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I am using MultiCharts and intend on autotrading through Interactive Brokers. I would like to get some suggestions and advice on what can be done to minimize the risk of technical failure. So, the first thing I thought to do was to use a server rental service to ensure maximize internet connectivity up time and reduce the exposure to one specific computer which could fail. Can / should one subsrcibe to multiple data sources in case one fail?
What else can be done to create redundancies?
Thanks in advance.
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
Their is a lot to say about this, but the main thing are:
- having the bot running on two servers which are in two different places
- having a strategy which do the job (buy/sell) on one server, and another one which is just monitoring the activity of the first one, and which is able to hedge or close the positions if the first bot get crazy, or lost communication (we can call that an heart-beat)
- whatever the security of your server, in serious hosting companies (redundant network, Raid on servers, big UPS everywhere, ...), something will fail, it always failed (storms in Chicago last year, floods, ...), so it's not a good idea, IMHO, to put all your eggs in the same nest.
I know that some of my VPS users (see this thread) use this method.
How much is an average server rental? Two could get expensive but better safe then sorry.
Currently I am using my TradeStation data with MultiCharts. When I autotrade with IB, will I continue to use my own datasource, or do I use IB's? If I use my own, does it make sense to have a back up data provider as well?
The main risk is not enough testing of your strategy on a SIM account with supervision. You should run it for days, depending on the number of trades it takes, and only then start focusing on the tech issues.
MultiCharts - Raising the Trading Standard.
Please send me a private message if you have any further questions about MultiCharts
I agree with @MultiCharts, the first thing is to let your bot run enough time in simulation mode, in real-time, and then think about how to secure the process when you're ready to go cash.
There are multiple technical solutions to secure a bot, but it's maybe something to think about a bit later.
Just wanted to give you a feed back on my experiment just within the last week. I've traded my live IB account for 2 days using MC 7 Beta 1 and as far as I am concerned no issues were encountered.
I've traded 1 TF futures contract and I did not have a chance to analyze very closely yet but I did not notice any slippage. I probably had ~20 contracts traded through the 2 days which were not full days of trading.
I've used Zenfire for datafeed /was trading tick charts/ and IB for execution.
IB version details below, which is I think still the supported version by Ninja or at least was not a long ago.
Build 917.8, May 24, 2011 3:03:14 PM Jolt Build 1.1.9, Mar 30, 2011 03:57:37 PM Nia Build 1.8.0, Mar 30, 2011 06:17:06 PM ModelNav Build 1.1.32, Mar 30, 2011 04:02:07 PM Java Version: 1.6.0_25 OS: Windows 7 (amd64, 6.1)
Symbol mapping still s***s on MC compare to Ninja, however this was the only issue I've encountered so far with the updated MC7.
note: when MC 7 came out first this summer I've spent a ton of time with support on "things" and after ~2 weeks I gave up since I've realized I was spending most of my time on fixing-chasing problems rather than trading.
My hardware setup includes a Dell Inspiron 17" Laptop, OS Win 7 Pro, 64 bit with 6GB memory.
Cable internet connection: ~5 MB down, ~500 KB up. I was connected to my DLINK 630 via wireless from the laptop.
As you can see no "real" high tech was used.
As some of the comments before me. First test, test but FORWARD test. If you can make money with your strategy consistently than implement such measures you have mentioned.
I do not recommend "high frequency" trading with the above setup for sure.
Since I've upgraded to Beta 2 which I assume shall be more stable than Beta 1.