IB TWS freeze problem on BEST_ECN route?

Discussion in 'Interactive Brokers' started by fleance, Sep 4, 2001.

  1. fleance

    fleance

    Hello,

    I have been using IB for the past 4 months, initially as a backup to CyberCorp but now all the time once they added the BEST_ECN route.

    I have been experiencing some performance problems with the BEST_ECN route off and on, but esp. today.

    Often on MSFT and QCOM, the BEST_ECN best bid and best ask quotes would freeze and stop updating for 20-30 seconds. If I tried to place a limit order based on the correct quotes in my charting program (qcharts) by adjusting the price, the order would have a BLUE status, and it did not go live until the quotes unfreeze. Even if I submit a market order, the status does not go GREEN until the quotes unfreeze.

    I noticed the problem got very bad on MSFT at the end of the day, but I was having problems even during the middle of the day.
    I did not have a BEST or ISLAND route up for MSFT so I'm not sure if the problem is just with BEST_ECN route or any route on MSFT.

    I suspect IB has some problem because all my other applications (ravenquote, the java island book) did not show any problems.

    Has anybody else had these problems? Thanks for your comments.

    Fleance
     
  2. ktm

    ktm

    I've had a similar problem. I also use Qcharts and IB TWS...running it on the web, not locally.

    I submitted several orders today that stayed light blue. I tried to cancel them and they stayed pink. On the first two, I called IB and they manually cancelled them for me. After that, I had to shut the TWS down and restart it. In each case, it was fine after that...but it happened about 6-8 times today. Luckily, I use stops and they are much improved lately from my experience.

    I thought at first that it was due to my 56K connection and just too much traffic clogging the tiny pipe. That could still be the case as I was trading ORCL and BVSN today and the T&S traffic was heavy across Qcharts. I also get an error message "Field #49 must be included" - or something to that effect. IB has said that was due to a slow/clogged connection. I also have a cable connection and the same thing happens there from time to time. I'm not sure if that helps you.

    Thanks
     
  3. fleance

    fleance

    Today the JTWS is acting terrible again, starting to remind me of qcharts... The quotes for BEST_ECN and BEST keep freezing, many of my BEST_ECN orders are stuck in BLUE status for 10-15 seconds..

    I checked the Program Files/jts/log.txt file to see what server I was connecting to:

    JTS-Listener: Redirecting to gw3.ibllc.com on port 4000
    JTS-Listener: Connecting
    JTS-Login: Creating socket
    JTS-Login: Local port=1192
    JTS-Login: Peer=4000

    I tried a ping and traceroute to gw3.ibllc.com and everything looked good. I was getting 80 ms ping times consistently.

    I've tried my backup ISP, but it doesn't seem to improve IB's JTWS. All my other apps ravenquote (qcharts) and island's java level2 applet are chugging along fine..

    The other thing I noticed is that when adding new tickers, it is taking longer for the stupid ROUTE popup dialog to popup, sometimes 15 seconds. Very annoying..

    I am suspecting that IB may be having a capacity problem or some burps related to their BEST_ECN quoting, but I haven't seen anyone else complaining about it, so I still can't rule out that my internet route to IB's server is flaky.

    I wonder if direct ISLD route would eliminate some of these problems. I'll probably try that next.

    Fleance
     
  4. Turok

    Turok

    >I wonder if direct ISLD route would eliminate
    >some of these problems. I'll probably try that
    >next.

    I have made close to 100 trades today. I never use BEST_X and only route direct. I have had no problems.

    JB