  A quantum network is expected to enhance distributed quantum computing and
quantum communication over a long distance while providing unconditional
security. As quantum entanglement is essential for a quantum network, major
issues from various types of noise and decoherence prevent it from being
realized, and research has been intensively active to obtain optimal
configurations for a quantum network. In this work, we address the performance
of a quantum network capable of quantum error correction and entanglement
purification. Our results show that one should distribute Bell pairs as fast as
possible while balancing the deployment of fidelity enhancement. We also show
suitable hybrid strategies in quantum cryptography tasks under some noise
regimes that need to use purification and quantum error correction together.
Our results suggest that using purification to distribute high fidelity Bell
pairs and preserving them for application using quantum error correction is a
promising way to achieve a near-term quantum network for secure communication.
