Quantum networks are essential infrastructure for enabling large-scale and long-distance quantum communications but face significant challenges in routing optimization and resource allocation due to their probabilistic nature and quantum resource limitations. Existing approaches typically tackle these problems in isolation, often by simply applying classical routing algorithms, maximizing the overall profit to allocate resources without considering fairness, or improving fairness in an ad-hoc way without a rigorous model. This paper proposes a general framework to systematically address these challenges. First, we conduct a thorough analysis of quantum network metrics using routing algebra as the mathematical foundation, and design provably optimal routing algorithms to tackle the unique challenges arising from their probabilistic characteristics. Second, we formulate an optimization model that simultaneously considers fairness among concurrent requests while respecting various quantum resource constraints, and design efficient near-optimal heuristics to solve it. The proposed framework provides both theoretical insights and practical solutions for the design and management of future quantum networks.
Quantum networks are essential infrastructure for enabling large-scale and long-distance quantum communications but face significant challenges in routing optimization and resource allocation due to their probabilistic nature and quantum resource limitations. Existing approaches typically tackle these problems in isolation, often by simply applying classical routing algorithms, maximizing the overall profit to allocate resources without considering fairness, or improving fairness in an ad-hoc way without a rigorous model. This paper proposes a general framework to systematically address these challenges. First, we conduct a thorough analysis of quantum network metrics using routing algebra as the mathematical foundation, and design provably optimal routing algorithms to tackle the unique challenges arising from their probabilistic characteristics. Second, we formulate an optimization model that simultaneously considers fairness among concurrent requests while respecting various quantum resource constraints, and design efficient near-optimal heuristics to solve it. The proposed framework provides both theoretical insights and practical solutions for the design and management of future quantum networks.
Quantum networks are essential infrastructure for enabling large-scale and long-distance quantum communications but face significant challenges in routing optimization and resource allocation due to their probabilistic nature and quantum resource limitations. Existing approaches typically tackle these problems in isolation, often by simply applying classical routing algorithms, maximizing the overall profit to allocate resources without considering fairness, or improving fairness in an ad-hoc way without a rigorous model. This paper proposes a general framework to systematically address these challenges. First, we conduct a thorough analysis of quantum network metrics using routing algebra as the mathematical foundation, and design provably optimal routing algorithms to tackle the unique challenges arising from their probabilistic characteristics. Second, we formulate an optimization model that simultaneously considers fairness among concurrent requests while respecting various quantum resource constraints, and design efficient near-optimal heuristics to solve it. The proposed framework provides both theoretical insights and practical solutions for the design and management of future quantum networks.
Quantum networks are essential infrastructure for enabling large-scale and long-distance quantum communications but face significant challenges in routing optimization and resource allocation due to their probabilistic nature and quantum resource limitations. Existing approaches typically tackle these problems in isolation, often by simply applying classical routing algorithms, maximizing the overall profit to allocate resources without considering fairness, or improving fairness in an ad-hoc way without a rigorous model. This paper proposes a general framework to systematically address these challenges. First, we conduct a thorough analysis of quantum network metrics using routing algebra as the mathematical foundation, and design provably optimal routing algorithms to tackle the unique challenges arising from their probabilistic characteristics. Second, we formulate an optimization model that simultaneously considers fairness among concurrent requests while respecting various quantum resource constraints, and design efficient near-optimal heuristics to solve it. The proposed framework provides both theoretical insights and practical solutions for the design and management of future quantum networks.
Quantum computing is a new discipline that uses the ideas of quantum physics to do calculations that are not possible with conventional computers. Quantum bits, called qubits, could exist in superposition states, making them suitable for parallel processing in contrast to traditional bits. When it comes to addressing complex challenges like proof simulation, optimization, and cryptography, quantum entanglement and quantum interference provide exponential improvements. This survey focuses on recent advances in entanglement routing, quantum key distribution (QKD), and qubit management for short- and long-distance quantum communication. It studies optimization approaches such as integer programming, reinforcement learning, and collaborative methods, evaluating their efficacy in terms of throughput, scalability, and fairness. Despite improvements, challenges remain in dynamic network adaptation, resource limits, and error correction. Addressing these difficulties necessitates the creation of hybrid quantum–classical algorithms for efficient resource allocation, hardware-aware designs to improve real-world deployment, and fault-tolerant architecture. Therefore, this survey suggests that future research focus on integrating quantum networks with existing classical infrastructure to improve security, dependability, and mainstream acceptance. This connection has significance for applications that require secure communication, financial transactions, and critical infrastructure protection.
