HOME FORUMS BROKERS SOFTWARE BOOKS CONTACT US
Elite Trader Your Account  •  Become a Member  •  Help  •  Search    
    Forums ›› Tools of the Trade ›› Trading Software ›› Ubuntu Server- tips & tricks?  


Post A Reply
    Page 1 of 2:   1  2  
vfulco
 

Registered: Sep 2005
Posts: 5

 

09-13-12 04:51 PM

Any guides out there for running the most minimalist Ubuntu 12.04 set up for trading strategies in a SOHO environment?

No HFT, just thinking data collection (From IB and/or IQfeed-DTN into a standard dbase capture, analysis with R and/or python-numpy, pandas (execution later)...Would like to run the core of the OS required keeping the CPU/NIC/DRAM working as efficiently as possible w/o the skills to rewrite the kernel, TCP/IP internals etc. More used to Fedora 12 thru 17 and when I start stripping things out of Ubuntu inevitably I go too far and then find myself in dependency h-ll.

Right now just a skunkworks idea during free time but would appreciate any trailheads. Figured some interesting comments would surface to help others on forum too.

TIA, V.

    Edit/Delete Quote Complain
Mr_You
 

Registered: Dec 2010
Posts: 265

 

09-14-12 03:21 PM

I'm sure there are a few guides out there, but I would suggest sticking with the default setup. RAM and multi-core CPUs are cheap.

    Edit/Delete Quote Complain
WinstonTJ
 

Registered: Jan 2009
Posts: 1947

 

09-14-12 05:01 PM

I host 10+ Precise server OS machines for HFT guys. (12.04 LTS server install not desktop)

Most of the guys are running Intel Atom or i3 CPUs in tiny little 1U half-depth rack mount chassis. I'm also using a SuperMicro 2U Twin^3 chassis (two u twin cubed). They run 4-8GB of RAM and a SSD with a 1TB drive and that's it.

There isn't much to the Server OS. It's pretty thin... Just a command line. There's no real tweaking or tips or tricks, just make sure you use the correct amount of RAM and CPU that you'll need. The biggest secret is getting onboard or add-in NICs that have enough buffer and cache to handle the network traffic spikes. Sometimes it pays to use 10G NICs even if you are only on a gigabit network. Get server grade NICs, don't go cheap seats on your NICs.


I'm assuming you meant the 12.04 server OS not using Precise Desktop as a "server".

EDIT: Yes, HFT guys are trading high-volume and low-latency on Intel Atom or i3 CPUs. You only need crazy amounts of RAM and CPU cores for optimization and backtesting. A simple dual-core with 4GB of RAM is plenty to execute on.

    Edit/Delete Quote Complain
vfulco
 

Registered: Sep 2005
Posts: 5

 

09-14-12 09:38 PM

Thanks all esp. WinstonTJ.

So if you are using 10G NICs, what brand (myricoms)? If on a standard 1G setup, aren't you just saturating the bus and network with only a modest pick up in performance?

    Edit/Delete Quote Complain
brocklanders
 

Registered: Aug 2007
Posts: 1711

 

09-14-12 10:27 PM


Quote from WinstonTJ:


I'm assuming you meant the 12.04 server OS not using Precise Desktop as a "server".




The only difference between Ubuntu Server and Desktop is that Server does not have a GUI. Other than that they are the essentially the same.

    Edit/Delete Quote Complain
WinstonTJ
 

Registered: Jan 2009
Posts: 1947

 

09-15-12 02:29 PM


Quote from brocklanders:The only difference between Ubuntu Server and Desktop is that Server does not have a GUI. Other than that they are the essentially the same.


From the source. There are quite a few differences between the Server OS and the Desktop.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ServerFaq


Business Questions
What's the difference between desktop and server?

The first difference is in the CD contents. The "Server" CD avoids including what Ubuntu considers desktop packages (packages like X, Gnome or KDE), but does include server related packages (Apache2, Bind9 and so on). Using a Desktop CD with a minimal installation and installing, for example, apache2 from the network, one can obtain the exact same result that can be obtained by inserting the Server CD and installing apache2 from the CD-ROM.

The Ubuntu Server Edition installation process is slightly different from the Desktop Edition. Since by default Ubuntu Server doesn't have a GUI, the process is menu driven, very similar to the Alternate CD installation process.

Before 12.04, Ubuntu server installs a server-optimized kernel by default. Since 12.04, there is no difference in kernel between Ubuntu Desktop and Ubuntu Server since linux-image-server is merged into linux-image-generic.

For Ubuntu LTS releases before 12.04, the Ubuntu Desktop Edition only receives 3 years of support. This was increased to 5 years in Ubuntu LTS 12.04 In contrast, all Ubuntu LTS Server Edition releases are supported for 5 years.

    Edit/Delete Quote Complain
    Page 1 of 2:   1  2  
Post A Reply


Receive an email whenever a new post is added to this thread by subscribing to it.
 
Rate This Thread:

Forum Jump:
 

 

   Conduct Rules  -  Privacy Policy  -  Day Trader -  Day Trader Forum -  Best Trading Software -  Sitemap Copyright © 2013, Elite Trader. All rights reserved.    
 
WHILE YOU'RE HERE, TAKE A MINUTE TO VISIT SOME OF OUR SPONSORS:
Advantage Futures
Futures Brokerage & Clearing
AMP Global Clearing
Futures and FX Trading
Bright Trading
Professional Equities Trading
CTS
Futures Trading Software
DaytradingBias.com
Professional Trading Analytics
ECHOtrade
Professional Trading Firm
eSignal
Trading Software Provider
FXCM
Forex Trading Services
Global Futures
Futures, Options & FX Trading
Interactive Brokers
Pro Gateway to World Markets
JC Trading Group
Direct Access Trading
MB Trading
Direct Access Trading
MultiCharts
Trading Software Provider
NinjaTrader
Trading Software Provider
OANDA
Currency Trading
optionshouse
Option Trading & Education
Rithmic
Futures Trade Execution Platform
SpeedTrader
Direct Access Trading
SpreadProfessor
Spread Trading Instruction
thinkorswim by TD Ameritrade
Direct Access TradingAdvertisement
TradersStudio
System Building & Backtesting
Trading Technologies
Trading Software Provider
Trend Following
Trading Systems Provider