Near-term quantum networks will grow to form a Noisy, Intermediate-
Scale Quantum Internet (NISQI). Connection setup will require adapting
behavior along the path to the noise levels of individual elements. In
this proposal, path creation is triggered by an application at the
Initiator, information is accumulated node-by-node on an outbound pass
in a series of QCap (quantum capability) blocks, then the RuleSets are
created at the Responder. RuleSets are installed at the individual
nodes on the return pass. This document describes the architecture of
connection setup in a network. Details of the RuleSets and QCaps,
addressing architecture, link protocols, routing, resource allocation
(multiplexing), extension of this setup procedure to an internetwork,
and extension to multiparty communications are beyond the scope of
this document.
Near-term quantum networks will grow to form a Noisy, Intermediate-
Scale Quantum Internet (NISQI). Connection setup will require adapting
behavior along the path to the noise levels of individual elements. In
this proposal, path creation is triggered by an application at the
Initiator, information is accumulated node-by-node on an outbound pass
in a series of QCap (quantum capability) blocks, then the RuleSets are
created at the Responder. RuleSets are installed at the individual
nodes on the return pass. This document describes the architecture of
connection setup in a network. Details of the RuleSets and QCaps,
addressing architecture, link protocols, routing, resource allocation
(multiplexing), extension of this setup procedure to an internetwork,
and extension to multiparty communications are beyond the scope of
this document.
Entangled quantum communication is advancing rapidly, with laboratory and metropolitan testbeds under development, but to date there is no unifying Quantum Internet architecture. We propose a Quantum Internet architecture centered around the Quantum Recursive Network Architecture (QRNA), using RuleSet-based connections established using a two-pass connection setup. Scalability and internetworking (for both technological and administrative boundaries) are achieved using recursion in naming and connection control. In the near term, this architecture will support end-to-end, two-party entanglement on minimal hardware, and it will extend smoothly to multiparty entanglement and the use of quantum error correction on advanced hardware in the future. For a network internal gateway protocol, we recommend (but do not require) qDijkstra with seconds per Bell pair as link cost for routing; the external gateway protocol is designed to build recursively. The strength of our architecture is shown by assessing extensibility and demonstrating how robust protocol operation can be confirmed using the RuleSet paradigm.
Although the network architecture of the Quantum Internet has not yet been established, a hierarchical structure similar to that of the classical Internet has been proposed in recent years. However, discussions on the application layer, the highest layer in the hierarchy, are still in their early stages, and a major challenge lies in the non-trivial task of converting applications into a form that can be accepted by the lower layers. In this study, we propose a framework that defines the necessary information and procedures for executing applications on the Quantum Internet, aiming for seamless integration of the quantum network stack, including the application layer. Our framework builds upon the RuleSet-based protocol, which enables connectivity below the application layer. Before application execution, it clarifies inter-node communication procedures, organizes essential application information, and introduces new Rules for application execution, thereby embedding application-specific information into RuleSets. Through this process, applications are transformed into a format executable on the Quantum Internet. The feasibility of our proposed protocol is validated by converting into an intermediate representation (IR) format that can be executed on nodes within QuISP, a large-scale quantum network simulator. This approach facilitates seamless connectivity from the application layer to the physical layer in the quantum network architecture, reducing barriers to deploying future Quantum Internet applications.
A scalable and robust infrastructure for arbitrary quantum communication and distributed quantum computation will realize enhanced as well as new applications that are beyond the reach of classical communication networks. Quantum internetworking, which achieves large-scale quantum networks by building recursively on smaller quantum networks, is a promising approach. However, there are two big difficulties: decomposing end-to-end quantum communication, which is actually a complex distributed computing spanning classical and quantum computing, into processing for each subnetwork; and supporting future network functionality sustainably. In this work, we propose design principles for a quantum internetworking protocol based on the quantum recursive network architecture (QRNA) utilizing the RuleSet-based approach. We design two distinct approaches for recursion in quantum networks, namely link- and node-recursion. We demonstrate how end-to-end Bell pairs are generated over our internetworking systems, and evaluate the scaling of inputs to the distributed processing, via implementation on the Quantum Internet Simulation Package (QuISP). Our subnetwork recursion demonstrates the long-term future scalability as the size of and demands made on the Quantum Internet.
The coming Quantum Internet will bring us new capabilities: advanced cryptographic functions, high-precision sensor networks for uses such as high-resolution astronomy, and secure distributed quantum computing. Experimental progress on the components for quantum repeaters is moving at a dizzying rate, and theorists have proposed various approaches to managing errors to create high-fidelity quantum entanglement. Building quantum networks presents different challenges from building quantum links. I will give an overview of these issues, then discuss the even more daunting challenge of creating a network of networks -- an internetwork -- and show how our simulations are guiding the design of a true quantum Internet. These challenges include routing (path selection), resource management such as multiplexing techniques, and security considerations within individual networks. Recently, we have discovered that it is possible for a single hijacked quantum repeater to frame other repeaters as malicious, substantially disrupting network operations. All of these issues are magnified when discussing autonomous networks that exchange information, known as an internetwork. In internetworking, not only is the scale of the problem daunting, but heterogeneous technologies will be deployed and demand interoperability at the logical level as well as the physical. Network operators also prefer to maintain the privacy of their own network operations, requiring mechanisms including connection establishment to operate with minimal sharing of information across network boundaries.
Layered architectures for the Quantum Internet have been proposed, inspired by that of the classical Internet, which has demonstrated high maintainability even in large-scale systems. While lower layers in the Quantum Internet, such as entanglement generation and distribution, have been extensively studied, the application layer - responsible for translating user requests into executable quantum-network operations - remains largely unexplored. A significant challenge is translating application-level requests into the concrete instructions executable at lower layers. In this work, we introduce a RuleSet-based framework that explicitly incorporates the application layer into the layered architecture of the Quantum Internet. Our framework builds on a RuleSet-based protocol, clarifying communication procedures, organizing application request information, and introducing new Rules for application execution by embedding application specifications into RuleSets. To evaluate feasibility, we constructed state machines from the generated RuleSets. This approach enables a transparent integration from the application layer down to the physical layer, thereby lowering barriers to deploying new applications on the Quantum Internet.
While quantum communications technology evolves, the promise of a Quantum Internet becomes closer and different proposals to build it have been already proposed, addressing different aspects of what such a global network would imply. We believe a consistent reference architecture model for the Quantum Internet is required to progress in its evolution, addressing the different dimensions such a network has to consider, including the interaction with the "classical" Internet. Such a reference architecture would provide a framework for the integration of the protocols applicable to it, and enable the advance of the applications based on it. As a reference model, it should allow the proposition and analysis of different approaches and solutions, providing a framework to reason about these solutions and their interplay to achieve a global Quantum-enabled open network.Such a model has to satisfy three essential requirements: agility, enabling it to adapt to the evolution of quantum communications base technologies, sustainability, with open availability in technological and economical terms, and pliability, being able to integrate with the operations and management procedures in current networks. This paper describes the reference architecture framework currently being discussed in the QIRG (Quantum Internet Research Group) of IRTF, and intended to provide a conceptual common framework for the integration of the different technology proposals to build the Quantum Internet infrastructure and its convergence with the current Internet. The framework is based on the already extensive experience in the deployment and operation of QKD infrastructures and on recent initiatives focused on the integration of networks and services.