As the operator of a server farm, I can tell you we are pleased to get 99.8% per year network uptime. That sounds almost perfect but if you do the math it is still a few hours of downtime and more often when you don't want it to happen. Some years we don't get that. There is almost always a "single point of failure" in a network that is near impossible to get rid of - and sometime the entire Internet breaks, as it did on September 17th of 2001. (Not many noticed because is it was also shortly after the twin towers were attacked).
And even if IB was up all the time, at any point in time there is always some customer somewhere in the world that cannot connect to IB. IB cannot take the responsibility of guaranteeing anything past their own network. Most of the time it is the traders Internet connection that is failing - but the trader does not usually have the expertise to make the distinction between their connection and IB. If you don't do at least a traceroute you cannot know if it is IB or someone else that is the problem. If you don't happen to even know what a traceroute is then you cannot blame IB for anything.
Stupid Question: I have been trading for a few months with less than $25K. How can some of the small traders on this forum daytrade if they don't have $25K or more? Are their brokers that don't track it all that well? Sorry for the newbie question - just curious as to what the average account balance is these days.
Is there anyway I can daytrade with just $15K? Or should I just "practice" with a cash account until I have $25K? Or swing trade because I can make many trades?
Scott
