Software defined quantum key distribution network

Based on the analysis of quantum key distribution (QKD) scenarios, existing point-to-point QKD systems need to be networked for satisfied actual applications. However, the architecture and network layer protocols of existing QKD network have lots of limitations, such as excessive key consumption and inability to achieve random routing. In this paper, we propose the software defined quantum key distribution network (SQN). We introduce the design of the architecture and critical modules for SQN. Analysis results show that SQN can efficiently reduce the secure key consumption and improve the availability and performance of QKD network.