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Run on quantum backends

A backend represents either a simulator or a real quantum computer and are responsible for running quantum circuits, running pulse schedules, and returning results.

In qiskit-ibm-runtime, a backend is represented by an instance of the IBMBackend class. Attributes of this class provides information about this backend. For example:

  • name: Name of the backend.

  • instructions: A list of instructions the backend supports.

  • operation_names: A list of instruction names the backend supported.

  • num_qubits: The number of qubits the backend has.

  • coupling_map: Coupling map of the backend.

  • dt: System time resolution of input signals.

  • dtm: System time resolution of output signals.

Refer to the API reference for a complete list of attributes and methods.

Initialize the service

Before calling IBMBackend, initialize the service:

from qiskit_ibm_runtime import QiskitRuntimeService

# Initialize the account first.
service = QiskitRuntimeService()

List backends

Use the backends() method to list all backends you have access to. This method returns a list of IBMBackend instances:

service.backends()

[<IBMBackend('ibmq_qasm_simulator')>,
<IBMBackend('simulator_stabilizer')>,
<IBMBackend('simulator_mps')>,
<IBMBackend('simulator_extended_stabilizer')>,
<IBMBackend('simulator_statevector')>]

The backend() (note that this is singular: backend) method takes the name of the backend as the input parameter and returns an IBMBackend instance representing that particular backend:

service.backend("ibmq_qasm_simulator")

<IBMBackend('ibmq_qasm_simulator')>

Filter backends

You may also optionally filter the set backends, by passing arguments that query the backend’s configuration, status, or properties. For more general filters, you can make advanced functions using a lambda function. Refer to the API documentation for more details.

Let’s try getting only backends that fit these criteria:

  • Are real quantum devices (simulator=False)

  • Are currently operational (operational=True)

  • Have at least 5 qubits (min_num_qubits=5)

service.backends(simulator=False, operational=True, min_num_qubits=5)

A similar method is least_busy(), which takes the same filters as backends() but returns the backend that matches the filters and has the least number of jobs pending in the queue:

service.least_busy(operational=True, min_num_qubits=5)

Determine backend attributes

As mentioned previously, the IBMBackend class attributes provide information about the backend. For example:

backend = service.backend("ibmq_qasm_simulator")
backend.name #returns the backend's name
backend.backend_version #returns the version number
backend.simulator #returns True or False, depending on whether it is a simulator
backend.num_qubits #returns the number of qubits the backend has

See the IBMBackend class documentation for the full list of backend attributes.

Find backend information from other channels

To find your available systems and simulators on IBM Cloud, view the Compute resources page. You must be logged in to see your available compute resources. You are shown a snapshot of each backend. To see full details, click the backend name. You can also search for backends from this page.

To find your available systems and simulators on IBM Quantum Platform, view the Compute resources page. You are shown a snapshot of each backend. To see full details, click the backend name. You can also sort, filter, and search from this page.

Specify a backend when running a job

If you are using a runtime session, add the backend option when starting your session. For details about working with sessions, see Run a primitive in a session.

from qiskit.circuit.random import random_circuit
from qiskit.quantum_info import SparsePauliOp
from qiskit_ibm_runtime import QiskitRuntimeService, Session, Estimator, Options

circuit = random_circuit(2, 2, seed=1).decompose(reps=1)
observable = SparsePauliOp("IY")

options = Options()
options.optimization_level = 2
options.resilience_level = 2

service = QiskitRuntimeService()
with Session(service=service, backend="ibmq_qasm_simulator") as session:
     estimator = Estimator(session=session, options=options)
     job = estimator.run(circuit, observable)
     result = job.result()
     # Close the session only if all jobs are finished, and you don't need to run more in the session
     session.close() # Closes the session

display(circuit.draw("mpl"))
print(f" > Observable: {observable.paulis}")
print(f" > Expectation value: {result.values[0]}")
print(f" > Metadata: {result.metadata[0]}")

If you are not using a runtime session, you can pass the backend when initializing the primitive class.

from qiskit.circuit.random import random_circuit
from qiskit.quantum_info import SparsePauliOp
from qiskit_ibm_runtime import QiskitRuntimeService, Session, Estimator, Options

circuit = random_circuit(2, 2, seed=1).decompose(reps=1)
observable = SparsePauliOp("IY")

options = Options()
options.optimization_level = 2
options.resilience_level = 2

service = QiskitRuntimeService()
backend = service.backend("ibmq_qasm_simulator")
estimator = Estimator(backend, options=options)
job = estimator.run(circuit, observable)
result = job.result()

display(circuit.draw("mpl"))
print(f" > Observable: {observable.paulis}")
print(f" > Expectation value: {result.values[0]}")
print(f" > Metadata: {result.metadata[0]}")