How to Set Up HFT Arbitrage Platform

This guide walks you through installing HFT Arbitrage Platform, connecting a broker, connecting a reference feed, backtesting a strategy, and deploying live. Total setup time is typically 45–90 minutes once your VPS and broker accounts are provisioned.

Before you begin, you will need:

Setup Steps

1
Purchase and activate your license

Select the edition that matches your trading needs on the Editionsseite and complete checkout. You will receive a license file and activation instructions by email within 1 business day. Save the license file — it binds to your VPS hostname during activation.

Estimated time: 10 minutes (plus email delivery).

2
Install on a Windows VPS in the right datacenter

Provision a Windows VPS in the same datacenter as your broker and reference feed. Common choices: LD4 (London) for Equinix FX brokers, NY4 (New York) for US and Canadian brokers, TY3 (Tokyo) for APAC brokers, FR5 (Frankfurt) for EU cash equities. Download the installer from the client dashboard, run it as Administrator, and point activation at the license file you received.

Estimated time: 15 minutes.

3
Connect your broker account

Open the platform’s Broker Connectors panel and add your broker. For MT4 and MT5 brokers, paste your server name, account number, and investor or master password. For cTrader, DXTrade, MatchTrader, or NinjaTrader, use the API credentials provided by your broker. For FIX API access, paste the FIX session configuration (SenderCompID, TargetCompID, SocketConnectHost, SocketConnectPort).

Verify the connection by checking that live quotes appear in the quote feed panel within 2–5 seconds.

Estimated time: 10 minutes per broker.

4
Connect a reference feed

Open the Reference Feed panel and paste your feed credentials (Rithmic, CQG, Integral, LMAX, cTrader Raw, or FIX). Choose the same datacenter as your VPS to minimise network latency. Verify feed quality by checking tick-per-second rate and the measured round-trip time shown in the status bar — healthy latency is typically sub-millisecond in the same datacenter.

Estimated time: 10 minutes.

5
Configure your strategy

Open the strategy tab for the arbitrage type you’re running (one-leg latency, 2-legs latency 1/2/3, hedge, or triangular). Set your trading instrument, lot size, entry threshold in points, exit rule, holding-time limit, and anti-detection filters (randomized sizing, session diversification). Start with conservative thresholds — for EURUSD one-leg, a 2–3 point entry threshold is a reasonable baseline.

Estimated time: 15–30 minutes per strategy.

6
Run a backtest against recorded tick data

Before going live, run a backtest on at least 4 weeks of recorded tick data for your instrument. The platform’s backtest engine replays at 1-ms resolution and reproduces your broker’s execution latency. Evaluate: total trades, win rate, average profit per trade, maximum drawdown, and — critically — the ratio of filled orders to signals. If fill rate is below 60%, your broker is likely slipping too aggressively; consider a different broker or adjust thresholds.

Estimated time: 20–40 minutes depending on dataset size.

7
Deploy live with conservative risk settings

Enable live trading, starting with the smallest lot size your broker permits. Monitor the first 50–100 trades closely in the Risk Dashboard — watch filled-vs-signal ratio, realised slippage, and any broker-side rejections or re-quotes. If the broker’s behaviour matches your backtest within 10–15%, gradually scale position size. If it doesn’t, pause, review logs, and consider a different broker. Most arbitrage-friendly brokers accept the strategy; most retail STP brokers reject it within 1–3 weeks.

Estimated time: 1–3 weeks of supervised live trading before full scaling.

Common setup issues

  • Feed latency > 5 ms in the same datacenter: check your VPS cross-connect — a virtual switch routed outside the DC adds 20–40 ms.
  • MT4/MT5 orders rejecting with “off quotes”: your broker detected arbitrage behaviour; switch to a permissive broker or use 2-legs / hedge instead of one-leg.
  • Activation fails on VPS: your VPS hostname changed — contact support for a free rehost of the license.
  • Backtest and live results diverge by > 30%: the broker is simulating slippage differently on demo vs. live; run the backtest on a live micro-lot account for a baseline instead.

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