Embedding Service Function Chain (SFC) into the massive and resource-hungry Internet of Things (IoT) substrate graph is a critical optimization research problem. Unfortunately, the classical Integer Linear Programming (ILP) formulation for such problems is usually NP-hard. Thus, this research study presses on the need to go beyond the realms and employ Quantum Annealing (QA) to speed up the computation. To comply, we reformulate the SFC embedding problem into IoT graphs as Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) format and propose a hybrid warm start quantum annealing (WSQA) optimization technique. Simulation results show that our proposed WSQA can improve resource utilization, accelerate computing time, and achieve a better scalability success rate at solving large-scale SFC deployment compared to standalone QA. Further along the line, this research inspires the application of quantum optimization for resource allocation in next-generation networks even with the limited availability of qubits.
Embedding Service Function Chain (SFC) into the massive and resource-hungry Internet of Things (IoT) substrate graph is a critical optimization research problem. Unfortunately, the classical Integer Linear Programming (ILP) formulation for such problems is usually NP-hard. Thus, this research study presses on the need to go beyond the realms and employ Quantum Annealing (QA) to speed up the computation. To comply, we reformulate the SFC embedding problem into IoT graphs as Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) format and propose a hybrid warm start quantum annealing (WSQA) optimization technique. Simulation results show that our proposed WSQA can improve resource utilization, accelerate computing time, and achieve a better scalability success rate at solving large-scale SFC deployment compared to standalone QA. Further along the line, this research inspires the application of quantum optimization for resource allocation in next-generation networks even with the limited availability of qubits.
Metaverse refers to the intersection of parallel virtual worlds with their physical counterparts by allowing users to interact with virtual people, objects, and environments. Resource allocation in various aspects of Metaverse domains, called as MetaSlices hereinafter, is a crucial optimization research problem. To serve this purpose, we consider a MetaSlice framework with the notion of sharing resources among common functions and enable placing time-sensitive services at the edge of multi-tier architecture in proximity to users. Unfortunately, the classical Integer Linear Programming is inappropriate for such heavily constrained optimization problem due to the extensive running time and memory. Hence, we model a novel Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) formulation to simultaneously optimize resources and secure Quality of Service for MetaSlices as a paradigm shift towards quantum computing. Furthermore, we propose to employ a hybrid classical-quantum WSQA to optimize resource under uncertainty, offer ultra-low running time, and increase service acceptance rate/scalability in resource-hungry and dynamic Metaverse system. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that WSQA outperforms other classical and standalone quantum annealing approaches, even with the limited availability of qubits (quantum resources). Thus, this research paves the way to decrease massive resource fabrication costs and upgrade profit margin for Metaverse Internet Service Providers, while simultaneously providing real-time services for Metaverse users.
Internet of Everything (IoE) refers to the intelligent connection among people, things, data and processes, essentially inclining toward the next-generation networks. To unleash the full potential of the IoE framework, it often requires nearly real-time management decisions regarding deployment and scheduling operations. The IoE service management problems, primarily formulated as traditional mathematical programming models, are NP-hard, hence inappropriate for time-sensitive IoE environments. This thesis promotes the need to go beyond the realms and leverage quantum computing-based service management. Next, the feasibility of applying quantum computing for IoE optimization, based on today's available quantum resources (qubits), is intended for evaluation. Further along this line, the vision includes determining the advantages of solving NP-hard problems using quantum computing over classical approaches, as well as identifying major trade-offs that hinder applicability. Based on the research progress, hybrid quantum-classical computing is the key to solve futuristic IoE service management optimizations, considering the limited availability of quantum computing resources (qubits). The synergistic research for quantum computing-enabled network optimization and analytics can be regarded as an effort to scale down massive resource fabrication costs and upgrade profit margins for service providers.
