Analysis of the NS-3 module QKDNetSim for the Simulation of QKD Networks

Abstract

[Abstract] Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) is a promising technology that allows two nodes to privately agree on a key through a quantum channel. Unfortunately, QKD is still in experimental phase and researchers must rely on simulators to replicate the behaviour of a quantum network. One of the most widespread is QKDNetSim, a module for the C++ network simulator NS-3. However, this module is very limited in its behaviour, so it does not faithfully represent a real quantum network. In this work we analyse the structure and components of QKDNetSim, as well as its shortcomings and how they affect the quality of the simulation