Co-location Services features explained
for Market Making/Proprietary Trading
Physical server installations located in or near exchange data centers to minimize latency for high-frequency and algorithmic trading operations.
Every feature we track for Co-location Services products, with a description of what each one means.
Customization & Scalability
Ability to customize colocation to client needs and to scale with trading requirements, including burst capacity.
- Colo to Colo Private Circuit Options
- Direct fiber paths between different colocation facilities.
- Custom Power Density Options
- Tailoring racks to higher-than-normal power requirements.
- Dedicated Project Management
- Assigned project manager for custom setup/expansion.
- Dedicated vs Shared Racks
- Availability of both private and shared infrastructure.
- Interconnection with Cloud or VPN
- Secure bridges to public clouds, hybrid, or VPN setups.
- Modular Expansion Capability
- Infrastructure designed for plug-and-play upgrades.
- Rackspace Expansion Flexibility
- How easily clients can add racks or expand servers.
- Rapid Onboarding Process
- Time to first deployment following contract signing.
- Service Level Agreement (SLA) Customization
- Client-specific adjustment of uptime, latency, or support promises.
- Short-term Burst Capacity
- Ability to provision extra hardware for short periods.
Financial and Contractual Flexibility
Pricing models, contract terms, and billing options that accommodate the dynamic needs of trading firms.
- Billing Portal Access
- Clients can view and manage billing online.
- Bulk or Volume Discounts
- Pricing reductions for larger deployments.
- Custom Billing Cycles
- Monthly, quarterly, or yearly billing options.
- Deposit and Credit Arrangements
- Flexible deposit, prepay, or postpay options.
- Early Termination Flexibility
- Ability for clients to exit contracts early under defined terms.
- Flexible Contract Terms
- Month-to-month or short-term rental options available.
- Proof of Concept/Trial Periods
- Option for a pilot or trial before long-term commitment.
- Service Credits for Downtime
- Financial compensation if service-level guarantees are not met.
- Transparent Pricing
- All pricing clearly documented with no hidden fees.
- Usage-based Billing
- Pay-for-use billing for power, bandwidth, or servers.
Hardware & Server Provisioning
Details about the physical server offerings, customization options, and performance guarantees for trading workloads.
- Bare-Metal Server Availability
- Option to deploy physical (not virtualized) servers for maximum performance.
- Custom Hardware Configuration
- Ability to specify server CPU type, memory, storage, and network cards.
- Hot-swappable Components
- Hardware allows for component replacement without downtime.
- Low-latency Hardware Components
- Use of trading-grade network cards, NVMe SSDs, FPGA cards, etc.
- Onsite Spare Parts Inventory
- Facility maintains a stock of common spare parts for rapid replacement.
- Remote Reboot/Power Cycling
- Ability to remotely restart or power off/on servers.
- Server Density per Rack
- Number of servers supported per standard rack.
- Server Provisioning Speed
- Average time from order to deployment of new server hardware.
- Temperature/Humidity Control
- Advanced cooling and environmental controls to optimize performance.
- Upgrade Flexibility
- Ability to upgrade hardware components mid-term (more RAM, replace CPUs, etc.).
Integration & API Support
Availability of APIs and integration points for seamless management of co-location infrastructure.
- APIs for Multi-tenant Management
- Control panel or API for firms with multiple trading desks/entities.
- Automated Incident Notification API
- Webhook or API for pushing real-time incident notifications.
- Change Management API
- API to request, approve, and document changes to hardware/software.
- Integration SDK/Libraries
- Software Development Kits or libraries for automation/integration.
- Market Data Subscription API
- APIs for subscribing or changing market data feeds.
- Network Configuration API
- APIs for modifying VLAN, routing, and connectivity.
- Sample and Sandbox Environments
- Test colocation APIs/integrations without production impact.
- Security Log Access API
- Programmatic access to security and access logs.
- Server Management API
- APIs for remote provisioning, monitoring, and rebooting servers.
- Usage and Billing API
- Retrieve resource usage and billing data via API.
Location & Proximity
Features related to the physical and network proximity of the co-location facility to the exchange, which directly affect latency and trading performance.
- Cross-connect Availability
- Availability of direct, low-latency physical connectivity (cross-connects) to the exchange.
- Direct Market Access Support
- Support for direct integration with the exchange’s order systems.
- Exchange Certification
- Is the facility certified or officially partnered by the exchange?
- Exchange Data Center Proximity
- Whether the co-location is within the same data center as the exchange.
- Facility Security Compliance
- Does the location meet physical security and compliance requirements (SOC2, ISO, etc.)?
- Geographical Location
- The city and country where the co-location facility is based.
- Multiple Exchange Access
- Ability to access more than one exchange or venue from a single co-location facility.
- Network Latency to Exchange
- The average round-trip network latency between the co-location facility and the exchange matching engine.
- Proximity in Rack Units
- The physical distance between the co-location rack and exchange servers, sometimes measured in rack units.
- Regional Redundancy Options
- Availability of alternative co-location sites in different regions for disaster recovery or diversification.
Market Data Feed Management
Support/features for managing high-volume, low-latency data streams from exchanges or third parties.
- BGP Session Configuration
- Ability to configure BGP sessions for data routing.
- Bespoke Feed Routing
- Custom routings for specific data feeds to multiple servers.
