Future 6G networks will be enabled by full softwarization of network functions & operations and in-network intelligence for self-management and orchestration. However, the intelligent management of a softwarized network will require massive data mining, analytics, and processing. That is why it is fundamental to find additional resources like quantum technologies to help achieve 6G key performance indicators. Quantum properties provide quantum computers to run a quantum algorithm with lesser queries. Quantum Machine Learning (QML) studies machine learning techniques on quantum computers. In this work, we use a QML algorithm to solve the controller placement problem for a multi-controller Software Defined Network (SDN). The network delay depends on where the controller is located, thus, it is critical to choose controllers at positions leading to minimize latency between the controllers and their associated switches. We consider an SDN architecture which is in its early stage of installation where the network nodes are deployed but connections will be established after obtaining controller locations, which results in the reduction of the overall controller to switch delay. By using different types of datasets, i.e., uniformly distributed and Gaussian distributed points, the experimental results show that the QML algorithm accelerates the SDN clustering methods (which are used to resolve the control placement problem) compared to those of the classical machine learning algorithm (like K-means) with comparable latency.

It is essential to establish precise times in future communication networks. Any real-time task’s function depends on the system’s ability to synchronise time. Time synchronisation is critical in the current communication network and must be maintained to transmit data packets. The functionality of 6G, the Tactile Internet, Time-Sensitive Networking, and ultra-reliable low-latency communications is highly susceptible to time synchronisation. We investigated the idea of employing time synchronisation across different communication network nodes. The current state-of-the-art employs network protocols like Precision-Time Protocol for synchronising clocks across different nodes. These network protocols are not robust and can generate jitters in data transmission. In this paper, we suggested synchronising the time of the node clocks at three different places using quantum technology. Notably, the oscillation frequencies of each qubit (or oscillator) located at these nodes can be synchronised using the quantum synchronisation technique. This set of three oscillators will work as a single clock and will be the master clock of the network. We propose distributing precise time and frequency standards using quantum synchronisation on node clocks. We can synchronise the three qubits (each placed at one node) to oscillate at an identical frequency by applying an external field of a wavelength of $813.32$ nm. We analysed our model for different coupling constants and dissipation rates to provide an analysis of the behaviour of the amount of synchronisation in different experimental configurations. The optimal accuracy for our system is $1.6 \times 10^{15}$ signals per second. Further, we used the Allan deviation to examine the stability of our system for various noise strengths.

Establishing accurate time standards across the globe is very important. The success of any real-time task depends on maintaining time synchronization in its system. Space technology helps in enabling global dissemination of time. In this paper, we propose a model that uses satellites to transfer the time information extracted from three qubits that are precisely synchronized using quantum synchronization. By applying an external field with wavelength 813.32 nm, we can synchronize the three qubits (each carried in another satellite) to oscillate at the same frequency. We can ideally achieve a precision of 1.6 × 1015 signals per second, and show the corresponding. Allan deviation curve to analyze the stability of our system for different noise strengths. We introduce the possibility of using quantum synchronization on satellite-carried clocks to distribute accurate time and frequency standards.