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Im putting together an Ultra-High Frequency desk and need to answer the following questions for ordering some rack servers to process about 2 GB of data per second. If anyone has worked at a HFT desk before can you help me out? Also what kind of software do big HFT shops run? Linux, Unix, Windows?!? HELP!!!!

How many Processors are required, and what clock speed?

How much Memory required?

How much internal storage would you need?

Do you require any external storage?

How many Network Ports are required?

How many Fibre connections are required?

Which level of AIX software is required?

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We generally close infrastructure survey questions because they're off-topic [ 1, 2, 3 ]. I'm also curious as to what capacity you're in when you say that you're putting together the desk but you don't already know your requirements (which, mind you, is highly specific to the needs of your traders and can't really be answered here anyway). I'm afraid you may be in over your head on this. – chrisaycock♦ Mar 22 '11 at 4:09
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You seem to be trying to spec out some hardware with little to no understanding of what you're going do with it. Perhaps you should first focus on the latter? – NPE Mar 22 '11 at 9:26
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Upvoted for the lulz value. – quant_dev Mar 22 '11 at 20:21

closed as off topic by Joshua Ulrich, Shane, SCVirus, chrisaycock♦ Mar 23 '11 at 4:01

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2 Answers

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Your question is very broad and cannot be answered by community as it requires a thorough analysis of your business needs. This isn't something that can be done while having a coffee break. Of course one may answer to your questions: "as many & as much & at least & the fastest" but your costs will skyrocket as there is virtually no limit... Do you really want to spend money on an F1 car while all your needs can be satisfied by a decent van?

Long story short: you'll do better by hiring somebody knowledgeable to do the job.

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Q: How many Processors are required, and what clock speed? A: as many as you can get How much Memory required? A: as must as you can get How much internal storage would you need? A: as much and as fast as you can get, think 500GB SSD Do you require any external storage? A: yes, think in terabytes How many Network Ports are required? A: at least 2 How many Fibre connections are required? A: as many as you can get Which level of AIX software is required? A: the fastest version, with the fewest nonessential modules

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Thank you very much for the answers Glyphard. I am meeting with an engineer today so he can answer my questions. I do need an F1 car since what im trying to do here is "ultra" HFT. Thank you for all your answers. Money isnt a question on this project BTW. anyone would like to come on to the team Email me @ Kronustechnologies@gmail.com – user633 Mar 23 '11 at 19:07