Aus - haha.. not surprised. My internet breakdown fallback now is just calling and closing/cancelling everything. Very limited internet backup options in NZ. Cheers for the info.
this thread proves the unpredictability of the cause of events. one might have thought that this thread would be completely ignored. Instead it turned out to be 7 pages of useful information. Oh My! Oh MY!
Just to let you know, I am not a competitor and am not here to wrongfully dog IB. I've worked with computers for over 30 years, doing everything from fixing hardware to programming, so I know a little about these things. IB's status page is unreliable. Most of the time when there is a problem, it is green and says no problems. Just last nite, their charting stopped working and I checked the status page and it was green. When their charting starting working again, it was still green. That is one of many examples. Further, I utilize virus protection and other means to keep my computer secure and have the latest Sun java installed. I admit that in the area of connectivity that my knowledge is somewhat limited, but when I have no problem connecting with other sites and have no problem with other java software, I believe I know where the problem lies. I get great ping times, btw, and do not believe it is a Comcast problem. IOW, I believe that I have correctly stated that it is a problem with IB's servers.
Just to be very clear about this. The problem is probably with your internet connectivity or your local pc. Understanding TCP/IP connectivity and hardware repair skills are a world apart. If in doubt join an IRC group or some other real time group with people using IB. Hell, join Woodies CCI club but be careful not to listen to them too much. When you have a problem then ask if everyone else using IB is having the problem. If others who dont use the same ISP are having the problem then, yes, the problem is at the IB end. Let us know.
As an IB customer you´d better try not to have your expectations set to "max level". IB status page is set to RED when more than x customers report serious problems - otherwise it will most likely stay GREEN.
Charts go out for a little while between 11:30 to 12:00 PM EST as their systems reset. At least that is what I've noticed. I don't believe you have since the grand majority of people who trade with IB do not have your problem. You have a connectivity problem on your end. I haven't had a conncetivity problem in a long time and when I did, many other users did. And the system status page turned red. But IB's Webtrader and Mobile Trader were still functional and I could use them to manage positions.
dunbar, perhaps you don't make as many trades as I do, or you trade at different times, etc. FWIW, the charts go in and out, day and night, not just maintenance time. You also cannot say that other do not have this problem because you really don't know as many people never say anything and you have no way of knowing what complaints have been sent to IB by email or ticket or by chat. kiwi: I did not just work on hardware. I also worked on software issues and wrote software. Don't tell me that it is NOT an IB problem when many times day and night, their TWS platform continually has to login, stating, "Login attempt #1... Login attempt #9", the HDMS server goes in an out and the USFARM server goes in and out, and those are noted as connected or disconnected on their own platform. Now, I like many things about IB, but their connectivity issues have costs me money and I want them to fix their problem, or I am forced to go to another company. That's why I asked if there was a similar competitor that offered most of the same products that IB does. I trade mostly commodities and a few stocks.
It really does sound like these are not IB problems. Please PM DAV or samaritan your account number or email it to help@interactivebrokers.com (enter mg101 into the subject line) and we will trace the connection.
Software writers in the past have been even more remote from communications realities. Computer people who knew anything about X.25, SDLC or, god forbid, TCP/IP were very rare. Private networks were run by people who hopefully had a few clues and could control or at least manage traffic. The internet is run for profit by people who need to make a buck and frequently employ inadequately trained staff and save a buck on comms equipment, oversubscription, or their interconnects with other providers. This is not a very high quality environment and I seem to recall your service provider mentioned in previous complaints on this and other boards. Every one of the routers you see on your traceroutes to IB's servers could be misconfigured in multiple ways (and usually are to some extent even with the best isps). Edit: Finally, one traceroute from your system to one of the ib server farms you connect to is unlikely to provide much info unless you have an unusally bad, continuous and obvious problem. Take the advice below. Reality is "the odds are that this is an internet or local pc/net issue given that most posters with similar problems in the past found that to be true." But the past may not be a reliable predictor of the future so why not take my advice and/or ib's advice. And if none of that works for you then you should go and find a broker with whom you have no problems. Cheers.