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The greatest networking challenges are not solved in pristine labs\u2014they are solved in the\u00a0real, messy world.\u00a0Actual operating\u00a0conditions, with all their noise and unpredictability, are the ultimate test for any\u00a0new technology\u00a0aiming for practical use.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Recently, we took a monumental step in proving the viability of\u00a0<\/span>quantum networking<\/span>\u00a0by moving it out of the controlled environment\u00a0and\u00a0onto\u00a0standard\u00a0fiber that runs\u00a0alongside\u00a0other telecom\u00a0traffic\u00a0\u00a0beneath the streets of\u00a0Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Hudson River, including traversing the historic and storied carrier hotel at 60 Hudson.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Just as\u00a0Cisco\u00a0helped build the networking fabric for the classical internet, we have been building the foundation for the quantum era through our\u00a0<\/span>Cisco Quantum Labs<\/span>, our quantum network entanglement chip, and the quantum networking software stack\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0developed over the past several years.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This\u00a0experiment\u00a0is the latest\u00a0milestone in that journey, and it proved that our approach works\u00a0with\u00a0real\u00a0fiber, in\u00a0a live\u00a0metropolitan\u00a0environment\u00a0,\u00a0on infrastructure that already exists, bringing us closer to\u00a0use cases such as\u00a0distributed quantum computing, quantum-secured communication, globally synchronized databases with perfectly synced clocks, and networks where eavesdropping is detectable by physics..\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For enterprises, this matters because quantum networking is moving from fragile laboratory work to infrastructure that can be deployed and scaled on the same fiber already running their networks today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In a landmark\u00a0collaboration\u00a0with our\u00a0partners\u00a0Qunnect, New York University,\u00a0and QTD Systems, we executed an industry-first demonstration.\u00a0We\u00a0\u00a0\ufffcvalidated\u00a0an\u00a0entanglement-based\u00a0quantum network\u00a0across\u00a017.6 kilometers\u00a0of\u00a0standard\u00a0telecom fiber, connecting three nodes between Brooklyn and Manhattan.\u00a0This\u00a0successful test\u00a0validates\u00a0a core part of\u00a0Cisco\u2019s\u00a0strategy: building the practical, horizontally distributed foundation for a scalable quantum internet.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The\u00a0results\u00a0\u00a0were\u00a0transformative, and they\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0that this technology is ready to move\u00a0beyond the lab. We achieved entanglement swapping rates\u00a0(the equivalent of packet operations)\u00a0of over\u00a05,400 pairs per hour\u00a0deployed,\u00a0and 1.7 million pairs per hour locally \u2013\u00a0figures\u00a0that\u00a0are\u00a0roughly\u00a03\u00a0and 4\u00a0orders of\u00a0magnitude\u00a0better\u00a0than\u00a0previous\u00a0attempts\u00a0even in lab\u00a0environments.\u00a0The system\u00a0maintained\u00a0a polarization fidelity above 99%, confirming the high quality and stability of the quantum connection even amidst the noise of a dense urban environment.\u00a0These are the kind of performance benchmarks that move quantum networking from research\u00a0milestone\u00a0toward commercially\u00a0viable\u00a0infrastructure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The numbers are impressive. The environment is real. But the\u00a0results\u00a0were significant for another breakthrough \u2013\u00a0we broke the physical tether that has limited the scale of quantum\u00a0experiments for years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Traditional quantum networking research often relies on a shared laser to physically link and synchronize nodes. This approach is effective for a handful of nodes in a lab but is fundamentally unscalable. It is like requiring every computer on the internet to be connected to the same power cord. A global quantum internet cannot be built on an architecture that demands every new node\u00a0be\u00a0hardwired to its neighbor\u2019s laser. Our\u00a0results\u00a0proved there is a better way,\u00a0paving the way for distributed quantum\u00a0infrastructure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To\u00a0validate\u00a0this first\u00a0step\u00a0towards an interoperable distributed quantum internet, we used well-understood software-hardware separation design patterns of software defined networking\u00a0by deploying hardware from\u00a0Qunnect\u00a0and protocol and control plane software from Cisco.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Cisco protocol, control and orchestration layer automated the complex entanglement distribution\u00a0\u00a0and measurement coordination across the three geographically separate nodes.\u00a0\u00a0It captured the measurement of millions of photon detection events, synchronizing everything with picosecond-level accuracy using the White Rabbit timing protocol.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When photons from independent\u00a0sources\u00a0miles apart are traveling toward a central hub, they must arrive within a window of a few hundred picoseconds. If the timing is off by even a fraction of a nanosecond, the quantum handshake fails and the connection is lost. Our software ensured this delicate timing was\u00a0maintained\u00a0flawlessly.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Furthermore, the software automated the complex calibration workflows that would otherwise require teams of physicists to travel between nodes for manual adjustments\u2014a process that is not only time-consuming but impossible to scale.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This\u00a0demonstration\u00a0validates\u00a0a hub-and-spoke architecture that is both scalable and practical. By placing specialized, cryogenic equipment at central hub\u00a0and deploying cost-effective, room-temperature hardware at the\u00a0network\u00a0edges, we can dramatically reduce the cost and complexity of expansion. New nodes can be added without rebuilding\u00a0the core synchronization infrastructure.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The successful use of existing telecom fiber is another critical takeaway. It shows that we can build the quantum internet on the fiber infrastructure we already have, accelerating deployment and reducing barriers to adoption. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Qunnect\u2019s hardware generated the raw entanglement while Cisco\u2019s software that made it possible to sustain and scale that performance in a dynamic, real-world setting. Together they showed that this internet can be built in an interoperable manner, with best-in-class compontents from different vendors working in a unified system.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For a deeper technical dive into the\u00a0methodology, architecture, and full results, check out the\u00a0<\/span>blog from our research team<\/span>\u00a0at Cisco Quantum Labs\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>ArXiv\u00a0research paper<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\nA\u00a0breakthrough in\u00a0real-world\u00a0scalability<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
The\u00a0architecture of\u00a0success:\u00a0control\u00a0and\u00a0hardware separation<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
A\u00a0blueprint for the Quantum Internet<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
In the interest of full transparency, Cisco is\u00a0an investor in\u00a0Qunnect.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n