Abstract
Dynamic and flexible optical networking combined with virtualization and softwarisation enabled by network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined networking (SDN) are the key technology enablers for supporting the dynamicity, bandwidth, and latency requirements of emerging 5G network services. To achieve the end-to-end connectivity objective of 5G, network services (NSes) must be often deployed transparently over multiple administrative and technological domains. Such scenario often presents security risks since a typical NS11Network service is a combination of multiple virtual and physical network functions created to realise a desired network functionality. may comprise a chain of network functions, each executed in different remote locations, and tampering within the network infrastructure may compromise their communication. To avoid such threats, quantum key distribution (QKD) has been identified and proposed as a future-proof method immune to any algorithmic cryptanalysis based on fundamental quantum-physics mechanisms to distribute symmetric keys. The maturity of QKD has enabled the research and development of quantum networks with gradual coexistence with classical optical networks using carrier-grade telecom equipment. This makes the QKD technology a suitable candidate for security of distributed and virtualised network services. In this article, for the first time, we propose a dynamic quantum-secured optical network for supporting network services that are dynamically created by chaining virtual network functions (VNFs)22Hardware network functions when implemented in software and deployed as VMs or containers are called VNFs. over multiple network domains. This work includes a new flex-grid quantum-switched reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexer (q-ROADM), extensions to SDN-enabled optical control plane, and extensions to NFV orchestration to achieve quantum-aware, on-demand chaining of VNFs. The experimental results verify the capability of routing quantum and classical data channels both individually and dynamically over shared fibre links. Moreover, quantum secured chaining of VNFs in 5G networks is experimentally demonstrated via interconnecting four autonomous 5G islands simultaneously through the q-ROADM with eight optical channels using the 5GUK Exchange orchestration platform. The experimental scenarios and results confirm the benefit of the proposed data plane architecture and control/management plane framework.
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J. Opt. Commun. Netw. 13(8) D68-D79 (2021)
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