FSMLabs Launches Time Synchronization Software
April 12, 2010
FSMLabs on Monday officially launched TimeKeeper, a new software package which enables financial firms to synchronize the timeclocks of multiple applications to low micro-second accuracy for trading, market data and other time-sensitive systems.
FSM Labs claims that under typical network conditions, TimeKeeper can provide time synchronization accurate to 10 microseconds or less. And the firm is working to beat that measurement. So far, one large hedge fund has installed TimeKeeper to synchronize its global operations while several broker dealers are testing the software.
“Off the shelf operating systems do not support the high-integrity, precision timekeeping needed to maintain accurate time on a single system node, let along track latency through unified time in the data centers across far-reaching enterprises,” says Victor Yodaiken, chief executive for FSMLabs, based in Austin, Texas. “Even hardware-based latency measurement solutions do not assure that reference time reaches application software with precision.”
Prior to the launch of TimeKeeper, FSMLabs was best-known for creating RTLinux, a real-time processing system developed on the open-source Linux kernel.
The current standard for system timekeeping – the NTP (Network Time Protocol) methodology, was not designed to meet the demands of high-speed low-latency transactions common in capital market firms today, according to Yodaiken. That is because NTP relies on client-server architecture in which a server distributes reference data to client applications.
Testing of standard NTP implementations shows that it can take hours to lock on a reference time, such as satellite-based GPS, after systems are turned on. At the application level, system time can drift then jump to correct and even lurch backwards as the timeserver resynchronizes. Latency measurement based on such a time source produces inaccurate results, Yodaiken contends.
Rather than throwing out or reengineering NTP, financial firms can use TimeKeeper as a plug-in that transparently improves precision of the redistributed time using existing NTP packets and the same message protocol. “Simply installing and turning on TimeKeeper produces immediate improvements in time accuracy across the network,” says Yodaiken.
As a software-only installation, TimeKeeper can connect hundreds or even thousands of client systems to any standard time source to a TimeKeeper server system over a standard network. As a time synchronization tool, TimeKeeper also does not compete directly with latency measurement software systems which typically monitor or “probe” data streams. Instead, says Yodaiken, TimeKeeper could be useful to latency measurement firms in providing more accurate data.
IT executives from two brokerages contacted by Securities Industry News cited Corvil and Correlix among the most commonly used data latency monitoring tools. They also said it was unlikely financial firms would replace their data latency software packages with TimeKeeper. However, they agreed with Yodaiken on the potential merits of TimeKeeper.
While latency monitoring provides analysis and reporting for IT staff and analysts, the precise time provided by TimeKeeper supports time-aware processing in real time by intelligent applications such as complex event processing engines or smart order routers.
“When it comes to strategies like latency arbitrage or even managing a fragmented liquidity environment, granular timekeeping is necessary for tracking the delivery speed of trade data or the response time of different execution venues,” says Yodaiken. “Precision timekeeping also adds credibility to trade communications among inter-parties, reporting and auditing trades for regulatory agencies and even confirming that data and platform vendors are meeting their latency obligations.”
