When using our Peak trading products it is important that you have a fast and reliable Internet connection. The large majority of the problems our clients encounter relate to the speed and/or reliability of their Internet connections.
Most 56k dial-up connections will work. In fact, we have client on connections as low as 28K with reliable and fast quotes and executions. However the amount of information you can receive will be limited on a lower connection. This means that on a slower connection you will not be able to open as many live quote/chart windows at one time compared to a faster Internet connection.
If you decide to use a 56k to 28.8k dial up connection it is important to understand that there are two broad categories of dial up connections, backbone providers such as UUNet and generic ISP's such as AOL. Generally the backbone providers are more stable and faster than generic ISP's.
Below are the connections we recommend to the Peak platforms from fastest to slowest speeds.
1. T1/DSL - a dedicated internet connection is the best connection.
2. Cable connections are the next best solution. One of the problems with cable is that it uses shared bandwidth. In addition, cable connections tend to be less reliable than DSL.
3. Satellite connections can be very fast, but they also are less reliable than DSL. Satellite connections tend to download information quickly but also tend to slow down sending information out.
4. Dial-up Connection to a backbone provider.
5. Dial-up Connection to a generic ISP.
Want to test if your Internet connection is slow today? The site below will help you discover your true connection to the Internet by sending you a file and seeing how long it takes to receive that data. If you have a high-speed connection but Internet traffic is bad, you may find you're connection is no better than a modem -
http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest
Please keep in mind that when you use the Peak Access and Peak Lite platforms your computer is receiving real-time data feed from our servers. We receive our market information directly from the exchanges. Since the Peak products are real-time software you must have a real-time Internet connection in order to keep up with the flow of data. Below is a diagram which show the connection between your computer and our trade servers.
As you can see, all the data transferred between your computer and the server must travel over a number of networks. Problems or delays can occur from any point in this path. We have the ability to monitor our own network connections and speed but do not have control over your local ISP or the Internet connections in general.
If you question the speed or reliability of your Internet connection please run the following Internet connectivity tests. These two tests are a great way to see how you are connecting to the servers and where a potential problem might exist..
To run any of the following tests, you will first need to bring up the Command Prompt or also known as the MS-DOS prompt window. To bring up the Command Prompt, please click on START, click RUN, type in the word "command", then click on OK (illus. below):
You should get a MS-DOS prompt window on your screen.
To perform a Ping test to our trade server please type the following into the MS-DOS window:
ping 63.99.225.200
Press: ENTER
After you press enter, you should get a series of replies that look like this:
Reading the results from a ping is simple. The only information you really need to take note of is the time at the bottom - in this case an average of 122 ms - which tells you how many milliseconds it took for the packet to reach the host and return.
There isn't any concern unless these numbers are over 200-300 ms or an asterisk "*" appears or "request timed out" appears . If the results do exceed 200-300ms, it may mean that there are some problems with your connection to the Internet, the server's connection, or a connection between you and our server. If an asterisk is displayed, there was no response and that also signifies a problem with the connection between you and the server.
If there is a concern you will want to run a Traceroute test to see where the problem is occuring (see below)
A more extensive PING TEST is the continual Ping Test.
To perform the continual ping test to our trade server type the following into the MS-DOS window
ping -t 63.99.225.200
Press: ENTER
After you press enter, you should get a series of replies that look like this:
The continual ping test allows you to check your Internet connection over an extended period of time. After you have 20 to 30 lines of continual ping click on the icon in the upper left hand corner of the ping window and then click close.
Reading the results from a continual ping is simple. The only information you really need to take note of is the time on each line in ms which tells you how many milliseconds it took for the packet to reach the host and return. There isn't any concern unless these numbers are over 200-300 ms or an asterisk "*" appears or "request timed out" appears. If the results do exceed 200-300ms, it may mean that there are some problems with your connection to the Internet, the server's connection, or a connection between you and our server. If an asterisk is displayed, there was no response and that also signifies a problem with the connection between you and the server.
If there is a concern you will want to run a Traceroute test to see where the problem is occuring (see below)
If you have Ping test results above 200-300ms you can use Traceroute to see where the problem is occuring. Traceroute works much like ping in that it sends data packets to a host you specify. However, rather than simply giving you the time it takes for the packets to return, traceroute sends back results for each hopthe packet makes. Because of this, traceroute is the perfect tool to see where network problems are occuring.
To perform the Tracert test to the trade server, type:
Tracert 63.99.225.200
It will look like:
You should get the following replies:
Like ping's results, deciphering traceroute's dialog is easy. Each hop in the route the packet has traveled will be displayed in order with the hostname and/or IP address. Next, the results, in milliseconds, of the three probes that are sent to each hop. The rules for ping results also apply here. Numbers near 200-300ms and asterisks represent network problems.
Please note that the first hop to show numbers above 200-300ms is the place on the internet that the problem is occuring. If you continue to have problems in the same place each day you can contact your ISP and provide them your Ping Test. In may cases an ISP can route around a troubled server on the Internet. Many times logging off your Internet service provider and then back on will resolve the problem. If you continually have a problem, you may want to have your line tested for noise or dropped packets by your ISP or you may want to get a different Internet service provider.
We use the information in this document to assist you in diagnosing your connectivity issues. Any time you need further assistance please call our Technical Support Staff and we will assist you in any way possible. |
