Authors

• Miralem Mehic
  • Department of Telecommunications, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
• Peppino Fazio
  • VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
• Stefan Rass
  • System Security Group, Institute of Applied Informatics, Alpen-Adria Universitaet Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria
• Oliver Maurhart
  • AIT Austrian Institute of TechnologyGmbH, Security & Communication Technologies, Center for Digital Safety & Security, Vienna, Austria
• Momtchil Peev
  • Huawei Technologies Duesseldorf GmbH, Optical and Quantum Laboratory, Munich Research Center, Munich, Germany
• Andreas Poppe
  • AIT Austrian Institute of TechnologyGmbH, Security & Communication Technologies, Center for Digital Safety & Security, Vienna, Austria
• Jan Rozhon
  • VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
• Marcin Niemiec
  • AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow,Poland
• Miroslav Voznak
  • VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic

Abstract

In recent years, noticeable progress has been made in the development of quantum equipment, reflected through the number of successful demonstrations of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology. Although they showcase the great achievements of QKD, many practical difficulties still need to be resolved. Inspired by the significant similarity between mobile ad-hoc networks and QKD technology, we propose a novel quality of service (QoS) model including new metrics for determining the states of public and quantum channels as well as a comprehensive metric of the QKD link. We also propose a novel routing protocol to achieve high-level scalability and minimize consumption of cryptographic keys. Given the limited mobility of nodes in QKD networks, our routing protocol uses the geographical distance and calculated link states to determine the optimal route. It also benefits from a caching mechanism and detection of returning loops to provide effective forwarding while minimizing key consumption and achieving the desired utilization of network links. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the validity and accuracy of the proposed solutions.