IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE)
Challenges in HPCQC Integration
Amr Elsharkawy, Xiao-Ting Michelle To, Philipp Seitz, Yanbin Chen, Yannick Stade, M. Geiger, Qunsheng Huang, Xiaorang Guo, Muhammad Arslan Ansari, Martin Ruefenacht, Laura Brandon Schulz, Sven Karlsson, Christian B. Mendl, Dieter August Kranzlmüller, Martin Schulz
Quantum computing's potential as an adjunct to high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure is clear, but the integration of the two (HPCQC) faces numerous challenges. These issues primarily lie in the complex infrastructure needed for integration. Key to the HPCQC integration is the creation of a unified hybrid quantum-classical toolchain that reduces latency and supports various quantum technologies. Other obstacles include hardware-related requirements like maintaining uptime and networking. This poster focuses on the challenges.
Quantum computing's potential as an adjunct to high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure is clear, but the integration of the two (HPCQC) faces numerous challenges. These issues primarily lie in the complex infrastructure needed for integration. Key to the HPCQC integration is the creation of a unified hybrid quantum-classical toolchain that reduces latency and supports various quantum technologies. Other obstacles include hardware-related requirements like maintaining uptime and networking. This poster focuses on the challenges.
In the expanding field of quantum computing (QC), efficient and seamless integration of QC and high performance computing (HPC) elements (e.g., quantum hardware, classical hardware, and software infrastructure on both sides) plays a crucial role. This paper addresses the development of a unified toolchain designed for hybrid quantum-classical systems. Our work proposes a design for a unified hybrid high performance computing - quantum computing (HPCQC) toolchain that tackles pressing issues such as scalability, cross-technology execution, and ahead-of-time (AOT) optimization.
The computational requirements of applications running in supercomputing centres are growing rapidly and diversifying over time. To meet these needs, developers are constantly developing new processors, domain-specific accelerators, and technologies. Quantum computing is one notable technology that has the potential to speed up certain computations and could be used to enhance High Performance Computing (HPC). However, integrating a quantum computer (QC) into HPC systems is a complex and challenging task, both at the physical and software level. Although various types of accelerators have been integrated into HPC in the past, the integration of QC into HPC presents a unique challenge as it operates on a new computing paradigm and is a scarce resource that needs to be shared among multiple jobs. Furthermore, HPCQC integration is a multidisciplinary field and integration can mean different things to different stakeholders. Our approach to HPCQC integration is from the perspective of an HPC centre where QC is integrated into the HPC environment as an accelerator. We identify parameters that are important for the integration, including network latency, HPCQC hybrid application characteristics and fine-grained scheduling. In addition, we develop a custom simulation model that can comprehensively simulate a hybrid classical-quantum compute system at selected level of detail. This simulation model is utilised to simulate the performance of a hybrid application by adjusting its features on a hybrid system with varying parameters. We discover that fine-grained scheduling is critical to performance, and network latency between QC and HPC has a significant impact on hybrid system performance.
Quantum computing (QC) introduces a novel mode of computation with the possibility of greater computational power that remains to be exploitedpresenting exciting opportunities for high-performance computing (HPC) applications. However, recent advancements in the field have made clear that QC does not supplant conventional HPC, but can rather be incorporated into current heterogeneous HPC infrastructures as an additional accelerator, thereby enabling the optimal utilization of both paradigms. The desire for such integration significantly affects the development of software for quantum computers, which in turn influences the necessary software infrastructure. To date, previous review articles have investigated various quantum programming tools (QPTs) (such as languages, libraries, frameworks) in their ability to program, compile, and execute quantum circuits. However, the integration effort with classical HPC frameworks or systems has not been addressed. This study aims to characterize existing QPTs from an HPC perspective, investigating if existing QPTs have the potential to be efficiently integrated with classical computing models and determining where work is still required. This work structures a set of criteria into an analysis blueprint that enables HPC scientists to assess whether a QPT is suitable for a high-performance computing quantum computing (HPCQC) environment.
To harness the power of quantum computing (QC) in the near future, tight and efficient integration of QC with high performance computing (HPC) infrastructure (both on the software (SW) and the hardware (HW) level) is crucial. This paper addresses the development of a unified quantum platform (UQP) and how it is being integrated into the HPC ecosystem. It builds on the concepts of hybrid high performance computing - quantum computing (HPCQC) workflows and a unified HPCQC toolchain, introduced in our previous work and makes the next needed step: it unifies the low-level interface between the existing classical HPC systems and the emerging quantum hardware technologies, including but not limited to machines based on superconducting qubits, neutral atoms or trapped ions. The UQP consists of three core components: a runtime library, an instruction set architecture (ISA) and a quantum control processor (QCP) micro-architecture. In particular, this work contributes a unified HPCQC runtime library that bridges the gap between programming systems built on quantum intermediate representation (QIR) standard with a novel, unified hybrid ISA. It then introduces the initial extension of an ISA and QCP micro-architecture to be platform and technology agnostic and enables it as an efficient execution platform. The UQP has been verified to ensure correctness. Further, our performance analysis shows that the execution time and memory requirements of the runtime library scale super-linearly with number of qubits, which is critical to support scalability efforts in OC hardware.
Abstract: This article presents a comprehensive review of the integration of quantum computing with High-Performance Computing (HPC), examining current trends, challenges, and future directions. We explore the fundamental principles of quantum computing and their relevance to HPC, followed by an analysis of state-of-the-art quantum algorithms and hybrid quantum-classical systems. The article addresses key technical challenges in hardware and software integration, as well as scalability and stability issues in quantum-enhanced HPC systems. Through a series of case studies, we demonstrate the practical applications and potential impact of quantum-HPC integration across various industries, including finance, drug discovery, and logistics. Our findings highlight the transformative potential of quantum computing in HPC, suggesting unprecedented improvements in computational speed and efficiency. The article concludes with an overview of emerging quantum technologies and identifies promising research opportunities, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between academia and industry. This work serves as a valuable resource for researchers, engineers, and industry professionals seeking to understand and leverage the synergy between quantum computing and HPC, paving the way for future innovations in computational capabilities
High-performance computing (HPC) has evolved over decades through multiple architectural transitions, from vector supercomputers to massively parallel CPU clusters and GPU-accelerated systems, continuously expanding the frontier of scientific discovery. With the emergence of quantum processing units (QPUs) as practical computational accelerators, a new opportunity arises to further extend this trajectory by integrating quantum and classical computing paradigms. Building on the emerging vision of Quantum Integrated High-Performance Computing (QHPC), this paper contributes a full-stack layered architecture that integrates QPUs as first-class accelerators within, not merely alongside, the classical HPC software and hardware stack, with tight, on-premise quantum-classical coupling as its defining characteristic. The architecture comprises of unified resource management, quantum-aware scheduling, hybrid workflow orchestration, middleware and programming abstraction, interconnect technologies, and a tiered execution model enabling seamless workload partitioning across classical and quantum backends. A central aspect of this architecture is a strong user requests abstraction layer that exposes heterogeneous resources through a unified job submission interface, similar in spirit to existing schedulers such as Slurm, allowing users to describe workloads in a consistent template independent of underlying compute type or location. Drawing insights from prior accelerator integration eras, we outline how QHPC can support emerging workloads in quantum chemistry, materials discovery, combinatorial optimization, and climate modeling. We conclude by highlighting open challenges in building scalable, reliable, and programmable quantum-classical infrastructures that seamlessly connect global users to heterogeneous compute resources for future quantum-classical HPC ecosystems.