Quantum networks are envisioned to enable reliable distribution and manipulation of quantum information across distances, forming the foundation of a future quantum internet. The fair and efficient allocation of communication resources in such networks has been addressed through the quantum network utility maximization (QNUM) framework, which optimizes network utility under the assumption of predetermined routes for competing user demands. In this work, we relax this assumption and aim to identify optimal routes that correspond to the maximum achievable network utility. Specifically, we formulate the single-path utility-based entanglement routing problem as a Mixed-Integer Convex Program (MICP). The formulation is exact when negativity is chosen as the entanglement measure for utility quantification or the network supports sufficiently high entanglement generation rates across demands. For other entanglement measures considered, the formulation approximates the problem with over 99.99% accuracy on evaluated real-world examples. To improve computational tractability, we propose a randomized rounding-based heuristic and an upper bound via the relaxation of the MICP. Furthermore, based on min-congestion routing, we introduce an alternative randomized heuristic and upper bound. This heuristic is computationally faster, while both the heuristic and the upper bound often outperform their counterparts on considered real-world networks. Our work provides the framework for extending classical flow-based and quality of service-aware routing concepts to quantum networks.
Due to its complexity, resource allocation in complex communication networks has been always designed with great deal of approximations and restrictions. With the availability of quantum computing, quantum optimization and quantum search algorithms, we are able to overcome these limitations significantly and come up with more precise and efficient “quantum era” algorithms. The main objective of this paper is to provide the future network designers with a new optimization framework for resource (capacity and secrete key rate) allocation in quantum networks. The analysis is general to include: the classical capacityC, for transmitting classical information; the quantum capacityQ, for reliably transmitting intact quantum states; the two-way classical-assisted quantum capacityQ2, for transmitting quantum states with the help of a two-way classical side channel; and the entanglement-assisted classical capacityCE, which we define as the classical capacity of a quantum channel enabled by prior shared entanglement between two nodes. Once the optimization framework is introduced the rest of the paper discusses the optimization constraints, by surveying some examples of the relevant work on achievable network resources (capacity and secrete key rate) and relaxation of the optimization constraints by increasing these parameters using the quantum coding schemes. These constraints are an integral part of the optimization algorithms and full understanding of their nature and limits is essential for system optimization. The achievable secret key rates/capacity of quantum channels are limited, so our optimization framework for resource allocation enables maximization of the overall resources allocated to all users, or maximization of the number of users accessing the network, or minimization of the number of hopes on the routes or maximization of remaining resources in the most critical node in the network. The optimization problems have combinatorial form, and the most efficient execution of these algorithms can be achieved by using quantum search algorithms like Grover’s algorithm or quantum approximative optimization algorithms (QAOA) which are extensively discussed in the paper.Regarding the scope of the technology survey in Section VIII we summarize the coverage of our targeted survey and the coverage of other relevant works.
Quantum entanglement networks has ushered in a new era of communication, with the core task of generating long-distance quantum entanglement being crucial for a multitude of quantum applications. Although current research is primarily focused on establishing long-distance entanglement across various network topologies, there is still a lack of attention to the variability of communication requests within quantum networks. This paper introduces the Fair and Restricted Resource Allocation Algorithm (FARA), designed to meet the business-driven resource allocation requirements within quantum networks. This algorithm prioritizes the demands and urgency of requests to establish a fairer response mechanism, leading to an enhanced user experience. We refine the strategy for allocating network resources to maximize their use during multiple concurrent requests and to improve the success rate of business. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed scheme improves the business success rate by 6.35% to 24.58% and user satisfaction by 0.922 to 4.533 points compared to the Q-CAST algorithm. Additionally, resource wastage is reduced by 473 to 800 units. These enhancements indicate that our research provides effective strategies for business-driven optimization in quantum networks and makes a positive contribution to the development of entanglement networks towards more practical and efficient applications.