well it takes the human eye average of 17ms to process color or light so I'd imagine your reaction time is in the 75ms range at absolute best, possibly 200ms if you are on the slower end of the scale.
You might want to consider a platform like Instinet TradeSpeed. The platform and data fees all reside at a co-location server with Instinet, and you connect through Citrix. Your internet connection will only slow down what you see, not your trading. Bob
But where is Instinet's servers and who do they buy data from? Colo with your data provider is nice - but what is the latency between Instinet's data provider and their servers. Also what is the latency with TradeSpeed's risk check? Some execution platforms have as high as 120ms latency per risk-check. Selling the "colo" buzz word can be as big of a scam as anything else in trading. That's pretty impressive - who is your ISP?
I am in the TalkTalk building in Soho they are one of the biggest ISP's in the UK. They have a gigabyte connection straight into the internet exchange in London. Plenty of desk space available. Picture on this thread. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=222807
You do know your only testing your connection to IB, not how long it takes for an order to go from your terminal to the exchange for execution?
Both. Nothing over the internet though outside the occasional IRA re balance or trade for the wife & I.
What is required to place orders directly with the exchange ? Do you need to have some form of membership at the exchange ? Or does the broker allow you to place orders for their account with the exchange ?