The best platform for futures?
- Thread starter elon
- Start date
Def is certainly right on the most important factor in speed and reliabilty. It is Back-end routing. Questions to ask:
What type of connections do the Service providers use for EXCHANGE CONNECTIVITY? (Each FCM or IB use different versions-Platfrom does not dictate this)
ie the CME has 3 levels of connectivity and each cost more. the highest is a T-1 Ffasttrade has a T1 and most firms will also.
The Audit Log that is required by the CME to certify on their systems provides a breakdown of the speed of the Platform and the actual time that it takes for the CME to turn a trade around. The platform varies with different levels of Risk Management. Ask what the turnaround times are and verify them??
Who supports the backend? Is it the Brokerage firm Support or the Development firm's support?
Def asked about Citrix being faster than a direct connect.
With Citrix all of the processing is done right at Server level, the clients PC is only giving orders and seeing a screenshot of the processing being done on a very high-end Server rather than the clients PC. This process uses less bandwidth and in theory should be faster. Also the client does not have to install a CLIENT System on his PC. Problems can occur on that end due to insufficient maintenance of the client's PC. Direct connections in my opinion offer reliabilty more than speed advantage. I may be wrong on this, but a DSL line offers just as much speed, but it may not offer as much reliabilty as a dedicated line.
In theory, a trader using Citrix over a dedicated line will get the best of both worlds. At present, I do not think anyone offers that combination.
What type of connections do the Service providers use for EXCHANGE CONNECTIVITY? (Each FCM or IB use different versions-Platfrom does not dictate this)
ie the CME has 3 levels of connectivity and each cost more. the highest is a T-1 Ffasttrade has a T1 and most firms will also.
The Audit Log that is required by the CME to certify on their systems provides a breakdown of the speed of the Platform and the actual time that it takes for the CME to turn a trade around. The platform varies with different levels of Risk Management. Ask what the turnaround times are and verify them??
Who supports the backend? Is it the Brokerage firm Support or the Development firm's support?
Def asked about Citrix being faster than a direct connect.
With Citrix all of the processing is done right at Server level, the clients PC is only giving orders and seeing a screenshot of the processing being done on a very high-end Server rather than the clients PC. This process uses less bandwidth and in theory should be faster. Also the client does not have to install a CLIENT System on his PC. Problems can occur on that end due to insufficient maintenance of the client's PC. Direct connections in my opinion offer reliabilty more than speed advantage. I may be wrong on this, but a DSL line offers just as much speed, but it may not offer as much reliabilty as a dedicated line.
In theory, a trader using Citrix over a dedicated line will get the best of both worlds. At present, I do not think anyone offers that combination.
I think what you are suggesting, and what I too believe, is that unless you have a dedicated line (VPN ideally) between your own trading platform (your PC) and *whatever* broker you choose to execute GLOBEX trades - the single greatest factor in speed of transaction is going to be determined by the "last mile" connectivity to your own screen.
In doing a great deal of my own network troubleshooting of latency and connectivity stability I have more often than not found the bottleneck to exist between my own PC and my ISP. Also - it makes no difference if you are on a dial up modem, DSL, ADSL, Cable, Satellite, etc... all of these systems are vulnerable to latency issues caused by a multitude of factors from poor line quality, distance to the ISP, or Telco Central Office. None of which can be overcome by a trading platform without a dedicated line.
Or am I missing your point?
a dedicated line is a direct line to the final connection so there is no other factor involved, and you are not on the internet
i know a vpn is not a direct line, but not sure how to describe it technically, but basically it short cuts the distance of a normal internet journey, but still uses the internet
i know a vpn is not a direct line, but not sure how to describe it technically, but basically it short cuts the distance of a normal internet journey, but still uses the internet
In a VPN (Virtual Private Network) you are sending and receiving encryted packets / information to / from your location. From a basic VPN configuration you are adding additional security to your traffic / information but it is still riding over the same path as your other Internet traffic and thus you'll have the same "best effort QOS (Quality of Service)".
Stevet is right were your ISP may have a different network / backbone that you could direct your VPN traffic over that would give it a higher QOS and therefore would be more reliable than regular Internet traffic. The higher the QOS the more you'll pay.
There are many resources out there for VPNs, here is one of them http://www.vpnlabs.org/. Hope this helps.
Stevet is right were your ISP may have a different network / backbone that you could direct your VPN traffic over that would give it a higher QOS and therefore would be more reliable than regular Internet traffic. The higher the QOS the more you'll pay.
There are many resources out there for VPNs, here is one of them http://www.vpnlabs.org/. Hope this helps.
Dedicated line and Direct line are entirely different beasts.
In a typical dedicated line configuration for a data network, (as in the case of a T1 data line) your PC, (or LAN router)is connected directly to the network of your ISP as an extension of that network, as opposed to a DSL or Cable connection that uses a modem (actually 2, one on either end).
Dedicated lines can be configured to carry traffic over a shared TCP/IP network - as in the case of most internet connections, or be configured to carry data encrypted and specifically routed between specified points - as in the case of a VPN - or Virtual Private Network - thus being only "virtually private"
A direct line would seem to indicate an actual length of cable connected between you and whatever server or network you are accessing. This would mean that NO other traffic would be carried between your machine (or LAN) and the other end of the connection - creating a truly Private Network.
Not to get overly technical but as there seems to be some misunderstanding of these terms, and how they relate to latency and speed of transaction I just wanted to try and add some clarity.
By running the ffasttrade application over Citrix the speed comes into play when you think about the data being delivered over the internet. By using Citrix you are only transmitting the screen shots and mouse movements over the internet allowing you to use less bandwidth. The servers in ffasttrades office are handling the bulk of the processing. Buy it or not that is the way it works.