EA Latency Discussed

[WillT]

Leave your vps in the UK

[hamiltoncurtis]

Hi Will, I just wanted to ask your advice on the latency issue. I've had my vps in the UK on CNS because I figured it was the best place for both you and FinFx. I've since learned that the FinFx server that CNS is using is in NYC and not in the UK. It has a 1ms latency there compared to a 71ms in the UK. Am I still better leaving my vps in the UK because of the reduced latency with the signal service or is it better to move my vps to NYC? Thanks

[WhiteApe]

Some months ago there was talk of simpletrader being available in NY, is there any progress here?

Most brokers have their tradeservers in NY, so most people have their vps set up there as well.
With the simpletrader server being in the UK we add an unnecesarry 100-160 ms (round trip NY-manchester) to the signal.

Another thing is that i see latency rising (although this can the cause of many things).
Having a NY vps im now at 310ish minimum latency (it was 188ms a few months ago). This is noticable in my slippage.

Anyone else having numbers, to compare?

Seem to recall Nick saying it wasn't under consideration for the time being, on one of the other threads somewhere. Will & IT support being based in the UK etc.

[Smokey]

Beeks support said that there is an issue today with networks in NY so pings might be increased for some and packet loss may occur, maybe this is your issue of 310 latency

Well, is it high compared to others? Im not with Beeks but with CNS. I have 4 signals with 10ish open trades. perhaps this increases my latency with a 100+ms over just having 1 signal.
The ability to put a signal to a chart of its own would solve this problem. Or create a seperate account for each signal on my part..

[Okda]

Beeks support said that there is an issue today with networks in NY so pings might be increased for some and packet loss may occur, maybe this is your issue of 310 latency

[Smokey]

Some months ago there was talk of simpletrader being available in NY, is there any progress here?

Most brokers have their tradeservers in NY, so most people have their vps set up there as well.
With the simpletrader server being in the UK we add an unnecesarry 100-160 ms (round trip NY-manchester) to the signal.

Another thing is that i see latency rising (although this can the cause of many things).
Having a NY vps im now at 310ish minimum latency (it was 188ms a few months ago). This is noticable in my slippage.

Anyone else having numbers, to compare?

[Tomgun73]

Hi everyone and hi Nick,

I am using Beeksfx and global prime as a broker. The vps and the broker is based in NY. I am thinking to follow Viper. Should I keep my VPS in NY like Walleed? Please advise
Thanks and regards,
Tom

P.S. you have fantastic website. I am very happy I found you guys!

[marcus2207]

ok, thank you very much :-)

[Daniel]

Is there any way to check latency from my VPS to EA(ST Platform)?

ping simpletrader.net

[WillT]

Whats your VPS ip? We can ping it for you if you like.

[marcus2207]

Is there any way to check latency from my VPS to EA(ST Platform)?

[Nick]

Hi Walleed,

You should be fine on the NY server. The difference is pretty small.

[Waleed121]

Latency Explained


Ok so since everyone is moving to the EA, there is now an extra layer of connection involved and I think its important that we all understand how your VPS location is going to effect the execution.


Obviously everyone wants the best execution possible, and we totally understand that, however since the EA has become the norm, we are getting constant support blaming us for slower execution vs Direct Connect. Before we start, let me assure you that the EA executes as quick as direct connect as a program, however this does not mean that the execution of the trade will be quite as quick as there are more variables in the equation.


Our servers are hosted in Manchester UK.


Latency from Manchester:


Manchester -> London = 10ms
Manchester -> New York = 50-80ms
Manchester -> West Coast US = 80-100ms
Manchester -> Amsterdam = 15ms
Manchester -> Sydney = 150-200ms


We are on one of the most advanced networks in the UK. This is what I used to do before moving into the forex world.


