How to get real time information on IBM Quantum devices using backend_monitor

Interested in learning how to program quantum computers? Then check out our Qiskit textbook Introduction to Quantum Computing with Qiskit.

Introduction

In a previous tutorial we showed how you can get basic information on all quantum devices using backend_overview().

While this function is great to get information on all quantum devices at a glance it is not detailed on specific information such as qubit and gate errors. To get more detailed information on a quantum device (such as configuration and individual qubits and gates) you can use backend_monitor().

Implementation

Unlike backend_overview() this is for getting information on a specific device so you have to pass the device name in to the function as an argument.

For example to get real time information on the IBMQ Burlngton device you enter the following:

backend_monitor(provider.backends.ibmq_burlington)

and for another device like IBMQ Vigo:

backend_monitor(provider.backends.ibmq_vigo)

Steps

1. Copy and paste the code below in to a python file

2. Enter your API token in the IBMQ.enable_account('Insert API token here') part

3. Save and run

Code

from qiskit import IBMQ from qiskit.tools.monitor import backend_monitor  IBMQ.enable_account('ENTER API KEY HERE') # Insert your API token in to here provider = IBMQ.get_provider(hub='ibm-q')  backend_monitor(provider.backends.ibmq_burlington) # Function to get all information back about a quantum  device    print('\nPress any key to close') input() 

Output

After the code is ran you will be given a list of information about the device including the configuration and specific information on individual qubits and gates.

Screenshot showing the device information for the IBMQ Burlington quantum device.