Design and demonstration of an operating system for executing applications on quantum network nodes
Carlo Delle Donne, Mariagrazia Iuliano, Bart van der Vecht, Guilherme Maciel Ferreira, Hana Jirovská, Thom van der Steenhoven, Axel Dahlberg, Matthew Skrzypczyk, Dario Fioretto, Markus Teller, Pavel Filippov, Alejandro R.‐P. Montblanch, Julius Fischer, Hendrik Benjamin van Ommen, N. Demetriou, Dominik Leichtle, Luka Music, Ollivier, Harold, Ingmar te Raa, Kozlowski, Wojciech, T. H. Taminiau, Przemysław Pawełczak, Tracy E. Northup, Ronald Hanson, Stephanie Wehner
The goal of future quantum networks is to enable new internet applications that are impossible to achieve using solely classical communication. Up to now, demonstrations of quantum network applications and functionalities on quantum processors have been performed in ad-hoc software that was specific to the experimental setup, programmed to perform one single task (the application experiment) directly into low-level control devices using expertise in experimental physics. Here, we report on the design and implementation of the first architecture capable of executing quantum network applications on quantum processors in platform-independent high-level software. We demonstrate the architecture's capability to execute applications in high-level software, by implementing it as a quantum network operating system -- QNodeOS -- and executing test programs including a delegated computation from a client to a server on two quantum network nodes based on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. We show how our architecture allows us to maximize the use of quantum network hardware, by multitasking different applications on a quantum network for the first time. Our architecture can be used to execute programs on any quantum processor platform corresponding to our system model, which we illustrate by demonstrating an additional driver for QNodeOS for a trapped-ion quantum network node based on a single $^{40}\text{Ca}^+$ atom. Our architecture lays the groundwork for computer science research in the domain of quantum network programming, and paves the way for the development of software that can bring quantum network technology to society.
The goal of future quantum networks is to enable new internet applications that are impossible to achieve using solely classical communication. Up to now, demonstrations of quantum network applications and functionalities on quantum processors have been performed in ad-hoc software that was specific to the experimental setup, programmed to perform one single task (the application experiment) directly into low-level control devices using expertise in experimental physics. Here, we report on the design and implementation of the first architecture capable of executing quantum network applications on quantum processors in platform-independent high-level software. We demonstrate the architecture's capability to execute applications in high-level software, by implementing it as a quantum network operating system -- QNodeOS -- and executing test programs including a delegated computation from a client to a server on two quantum network nodes based on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. We show how our architecture allows us to maximize the use of quantum network hardware, by multitasking different applications on a quantum network for the first time. Our architecture can be used to execute programs on any quantum processor platform corresponding to our system model, which we illustrate by demonstrating an additional driver for QNodeOS for a trapped-ion quantum network node based on a single 40Ca+ atom. Our architecture lays the groundwork for computer science research in the domain of quantum network programming, and paves the way for the development of software that can bring quantum network technology to society.
The goal of future quantum networks is to enable new internet applications that are impossible to achieve using only classical communication1–3. Up to now, demonstrations of quantum network applications4–6 and functionalities7–12 on quantum processors have been performed in ad hoc software that was specific to the experimental setup, programmed to perform one single task (the application experiment) directly into low-level control devices using expertise in experimental physics. Here we report on the design and implementation of an architecture capable of executing quantum network applications on quantum processors in platform-independent high-level software. We demonstrate the capability of the architecture to execute applications in high-level software by implementing it as a quantum network operating system—QNodeOS—and executing test programs, including a delegated computation from a client to a server13 on two quantum network nodes based on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in diamond14,15. We show how our architecture allows us to maximize the use of quantum network hardware by multitasking different applications. Our architecture can be used to execute programs on any quantum processor platform corresponding to our system model, which we illustrate by demonstrating an extra driver for QNodeOS for a trapped-ion quantum network node based on a single 40Ca+ atom16. Our architecture lays the groundwork for computer science research in quantum network programming and paves the way for the development of software that can bring quantum network technology to society. A new quantum operating system architecture is described that is capable of executing applications on quantum networks in high-level software, which is a step towards bringing quantum network technology to society.
