As the first stage of the quantum Internet,quantum key distribution(QKD)networks hold the promise of providing long-term security for diverse users.Most existing QKD networks have been constructed based on independent...As the first stage of the quantum Internet,quantum key distribution(QKD)networks hold the promise of providing long-term security for diverse users.Most existing QKD networks have been constructed based on independent QKD protocols,and they commonly rely on the deployment of single-protocol trusted relay chains for long reach.Driven by the evolution of QKD protocols,large-scale QKD networking is expected to migrate from a single-protocol to a multi-protocol paradigm,during which some useful evolutionary elements for the later stages of the quantum Internet may be incorporated.In this work,we delve into a pivotal technique for large-scale QKD networking,namely,multi-protocol relay chaining.A multi-protocol relay chain is established by connecting a set of trusted/untrusted relays relying on multiple QKD protocols between a pair of QKD nodes.The structures of diverse multi-protocol relay chains are described,based on which the associated model is formulated and the policies are defined for the deployment of multi-protocol relay chains.Furthermore,we propose three multi-protocol relay chaining heuristics.Numerical simulations indicate that the designed heuristics can effectively reduce the number of trusted relays deployed and enhance the average security level versus the commonly used single-protocol trusted relay chaining methods on backbone network topologies.展开更多
基金supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.62201276,62350001,U22B2026,and 62471248)Innovation Program for Quantum Science and Technology(Grant No.2021ZD0300701)+1 种基金the Key R&D Program(Industry Foresight and Key Core Technologies)of Jiangsu Province(Grant No.BE2022071)Natural Science Research of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China(Grant No.22KJB510007)。
文摘As the first stage of the quantum Internet,quantum key distribution(QKD)networks hold the promise of providing long-term security for diverse users.Most existing QKD networks have been constructed based on independent QKD protocols,and they commonly rely on the deployment of single-protocol trusted relay chains for long reach.Driven by the evolution of QKD protocols,large-scale QKD networking is expected to migrate from a single-protocol to a multi-protocol paradigm,during which some useful evolutionary elements for the later stages of the quantum Internet may be incorporated.In this work,we delve into a pivotal technique for large-scale QKD networking,namely,multi-protocol relay chaining.A multi-protocol relay chain is established by connecting a set of trusted/untrusted relays relying on multiple QKD protocols between a pair of QKD nodes.The structures of diverse multi-protocol relay chains are described,based on which the associated model is formulated and the policies are defined for the deployment of multi-protocol relay chains.Furthermore,we propose three multi-protocol relay chaining heuristics.Numerical simulations indicate that the designed heuristics can effectively reduce the number of trusted relays deployed and enhance the average security level versus the commonly used single-protocol trusted relay chaining methods on backbone network topologies.
