Exploring the Potential of Quantum Technology for SFC Management & VNF Chain Ordering

Exploring the Potential of Quantum Technology for SFC Management & VNF Chain Ordering

연구 분야: Networking

학회: 2024 IEEE Conference on Network Function Virtualization and Software Defined Networks (NFV-SDN)

This decade has seen an explosion of exploration into softwarisation and virtualization of network functions and services for 6G communication networks and beyond. The concept of service function chaining (SFC) is becoming increasingly integral to proposed solutions that are able to fulfill network requests and services while adhering to the sophisticated key performance indicators (KPIs) of 6G communications and the tactile internet. But new technologies are needed to achieve the set-out cutting-edge requirements and next-generation numbers for low latency, energy efficiency, etc. without suffering from the traditional trade-offs observed when using existing classical technology. Quantum technology is a promising candidate to achieve this, given how it utilizes unique quantum mechanical phenomena like quantum entanglement and quantum interference to resolve problems in a manner often simply non-existent from a classical standpoint. In this paper, we explore utilization of quantum entanglement technology for a specific network scenario involving chains of virtualized network functions (VNFs) that together offer equivalent network functionality, and we discuss some potential advantages of using quantum networks that make use of quantum entanglement over classical technology networks.