Using broadband + 2Mb ?

[ebob]

Is anyone using broadband over 2mb, either 4mb or 8mb? the problem is partly im based in Norfolk so two companies i have approached can not provide the service here. if people do have a provider that is reliable could you point me in the right direction.

many thanks

 

[Trader333]

Why do you need more than 2Mb ?


Paul

 

[ebob]

2 Mb

because when you're trading large amounts the quicker and more reliable the better. any suggestions?

 

[Sharky]

Another factor to take into account is the contention ration, which may be 50:1 or say, 20:1 - it basically refers to the number of people your sharing your connection with, so the lower the better.

 

[zigglewigler]

I'm as far from an exchange as is possible, barely get half meg to work, but it's enough. The further you are from your exchange the lesser the signal that can be carried. The 8 mb is for porn, right?

 

[Racer]

I got broadband about a year ago.. for 500.. have had BT out, um, haven't got enough fingers to count... in the last year.. and today had BT out again. Have had replacement wires, poles, boxes, in fact nearly all the bits between here and the exchange and it is still not good enough for 2Meg.. I am grateful and lucky to get 1!

 

[nine]

ebob,

You said you need more than 2m because "the quicker and more reliable the better".

If you said "I want to download huge files in a hurry" I would pat you on the back and say "go for it" but in trading more is not necessarily better.

On Quicker. Most trading feeds can get away with less than 100kbps of bandwidth so 2M is ~20 times the required bandwidth. The real issue is latency (or the end to end delay for your signals). The system latency is likely to be a minimum of 100ms to 200ms for the routers/switches/computers etc between you and the exchange. If your packet size is 1000bytes then a 2m access circuit will have a serialisation delay (the thing u can reduce by going faster) of approximately 1000*10/2,000,000 = 5ms (or 1/20th to 1/40th of the overall latency in the system). If you increase from 2M to 8M - then you can reduce that to 1.25ms.

So by going from 2M to 8M you might decrease latency from 105ms to 101.25ms .... not worth it.

On More Reliable. Faster does not mean more reliable. In fact if the cable etc is the same it means less reliable because you are asking it to do a lot more. Reliability would be better achieved by adding a second feed from a different provider or a true redundant feed from the first (perhaps ADSL on one and Cable on the other).

So I can't see a real benefit for trading. Please educate me if I've got it wrong though.

 

[nine]

Oh, and no I'm not using over 2Mbps. I've got cable which gives me around 800Mbps but has only gone down once in 18 months so I am pretty happy with it.

 

[Mr Chill]

I signed up with pipex a few weeks ago and so far excellent service ,its only 14.99 a month unlimited use ,its suppose to be 250 kbps but for some reason (don't know why??) i'm getting 2.2 mbps which is extremely fast and reliable ,

 

[wheezergeezer]

I'm using BT 2MB connection, signed up 2 months ago , so far all ok,

 

[theknifemac]

I'm using BT 2MB connection, signed up 2 months ago , so far all ok,

Upgraded to 2MB recently, had major issues with the connection being dropped repeatedly. Then unplugged my SkyPlus boxes from the phone line and the problem was solved. Installation of a microfilter on the SkyPlus line fixed the problem, and stopped Sky nagging about the boxes not being connected.

Just wanted to point it out in case anyone experiences something similar.

Stew

 

[Verno]

One question on broadband. Providers often put download limits on when you subscribe to a particular broadband package. Does this affect real time price streaming? What I mean is does this count as part of your download or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Also any tips on good broadband providers much appreciated.
Verno

 

[cj12]

I would like to know this to?

 

[Trader333]

Does this affect real time price streaming? What I mean is does this count as part of your download or am I barking up the wrong tree?

I believe that it does count if you are using a package that saves the data to your own hard drive. An example is Tradestation 2000i where all data received is saved to disk. However, it is unlikely to affect web based packages.


Paul

 

[stevespray]

In my own experience a dedicated broadband line is better than a shared line or a line converted from an old BT analogue line. Old BT wiring can be many years old where as the newer cable broadband infrastructure is not only much newer but also build for use in a digital environment. I personally have 4mb broadband and generally find it to be excellent. People have mentioned their various requirements for data feeds and the such. In my opinion, the demand which you put on your data line is very variable. If markets are quiet and flat then sure, a dial up modem will do it. That all changes when you get volatility. Likewise, if you use more complex charting software (I use Tradestation 8.1 with Radar Screen) then I can tell you that you do demand considerably more bandwidth and having the 4mb is worth its weight in gold. Likewise when you draw historical data – the narrower your bandwidth the longer the data will take. While this bandwidth is being occupied other software, such as dealing platforms, will work more slowly. This is where a good ‘Bandwidth Manager’ comes in handy.

Personally I always have the laptop charged up as well. I also have an unlimited dial up account with Onetel. This means that even if there is a power cut I can still run a skeleton operation.

If you are genuinely serious about trading then you must take all things into consideration.

Steve.

 

[ewilcox]

You muppet stew - I could have told you that! btw - on the left - milk please.