Potential issues with IB?

[molecool]

I just read a thread on using IB as a broker for trading FX and came across the following concerns someone mentioned in the comment section:

1. Their connection drops constantly. I've tried multiple VPS vendors with the same problem.
2. Their non-FIX API makes you log out every day. It's a real pain in the rear when you have strategies that don't require daily babysitting - and I hate those card codes you have to use on every log in.
3. Using NinjaTrader for execution with them seems to compound their inherent trade confirmations and account reporting. It seems a lot slower than it should be.

Could you please address this? I am planning on using IB via NinjaTrader but it'll run on 360-min charts and cannot be interrupted. Per 3) - have you experienced any performance problems clearing or with the data feed?

Any productive input would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[NinjaTrader_Jason]

Hello molecool,

Please see my response as per your email below.

We realize that lost connections can be frustrating. A connection state between NinjaTrader and your broker/market data vendor is not dictated by NinjaTrader. The NinjaTrader application only reports the connection state as it is reported by the API you are connected through. NinjaTrader behaves like a radio receiver in that it receives signals from the connected server. If the signals are not coming through, the underlying broker/market data vendor API reports this to the NinjaTrader application which in turn reports this back to you. Once a loss of connection is reported, NinjaTrader or the underlying API will continuously try to re-establish a connection.

Common reasons that contribute to connection stability are:

-ISP issues
-Hardware firewall changing IP addresses frequently
-Dynamic IP addresses changing frequently intraday. Usually this happens once a week but you may want to check with your ISP. If they do change daily, requesting a static IP address may help.
-Broker/market data servers may be experiencing temporary downtime


Unfortunately IB cause a daily disconnect due to resetting their servers.

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/software/systemStatus.php?ib_entity=llc

You could use IB Gateway. It is not officially supported with NinjaTrader 7, however some of our clients have successfully connected NinjaTrader with IB Gateway. You can refer to this YouTube video to know more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjrRY37HGl8&feature=youtu.be

You can experience slow and unresponsive behavior in NinjaTrader if you have many charts, indicators and other windows opened depending on market volatility as well.

The 'Calculate on bar close' setting for indicators can be important. If set to False, the indicator will be calculated on each incoming tick. During high volatlity this can be very CPU intensive especially if the indicator makes complicated calculations. Please set it to True in the Indicator menu and the indicator will only be calculated at the end of each price bar.

If you have workspaces opened in the background which you do not use, we suggest to close such workspaces. Please go to Control Center-->File-->Workspaces and check what workspaces are listed below 'Save Workspace As'. The workspace with the checkmark is the workspace opened on your monitor. Any additional workspaces listed, are opened in the background.

Please select a workspace without the checkmark. Subsequently, go to Control Center-->File-->Workspaces-->Close Workspace. Repeat this procedure until only 1 workspace is opened. More tips and suggestions to improve the performance of NinjaTrader can be found at the link below.

http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt7/performance_tips2.htm