. Furthermore, we analyze Distributed Quantum AI (DQAI) over imperfect networks as a case study, illustrating how physical constraints such as probabilistic stragglers and decoherence dictate application-layer viability. Ultimately, this tutorial equips network engineers with the tools required to transition quantum networking from a bespoke physics experiment into a programmable, multi-tenant global infrastructure.
In this thesis, I explore whether it is possible to build a unified Quantum Internet architecture that supports different types of quantum repeaters -- especially the two most distinct and seemingly incompatible ones: memory-based quantum repeaters and all-photonic, memoryless repeaters. These technologies have traditionally been developed with the aim of becoming the single dominant solution, but I ask: Can they work together in the same network? What kind of architecture would support both? And how can simulation help us understand what is needed to manage such a network at scale? To address these questions, I propose an architecture based on an existing recursive network design and programmable RuleSet-based protocols that can coordinate diverse hardware components. I introduce a new emitter-photon building block to bridge memory-based and all-photonic segments, and show how classical networking abstractions can be extended to manage quantum operations. While I have developed a simulation tool grounded in these architectural principles and validated it against existing simulators and analytical models, a full-scale investigation of the resource trade-offs and performance implications remains future work. Nevertheless, the results so far suggest that a unified, heterogeneous quantum network is not only possible but increasingly practical with current technologies -- though ongoing experimental progress will be essential to fully realize this vision.
One of the first problems of studying the quantum internet is how to realize quantum interconnection between users in a quantum network. To address above problem, by referencing the classical Internet, developing the packet switching of quantum networks is a promising way. In this paper, we propose a new hybrid packet switching for entanglement-based quantum networks assisted by classical frame. Different from the previous packet switching for quantum networks based on single photon, the frame used in our scheme is pure classical rather than the classical-quantum structure, and the transmission of classical and quantum signals over physical channels can be independent, which makes our scheme is also valid for quantum networks with heralded entanglement generation. Using our hybrid packet switching, the process of building entanglement channel between end nodes is analogous to the classical packet-switched networks, which provides an effective way to build large-scale packet-switched entanglement-based quantum internet. To verify the feasibility, we perform end-to-end entanglement distribution using our hybrid packet switching in a quantum network and simulate the fidelities of distributed state with respect to the number of hops.
The key objective of the Quantum Internet is the distribution and manipulation of entanglement to enable unprecedented applications. This requires a radical departure from classical Internet design principles, such as the end-to-end argument, due to the inherently stateful and non-local nature of entanglement, which demands coordinated in-network operations and persistent state awareness. To this end, we propose a novel hierarchical Quantum Internet architecture centered on the concept ofEntanglement-Defined Controller(EDC). This architectural design constitutes the foundational layer, by enabling a clear separation between control and data planes. While necessary, this separation is insufficient to manage entanglement resources, requiring aquantum-native control plane. Consequently, we propose aquantum addressing schemethat embeds quantumness directly into node identifiers, allowing the network to natively track and manipulate entanglement as a dynamic resource. Built upon these two interdependent pillars – EDC-based architecture and quantum addressing – we design aquantum-native routing protocolthat achieves scalability through compact routing tables, by efficiently operating over entanglement-defined topologies. Finally, we design aquantum address splittingfunctionality based on Schrödinger’s oracles that generalizes classical match-and-forward logic to the quantum domain. Collectively, these contributions demonstrate, for the first time, the fundamental advantages of quantum-by-design network control for enabling scalable quantum networking.