I was looking at the systems requirements for Interactive Brokers (IB) and they require you to use an Internet Service Provider (ISP) which supports PPP (after some research, I think that's Multi-link PPP or Shotgun--whatever that is). That made me realize that I don't know the pros and cons of using various ISPs for trading. I would appreciate any recommendations or comments about national (USA) ISPs. I also am interested if someone thinks I should seek a local or regional provider. If this topic is a repeat because it was on a prior thread, would someone please point me to that thread? Thanks. Fast
For IB it really doesn't matter which way you connect to the Internet as long as you have reasonable latency on your connection. PPP which encapsulates IP datagrams for transport on a serial line is the standard protocol for dial-up access with ISPs. Multilink PPP is used to aggregate several physical lines into a single logical link to increase bandwidth. A lot of ADSL connections also use a special form of PPP (PPPoE) which affords the ISP the advantages of user based management and accounting. For trading you want an ISP with excellent tier 1 peering agreements so as to ensure minimum latency and as few hops as possible between you and your broker and data providers. If you have a choice betweend ADSL and cable go with the former. Due to the high latency you should definitely avoid satellite.
dlincke: I'm on cable via a Linksys router. I'm able to use IB's demo program O.K. Do you think there would be any problem with the live version of TWS through the router? Thanks in advance for your reply.
dlincke, Thanks for your reply. Is there a way I can determine whether an ISP has "excellent tier 1 peering agreements so as to ensure minimum latency and as few hops as possible between you and your broker and data providers?" Are you thinking that all national ISPs support PPP -- if so, I am wondering why the caution from IB. DSL is available in my area--does that ensure that I have excellent tier 1 peering agreements, etc., or do these features depend on the ISP, regardless of connection method (cable, DSL, etc.)? I hope people reading this thread will include additional factors beyond PPP to guide me in selecting an ISP even though I have the term "PPP" in the thread title. Fast
Is there a way I can determine whether an ISP has "excellent tier 1 peering agreements... Call your ISP and ask them. You'll want direct peerings at least with Alternet, Exodus, Global Crossing, Level 3, Sprintlink, Worldcom/UUnet, BBN Planet. Are you thinking that all national ISPs support PPP -- if so, I am wondering why the caution from IB. PPP is only used between you and your ISP's POP and only if you're on a dial-up or possibly an ADSL connection. If you have a leased line there's no PPP. IB has no way of knowing if you're using PPP when you connect to them. DSL is available in my area--does that ensure that I have excellent tier 1 peering agreements, etc., or do these features depend on the ISP, regardless of connection method (cable, DSL, etc.)? No. DSL is provided by your local phone company which then forwards your traffic to your ISP. The quality of your Internet connection depends on your ISP.
If you run into any problems, check to see if you are doing any type of packet filtering. You will have to allow both TCP and UDP access to port 4000 to the following ip addresses: 208.245.107.3, 208.245.107.4, 208.245.107.5 .