current setup is working but thinking about upgrades. also might be procrastinating dealing with trading losses.
current setup #
home server:
- dell poweredge r730
- dual xeon e5-2680 v4 (28 cores total)
- 128gb ram
- 2x 1tb nvme ssd
- runs all my backtesting, monitoring, databases
network:
- ubiquiti dream machine pro
- 10gbe to server
- 1gbe internet (spectrum business)
cost: paid $2,800 for server on ebay, $400 for networking
works fine. no latency issues for my current strategies (1-5 minute bars, not HFT).
what i’m considering #
colocation in chicago
- rent rack space near CME datacenter
- put dedicated server there
- sub-millisecond latency to exchange
cost: $150-300/month + $2k for server
question: do i actually need this? my strategies aren’t latency-sensitive. not doing market making or arbitrage.
probably not worth it until i’m profitable enough to afford burning $3k/year on colo.
storage upgrade #
backtesting generates TB of data. currently at 800gb used on 1tb drives.
options:
- add more nvme drives ($400 for 2x2tb)
- migrate old backtest data to spinning rust ($150 for 8tb HDD)
leaning toward HDD for old data. don’t need nvme speeds for 2020 backtests i’ll never run again.
the real question #
am i thinking about server upgrades because i need them? or because it’s easier than thinking about being down $60k?
probably the second one.
servers are concrete problems with concrete solutions. trading losses are abstract pain with unclear path forward.
what i actually need #
less server upgrades, more strategy improvements.
my hardware can handle 100x my current trading volume. the bottleneck isn’t CPU or network latency.
the bottleneck is my strategies suck.
but also #
the dell r730 is sick AF and i love having a server rack in my closet. LEDs everywhere. sounds like a jet engine. probably using $100/month in electricity.
worth it? questionable. cool factor? 100%.
3:22am. gonna price out the HDD storage upgrade but probably won’t buy anything. need to focus on trading not hardware.
-AK