Quantum communication brings radically new capabilities that are provably impossible to attain in any classical network. Here, we take the first step from a physics experiment to a quantum internet system. We propose a functional allocation of a quantum network stack, and construct the first physical and link layer protocols that turn ad-hoc physics experiments producing heralded entanglement between quantum processors into a well-defined and robust service. This lays the groundwork for designing and implementing scalable control and application protocols in platform-independent software. To design our protocol, we identify use cases, as well as fundamental and technological design considerations of quantum network hardware, illustrated by considering the state-of-the-art quantum processor platform available to us (Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centers in diamond). Using a purpose built discrete-event simulator for quantum networks, we examine the robustness and performance of our protocol using extensive simulations on a supercomputing cluster. We perform a full implementation of our protocol in our simulator, where we successfully validate the physical simulation model against data gathered from the NV hardware. We first observe that our protocol is robust even in a regime of exaggerated losses of classical control messages with only little impact on the performance of the system. We proceed to study the performance of our protocols for 169 distinct simulation scenarios, including trade-offs between traditional performance metrics such as throughput, and the quality of entanglement. Finally, we initiate the study of quantum network scheduling strategies to optimize protocol performance for different use cases.
Recently, a first-of-its-kind operating system for programmable quantum network nodes was developed, called QNodeOS. Here, we present an extension of QNodeOS called Qoala, which introduces (1) a unified program format for hybrid interactive classical-quantum programs, providing a well-defined target for compilers, and (2) a runtime representation of a program that allows joint scheduling of the hybrid classical-quantum program, multitasking, and asynchronous program execution. Based on concrete design considerations, we put forward the architecture of Qoala, including the program structure and execution mechanism. We implement Qoala in the form of a modular and extendible simulator that is validated against real-world quantum network hardware (available online). However, Qoala is not meant to be purely a simulator, and implementation is planned on real hardware. We evaluate Qoala's effectiveness and performance sensitivity to latencies and network schedules using an extensive simulation study. Qoala provides a framework that opens the door for future computer science research into quantum network applications, including scheduling algorithms and compilation strategies that can now readily be explored using the framework and tools provided.
Quantum communication brings radically new capabilities that are provably impossible to attain in any classical network. Here, we take the first step from a physics experiment to a fully fledged quantum internet system. We propose a functional allocation of a quantum network stack and construct the first physical and link layer protocols that turn ad-hoc physics experiments producing heralded entanglement between quantum processors into a well-defined and robust service. This lays the groundwork for designing and implementing scalable control and application protocols in platform-independent software. To design our protocol, we identify use cases, as well as fundamental and technological design considerations of quantum network hardware, illustrated by considering the state-of-the-art quantum processor platform available to us (Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centers in diamond). sing a purpose built discrete-event simulator for quantum networks, we examine the robustness and performance of our protocol using extensive simulations on a supercomputing cluster. We perform a full implementation of our protocol, where we successfully validate the physical simulation model against data gathered from the NV hardware. We first observe that our protocol is robust even in a regime of exaggerated losses of classical control messages with only little impact on the performance of the system. We proceed to study the performance of our protocols for 169 distinct simulation scenarios, including tradeoffs between traditional performance metrics such as throughput and the quality of entanglement. Finally, we initiate the study of quantum network scheduling strategies to optimize protocol performance for different use cases.
The aim of a quantum network is to enable the generation of end-to-end entangled links between end nodes of the network, so that they can execute quantum network applications. To facilitate this, it is desirable to have robust control of the network in order to be able to provide a reliable service to the end nodes. In recent work arXiv:2503.12582, we proposed a modular control architecture for a generate-when-request type network. This control architecture enables quantum network applications to be executed on end nodes running a modern operating system such as QNodeOS arXiv:2407.18306. In that work, we performed an evaluation of our architecture based on a proof-of-concept implementation. In the course of performing this evaluation, we discovered many outstanding questions and challenges. These relate not only to implementing our specific control architecture, but also to the design of any quantum network control architecture. Here, we describe some outstanding questions and challenges, discuss possible solutions, and identify where existing protocols require adaptation or new protocols must be designed.
The realization of a Quantum Internet is expected to transform communication networks by enabling intrinsically secure information exchange and distributed quantum applications. However, the experimental study of large-scale quantum networks remains limited by the high cost and operational constraints of quantum hardware. To address this challenge, this paper presents the design of a platform conceived to support research and experimentation in the field of quantum networking. The proposed system provides an emulation environment that mirrors the behavior of a real quantum network, enabling researchers to test protocols and mechanisms through a set of quantum operation instructions accessible via an Application Programming Interface (API). Emulated quantum nodes can be deployed across physically distributed locations, using physical or virtual machines or virtualization containers, allowing experiments to reproduce realistic network conditions and inter-node interactions. This approach enables applications to be executed over a persistent, configurable, and interactive environment that integrates both quantum and classical communication layers. To validate the feasibility of the proposed design, a prototype has been built and used to demonstrate its operation through a multi-hop quantum teleportation proof of concept. The results confirm the viability and flexibility of the architecture, laying the foundation for a distributed framework that facilitates the development and evaluation of quantum network architectures, control mechanisms, and experimental use cases.