So lets look at the process of the EA:


1. The EA is in an infinite loop - each loop is 400ms
2. The EA changes which server it connects with on each loop (currently we have 4 EA servers serving approx 1000 people)
3. Upon each loop it is checking for new trades and existing trades
4. The further away your server is from our network, the more overhead there is on each loop.
5. We pass as little data as possible. When there are no trades, there is NO data being passed back and forth between our servers and the EA. If there is 1 trade, there is a few bytes of data being passed, so the further away your server, the slower that this data will pass back to your VPS


Lets look at 2 examples. 1. Using our VPS - 2. Using a server in NY. We will assume that the brokers server is in NY and they do NOT offer a UK server.


Please note this is not trying to sell our VPS platform. We honestly don't mind where people host, and have only offered this for people who wish to use our platform (even though we are the best 8) )


We are working on worst case numbers here to show how it works


SimpleTrader VPS:
1. EA Looping 400ms (so worst case scenario 400ms delay finding trade)
2. Connection from ST VPS = 1ms
3. Trade data is found, so 1ms to ask for data, 1ms to retrieve
(Execution so far 402ms)
4. The EA now knows to execute a trade, so it works through the code (check if its valid, work out suffix, other stuffs ) - This takes pretty much 0 time, as long as the VPS is not under load
5. Trade is now executed on MT4 - Now this is where REAL slippage occurs... As we know, when we place a trade on MT4 there is sometimes a delay, this is because the order hasn't yet been filled by the broker. This could take anywhere from 100ms > ~ -
6. In this example, lets say the broker has 0 slippage. Your VPS (in MAnchester) has to tell the server in NY to trade - so data is sent (this takes approx 80ms) - The trade has been placed
(Execution time = 482ms)


NY VPS
1. EA is looping 400ms (worst case)
2. Connection from NY VPS to ST Platform = 80ms
3. Trade data is found, so 80ms to ask for data, 80ms to retrieve
(execution so far 560ms)
4. The EA now knows to execute a trade
5. We assume 0 slippage on broker
6. VPS tells Broker server to trade = 1ms
(Execution time = 561ms)


Things to remember:
- The brokers server WILL NEVER execute in 0ms - there will always be slippage... A server cannot react in 0 time. There are a number of things which effect a broker being able to fill your order. You will be able to check how your broker is reacting vs all other brokers when we release our analytics package (should be soon if metaquotes stop throwing us curve balls! )
- In the examples above, our VPS is the better scenario - Why? Because we execute first... your MT4 platform in the ST VPS example physically has the trade sooner, so will be telling the brokers server to execute the trade sooner. The sooner you ask the broker to execute the less likely you will be slipped.
- Networking isn't simple, take an example, when you browse around the web - every now and again your connection might seem slow, this is probably a packet being lost and resent. The same applies here, it is possible that packets are lost, or connections dropped which can cause extra time for things to be sent back and forth. Having your VPS with us eliminates that (or drastically reduces it).


I constantly trade on a test platform running the Master on my home pc, and the slave on my home pc. I am approx 30-40ms away from Manchester, and I normally recieve execution in around 1-1.2s on Pepperstone. On Direct connect the same trade would take around 800ms.


Any questions please ask, but hopefully I've covered most angles.


In terms of VPS - Obviously I'm going to say our VPS platform is the best But in all seriousness, if you are using someone like Beeks or CNS then you should be fine if the VPS is within the UK. They are in London, so you will still have approx 10ms increase over our VPS, but it's up to you if you wish to move to us.


Hope this helps.

Hello Nick,

My VPS is with BeeksFX, however I chose the NY Server, as IC Markets is based in NY, would you suggest getting that put back to London Servers?
~This is in relation to having FX Amplified signals.

Many thanks again,

W

[WillT]

dmnico - you want a VPS from us

Forex VPS - Simpletrader VPS

However currently we are full and waiting on new hardware delivery (next week)

[dminico]

Hay Will,

Well since using FX AMPLIFIED, your story makes sense.
However who provides the fastest VPS.
I am running on : Forex VPS,Forex Hosting,MetaTrader hosting,Expert Advisors,

great service..tend to be a bit..slow...

Your View plse Mr Tech !

Regards

dmnico