A Dynamic-Kernel/QPacket Executable for Quantum Repeater Chains in Q2NS/ns-3
The Quantum Internet operates on entanglement, a non-local, non-copyable, stateful network resource, which motivates protocol organization beyond classical layering. We present a first executable specialization of the Dynamic Kernel/QPacket logic from the beyond-layering protocol suite, targeting entanglement distribution over a linear quantum repeater chain. The implementation builds on Q2NS, an ns-3-based quantum-network simulation module available through the ns-3 App Store. It realizes QPacket meta-headers with service intent and append-only action-commit stamps processed by node-local Dynamic Kernels organized as a Planner--Executor--Engine pipeline, while being deliberately scoped to an analytically verifiable service and policy. Within this scoped setting, we study node heterogeneity through a link-preparation policy that accounts for pre-distributed entanglement and uneven entanglement-generation support across nodes, including delegation via QPacket forwarding. Simulations verify analytical link-resolvability models and expose signaling load, forwarding behavior, and QPacket meta-header growth. Results show that QPacket overhead is shaped by more than just encoding, including policy choices and available network resources. Overall, this study demonstrates how the Q2NS/ns-3 substrate can support reproducible, policy-specific evaluation of quantum-native protocol-suite concepts.
Authors
- Marcello Caleffi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5726-5489)
- Adam Pearson
- Angela Sara Cacciapuoti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0477-2927)
Publication Details
- Journal
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Published
- 2026-08-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2608.24152
- Primary Topic
- Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture
- Type
- preprint
Funders
- European Commission