The Quantum Internet marks a fundamental departure from the classical network paradigm, shifting the primary objective from data transmission to the generation and distribution of quantum entanglement. This redefinition breaks core Internet principles, such as the end-to-end argument, as the non-local and stateful nature of entanglement demands active, in-network coordination.
The transition from bit transmission to entanglement distribution introduces a fundamental challenge in network scalability. To address this, we propose an innovative two-pillar solution that serves as the blueprint for our research line. The first pillar is a hierarchical architecture structured around Entanglement-Defined Controllers (EDCs) to handle entanglement management globally. Then, by recognizing that architecture alone is insufficient, we argue that a truly scalable network demands a natively-quantum control plane re-conceived from quantum principles.
To enable scalability, we target the foundation of the quantum control plane and present the second pillar of our research solution: a novel addressing scheme that intrinsically encodes quantum resources within node identifiers. Building directly upon this foundational pillar, we developed a dedicated routing protocol that dynamically adapts to entanglement-aware topologies, ensuring scalable performance through compact routing state. A pivotal innovation within this framework is an address-splitting function, whose operational logic is inspired by Schrödinger’s oracles, thereby generalizing the classical match-and-forward paradigm into the quantum domain.
Collectively, these components—addressing, routing, and forwarding—are architected to function as a coherent whole. They demonstrate, for the first time, a quantum-by-design network suite that moves beyond incremental upgrades to offer a foundational reinvention, proving that the Internet must be rethought at its core to support the future of distributed quantum computation.
