  Trapped ion technology has seen advances in performance, robustness, and
versatility over the last decade. With increasing numbers of trapped ion groups
world-wide, a myriad of trap architectures are currently in use. Applications
of trapped ions include: quantum simulation, computing and networking, time
standards and fundamental studies in quantum dynamics. Design of such traps is
driven by these various research aims, but some universally desirable
properties have lead to the development of ion trap foundries. The excellent
control achievable with trapped ions and the ability to do photonic-readout,
has allowed progress on quantum networking using entanglement between remotely
situated ion-based nodes. Here we present a selection of trap architectures
currently in use by the community and present their most salient
characteristics, identifying features particularly suited for quantum
networking. We also discuss our own in-house research efforts aimed at
long-distance trapped ion-networking.