- Direct Market Data Feed Access
- Facilities for subscribing to, and receiving, raw exchange market data.
- Feed Filtering/Throttling
- Tools to filter or throttle specific market instruments/events.
- Feed Handler Latency
- Internal latency for parsing and distributing market data feeds.
- Feed Normalization Tools
- Availability of tools for normalizing and distributing data from multiple sources.
- Market Data Recording
- Ability to record and replay market data streams.
- Redundant Market Data Feeds
- Duplication of feeds for failover/data integrity.
- Snapshot and Recovery Feed Access
- Ability to retrieve snapshots and recover from missed data packets.
- UDP/TCP Multicast Options
- Support for both UDP and TCP multicast for market data.
Network Performance & Infrastructure
Characteristics of the data/network infrastructure, such as bandwidth, jitter, and redundancy, affecting trading responsiveness.
- DDoS Protection
- Built-in protection against distributed denial-of-service attacks.
- Jitter (Latency Variation)
- Average variability in latency, critical for market data accuracy.
- Multicast Support
- Support for multicast data feeds, essential for market data dissemination.
- Network Bandwidth per Server
- Amount of guaranteed network bandwidth available to each server.
- Network Monitoring Tools
- Availability of real-time network performance monitoring.
- Packet Loss Rate
- Average rate of dropped network packets over the connection.
- Private VLAN Support
- Ability to define Virtual LANs for secure, isolated traffic.
- Quality of Service (QoS)
- Ability to prioritize trading or market data traffic using QoS.
- Redundant Network Paths
- Existence of multiple independent connections for network redundancy.
- Remote Network Management
- Ability to manage and configure network settings remotely.
Power, Cooling, and Reliability
Reliability and high-availability features, including redundant power and cooling, to ensure minimal downtime.
- 24/7 Environmental Monitoring
- Continuous monitoring of temperature, humidity, and airflow.
- Green/Eco Certifications
- Facility has environmental certifications (LEED, ENERGY STAR, etc.).
- Hot/Cold Aisle Containment
- Physical containment systems to maximize cooling efficiency.
- Maximum Power per Rack
- Maximum continuous power available for a single rack.
- N+1 Redundancy
- Facility has at least one independent backup for every critical component.
- Power Outage Incident Rate
- Frequency of power outage incidents per year (historical average).
- Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
- Measurement of data center energy efficiency.
- Real-time Power Monitoring
- Visibility into real-time power consumption per server/rack.
- Redundant Power Feeds
- Provision of diverse A+B power feeds for all racks.
- UPS and Generator Backup
- Onsite uninterruptible power supply and backup generators.
Remote Access & Support
Capabilities for remote management, troubleshooting, and support to reduce need for onsite visits.
- Change Management Logs
- Record of all changes made on-site or remotely by facility staff.
- Emergency Response Procedures
- Documented and practiced response to server or facility emergencies.
- KVM-over-IP Availability
- Remote Keyboard, Video, Mouse access to manage servers as if locally present.
- Onsite Support Hours
- Number of hours per day that technical staff are onsite.
- Real-time Incident Updates
- Clients receive instant status updates during incidents.
- Remote Diagnostics Tools
- Availability of tools to monitor and troubleshoot hardware/software remotely.
- Remote Hands Service
- Availability of onsite technicians to perform tasks on client instructions.
- Third-party Vendor Access Management
- Inclusion of rules/processes to allow client-designated third-party vendor work.
- Ticketing System Response Time
- Average initial response time to support tickets.
Reputation & Ecosystem
Qualitative factors that establish the colocation provider’s standing in the trading industry and the available partner ecosystem.
- Client Reference Availability
- Willingness to provide references from existing market-making clients.
- Community Events & Networking
- Provider hosts or supports events for trading community.
- Ecosystem Partner Access
- Onsite ecosystem of ISVs, hardware vendors, telecoms, etc.
- Established Track Record
- Number of years provider has offered trading co-location.
- Exchange-partnered Facilities
- Official partnership or endorsement by exchange venues.
- Industry Awards or Rankings
- Recognition by industry media or research.
- Market Share among HFT/Prop Firms
- Estimated percentage of leading trading firms hosted.
- Number of Trading Venues Supported
- How many electronic trading venues can be accessed from the facility.
- Support for Open Standards
- Commitment to open standards for APIs and hardware.
- Technical Documentation Quality
- Thoroughness and accessibility of technical manuals/guides.
Security & Compliance
Measures to ensure only authorized access, compliance with regulations, and data protection best practices.
- 24/7 Onsite Security
- Continuous physical security presence at the facility.
- Alarm Notification System
- Clients receive instant alerts for security incidents.
- Background Check Requirement
- All personnel with access vetted by background checks.
- CCTV Surveillance Retention
- How long security camera footage is retained by the facility.
- Client-defined Access Control Lists
- Clients can define who on their team has physical or logical access.
- Data Privacy Law Compliance
- Compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and local financial regulations.
- Mantrap Entrances
- Controlled entrance vestibules for strict access management.
- Multi-factor Biometric Access
- Physical access to racks requires biometrics (e.g., retina/fingerprint) and PINs.
- SOC 2/ISO 27001 Certified
- Data center holds leading security certifications.
- Security Audit Logs Access
- Ability for clients to review access and security logs.