The FAST protocol (
FIX Adapted for STreaming) is a technology standard developed by FIX Protocol Ltd., specifically aimed at optimizing data representation on the network. It is used to support high-throughput, low latency data communications between financial institutions.
In particular, it is a technology standard that offers significant compression capabilities for the transport of high-volume market data feeds and ultra low latency applications.
History
Timeline
* 2004 Market Data optimization Working Group (“mdowg”) was formed
* 2005 Proof of Concept (“POC”) project
* 2006 FAST 1.0 released
* 2007 FAST 1.1 released
* 2009 FAST 1.2 proposed
In November 2004, Mike Cormack (then CEO Archipelago Holding) spoke at the FPL (FIX Protocol Ltd) conference in New York regarding a call for action to meet the challenges of the increased market data volumes. The increasing volumes of market data were causing delays, preventing market data from reaching traders in a timely fashion, thus disrupting their ability to trade. The classic FIX tag value format was considered to be too verbose and had a high processing overhead. A working group was formed within FPL shortly after the conference.
Current version of FAST
The approved standard is currently at version 5.0, and is used in commercially available products. There are
Open Source implementations of the Protocol available.
Exchanges that have adopted FAST
*
NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...
Archipelago
*
CME Group (CME)
*
International Securities Exchange
International Securities Exchange Holdings, Inc. (ISE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of American multinational financial services corporation Nasdaq, Inc. It is a member of the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) and the Options Industry Council ( ...
(ISE)
*
NasdaqOMX
*
Eurex
Eurex Exchange is an international exchange which primarily offers trading in European based derivatives. It is the largest European futures and options market. The products traded on this exchange vary from German and Swiss debt instruments to E ...
*
Xetra
*
Bombay Stock Exchange
BSE Limited, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is an Indian stock exchange. It is located on Dalal Street in Mumbai. Established in 1875 by cotton merchant Premchand Roychand, a Jain businessman, it is the oldest stock exchange i ...
(BSE Ltd, India)
*
BATS
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bir ...
*
ICAP
*
OPRA
*
B3
*
Nordic Growth Market (NGM)
*
Moscow Exchange
The Moscow Exchange (MOEX; rus, Московская биржа, r=Moskovskaya birzha, p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈbʲirʐə, a=) is the largest exchange in Russia, operating trading markets in equities, bonds, derivatives, the foreign exchange market, ...
(MOEX)
*
Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE, China)
Open source implementations
Source code for implementations of the FAST Specification are available from the following sources:
See also
*
Simple Binary Encoding is considered to be the successor to the FAST protocol
*
List of electronic trading protocols
References
External links
FAST protocol's official homepageand list of proof of concept sponsors.
Internet Protocol based network software
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