Toward a Unified Framework for the Heterogeneous Cloud Utilizing Bytecode Containers

As we approach the limits of Moore’s law the Cloud computing landscape is becoming ever more heterogeneous in order to extract more performance from available resources. Meanwhile, the container-based cloud is of growing importance as a lightweight way to deploy applications. A unified heterogeneous systems framework for use with container-based applications in the heterogeneous cloud is required. We present a bytecode-based framework and it’s implementation called Man O’ War, which allows for the creation of novel, portable LLVM bitcode-based containers for use in the heterogeneous cloud. Containers in Man O’ War enabled systems can be efficiently specialized for the available hardware within the Cloud and expand the frontiers for optimization in heterogeneous cloud environments. We demonstrate that a framework utilizing portable bytecode-based containers eases optimizations such as heterogeneous scaling which have the potential to improve resource utilization and significantly lower costs for users of the public cloud.

Toward a Unified Framework for the Heterogeneous Cloud Utilizing Bytecode Containers

As we approach the limits of Moore’s law the Cloud computing landscape is becoming ever more heterogeneous in order to extract more performance from available resources. Meanwhile, the container-based cloud is of growing importance as a lightweight way to deploy applications. A unified heterogeneous systems framework for use with container-based applications in the heterogeneous cloud is required. We present a bytecode-based framework and it’s implementation called Man O’ War, which allows for the creation of novel, portable LLVM bitcode-based containers for use in the heterogeneous cloud. Containers in Man O’ War enabled systems can be efficiently specialized for the available hardware within the Cloud and expand the frontiers for optimization in heterogeneous cloud environments. We demonstrate that a framework utilizing portable bytecode-based containers eases optimizations such as heterogeneous scaling which have the potential to improve resource utilization and significantly lower costs for users of the public cloud.

Overview and Comparison of Gate Level Quantum Software Platforms

Quantum computers are available to use over the cloud, but the recent explosion of quantum software platforms can be overwhelming for those deciding on which to use. In this paper, we provide a current picture of the rapidly evolving quantum computing landscape by comparing four software platforms - Forest (pyQuil), Qiskit, ProjectQ, and the Quantum Developer Kit (Q#) - that enable researchers to use real and simulated quantum devices. Our analysis covers requirements and installation, language syntax through example programs, library support, and quantum simulator capabilities for each platform. For platforms that have quantum computer support, we compare hardware, quantum assembly languages, and quantum compilers. We conclude by covering features of each and briefly mentioning other quantum computing software packages.

Standardization

The importance of cloud computing standards is the same as the World Wide Web standardization. There are plenty of prevalent standards around cloud computing that make different aspects of cloud computing possible. Standardization is a key answer and solution to the main question in this book (i.e., whether cloud computing will survive and remain on IT trends track or not). Standardization will bring interoperability, integration, and portability to the cloud computing landscape. With these three features, the main elements of IT (i.e., computation and data) can move from one cloud provider to another. Therefore, it eliminates vendor lock-in that is one of the barriers in cloud adoption. In addition, cloud interoperability will minimize cloud fragmentation. We need interoperability and portability to achieve cloud federation and to build hybrid cloud. In addition, there is still no de facto standard for moving workloads or data among different clouds. Cloud standardization needs to be addressed at various layers of a cloud infrastructure such as: virtual machine format, data, interface, context, and identity layers. This chapter reviews the emerging standards from the perspective of various organizations and standard bodies.