Q2NS Demo: A Quantum Network Simulator Based on ns-3
This provides a tool for researchers and developers working on quantum network protocols, though it is incremental as it builds on existing classical simulation frameworks.
The researchers tackled the challenge of simulating quantum networks by developing Q2NS, an open-source simulator built on ns-3 that enables co-simulation of quantum and classical communication dynamics, with features like modular architecture and a visualizer for interactive inspection.
Q2NS is an open-source quantum network simulator built on ns-3, the de facto standard for classical network simulation. By inheriting ns-3's mature classical stack and event-driven execution model, Q2NS enables faithful co-simulation of quantum-network dynamics and classical signaling, a core requirement for the functioning of any quantum network. Its modular architecture is designed for extensibility, with pluggable quantum-state backends (state-vector, density matrix, stabilizer) and a clean separation between network control and node-level operations. Q2NS comes with a quantum network visualizer Q2NSViz, supporting interactive inspection of both physical- and entanglement-induced connectivity graphs, helping users interpret protocol behavior and entanglement manipulation processes. We present a demonstration of Q2NS, highlighting its ability to capture and simulate the coexistence of quantum and classical communication. The proposed demonstration presents quantum communication scenarios of increasing complexity: from entanglement distribution basics to multipartite graph-state manipulation, complemented by pre-loaded examples in Q2NSViz that require no prior quantum communication or coding experience.