SIMULATE INBOUND FIX
Your trading system must be thoroughly tested to ensure smooth acceptance of inbound order flow from clients. Accommodating your clients and accepting their order flow is critical to your firm’s success. An optimal testing environment would allow you to simulate any buy-side order flow and comprehensively test your trading software without the inconvenience of having to directly test with your clients. Now, the Aegisoft Client Simulator allows sell-side firms, ECNs and exchanges to do just that.
What Does it Do?
Client Simulator acts as a fully-featured simulation of your buy-side clients for the purpose of testing their inbound equities, options, FX, and futures FIX order flow against your trading system. Client Simulator aids in reducing development and QA cycles so that you can prepare your system faster and deliver software of the highest quality. It is an invaluable tool for development, quality assurance and production support.
Interactive Testing
With an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI), Aegisoft’s Client Simulator allows developers and testers to enter orders, status requests, cancel/replace requests, and other trading scenarios. Multiple asset classes and messages are supported, including: Equities, Options, Futures, FX.
Once entered, orders appear in an easy-to-read blotter. In the trace window, the FIX messages associated with the order, with corresponding responses returned from your trading system or exchange, are displayed. All messages can be viewed in a decoded form in the message detail window. The logical organization of messages makes it easy for the user to generate, gather and organize all information related to order flow.
Automation
Client Simulator can be run with command line parameters that allow for automation of all its testing features. This can be scheduled as part of a general automated regression test procedure. Client Simulator can also be integrated into a larger automation system, using a remote command port to control the Client Simulator’s actions.
Multi Line FIX Connection
Client Simulator can connect over multiple lines to counter parties, using FIX 4.0-FIX 5.0. Messages can be sent round-robin across multiple lines, or limited to one line at a time. Users can view all sessions or filter on a specific session.
“Record & Playback” for Interactive Testing
Once a user has sent order flow to the trading system under test, Client Simulator can record the messages to a file for future playback. When a similar test is needed, the user simply starts the saved scenario, driving the trading system to generate FIX responses. Further, a “Smart Replay” feature handles all ID and date fields when resending and verifying FIX messages, allowing the user to concentrate on business level fields. It offers the flexibility and validation of key criteria.
Debug Production Failures
Client Simulator allows you to import production data and selectively replay the information to reproduce, isolate and debug production failures in your FIX engine or trading system. By simultaneously feeding production data into both the Simulator and your trading system, a realistic reconstruction of production scenarios and failures can be achieved.
FIX Validation Testing
Client Simulator allows you to validate all FIX traffic (in and out) against the version of FIX you’re using (from 4.0-5.0). Validation can detect required fields that are missing, invalid fields, and invalid values for fields. Users can customize validation, to include custom fields used by clients
Performance Testing
The replay of orders can be automated to repetitively enter the system at specified intervals and frequencies, a helpful feature when you want to simulate how your trading system operates and responds during peak trading. Client Simulator can streamline the sending of messages to achieve over 5000 messages/sec throughput. When running a performance test, Client Simulator provides running statistics to measure the response of your system.
Regression Testing
Client Simulator can be used to create an automated regression test system for FIX protocol traffic. Via a simple spreadsheet format, or a trace file, the Simulator will accept order entry parameters for input, with a corresponding set of verification criteria to be validated on output. This allows an OMS to be inundated with many permutations of FIX traffic, with the results automatically verified. Well-thought-out test scenarios can be assembled into a comprehensive regression test suite to ensure future system releases do not regress (by reintroduction of previously solved problems), thus reducing risks associated with a new release. Smart Replay ensures verification solely on business logic, and not on verbatim values of ID fields.
Extensibility
Client Simulator allows the user to extend its functionality and customize to specific testing needs. Custom Tags allow a user to define any tag to be sent with any message type. Values can be a string, an auto-incrementing counter, or even a dynamic date/time value. Free Form entry allows a user to send any FIX message, and even override FIX protocol fields, to test any FIX scenario. Smart Replay can be customized to account for any tags, as IDs, date/time, or to process possible values from a file.
Benefits of Client Simulator