Agile networks with fast adaptation and reconfiguration capabilities are required for on-demand provisioning of various network services. We propose a new methodical framework for short-time network optimization based on quantum computing (QC) and integer linear program (ILP) models, which has the potential of realizing a real-time network automation. We define methods to map a nearly real-world ILP model for resource provisioning to a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) problem, which is solvable on quantum annealer (QA). We concentrate on the three-node network to evaluate our approach and its obtainable quality of solution using the state-of-the-art quantum annealer D-Wave Advantage™ 5.2/5.3. By studying the annealing process, we find annealing configuration parameters that obtain feasible solutions close to the reference solution generated by the classical ILP-solver CPLEX. Further, we studied the scaling of the network problem and provide estimations on quantum annealer's hardware requirements to enable a proper QUBO problem embedding of larger networks. We achieved the QUBO embedding of networks with up to 6 nodes on the D-Wave Advantage™. According to our estimates a real-sized network with 12 to 16 nodes require a QA hardware with at least 50000 qubits or more.
Metaverse refers to the intersection of parallel virtual worlds with their physical counterparts by allowing users to interact with virtual people, objects, and environments. Resource allocation in various aspects of Metaverse domains, called as MetaSlices hereinafter, is a crucial optimization research problem. To serve this purpose, we consider a MetaSlice framework with the notion of sharing resources among common functions and enable placing time-sensitive services at the edge of multi-tier architecture in proximity to users. Unfortunately, the classical Integer Linear Programming is inappropriate for such heavily constrained optimization problem due to the extensive running time and memory. Hence, we model a novel Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) formulation to simultaneously optimize resources and secure Quality of Service for MetaSlices as a paradigm shift towards quantum computing. Furthermore, we propose to employ two hybrid classical-quantum strategies, Warm Start and Cold Start Quantum Annealing to optimize resource under bandwidth uncertainty, offer ultra-low running time, and increase service acceptance rate/scalability in a resource-hungry and dynamic Metaverse system.
Quantum annealing (QA) offers a physics-inspired approach for such subproblems by mapping them onto an Ising Hamiltonian, which is algebraically equivalent to a Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) model executable on quantum annealers or hybrid solvers. However, their practical employment in wireless systems critically depends on the specific problem formulation, on the particular variable encoding, constraint handling, solver selection, hardware embedding, and fair benchmarking. This paper develops wireless-oriented QUBO modeling guidelines for QA-assisted resource allocation. We first present a beginner-friendly toy example in which a terrestrial-aerial resource-allocation problem with a fractional signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) maximization objective is reformulated into a two-bit QUBO via Boolean interpolation, converted into an Ising representation, and decoded back into a wireless scheduling decision. The same scheduling is applicable to UAV, aircraft, satellite, and terrestrial links in SAGIN systems. We then review the QA foundations and solver ecosystems, including binary quadratic, discrete quadratic, constrained quadratic, and hybrid models from the perspective of NG wireless optimization. Furthermore, we discuss both binary and discrete encoding, penalty-based constraint conversion, embedding overhead, solution decoding, and feasibility verification. A QUBO Compatibility Index is introduced as a lightweight diagnostic metric for assessing the associated QUBO formulation readiness, rather than a predictor of runtime or solution quality. Finally, a case study on max-min uplink power control in cell-free massive MIMO illustrates how a fairness-oriented wireless problem can be discretized, constrained, converted into the concept of a QUBO, and evaluated against classical baselines. A host of key challenges and future directions are also discussed.
Network function virtualization (NFV) is a crucial technology for the 5G network development because it can improve the flexibility of employing hardware and reduce the construction of base stations. There are vast service chains in NFV to meet users’ requests, which are composed of a sequence of network functions. These virtual network functions (VNFs) are implemented in virtual machines by software and virtual environment. How to deploy VMs to process VNFs of the service chains as soon as possible when users’ requests are received is very challenging to solve by traditional algorithms on a large scale. Compared with traditional algorithms, quantum computing has better computational performance because of quantum parallelism. We build an integer linear programming model of the VNF scheduling problem with the objective of minimizing delays, and transfer it into the quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) model. Our proposed heuristic algorithm employs a quantum annealer to solve the model. Finally, we evaluate the computational results and explore the feasibility of leveraging quantum computing to solve the VNF scheduling problem.