Performance level reached BUG

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wilkinsw
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Performance level reached BUG

Postby wilkinsw » 14 Jul 2020

Hi,
plr.PNG
(3.96 KiB) Not downloaded yet
I'm interested in hearing other users experience of the "Performance level reached" warning message that MC displays when it feels that the hardware capacity is at its limit.

This is my experience:

-I never have RAM > 50% and never have CPU>40% (, normally <15% and will spike to 100% only during startup when loading charts and signals).

-I have no issues for weeks.

-Then on a busier day, I might suffer a connection drop to my order routing API. Note that hardware doesn't exceed the limits I mentioned previously. This drop might cause knock on issues requiring an MC restart.

-Upon restarting MC, I find this "Performance level reached" pop up appear. Then any desktops that were in the middle on loading, hang and lots of error messages are generated.

-This leaves me with no way of resuming trading, forcing me to have to flatten trades and cancel orders. It is not an understatement to say that that has cost me an awful lot of money so far.

-I then have to wait until the markets quieten down again before I can attempt another restart.


MC, I understand you feel the need to limit users' use of MC to well within hardware capacity but:

1-It is clearly MCs' software that has the bottlenecks.
2-I don't find out that this issue is even a possibility until the very worst possible time imaginable!!

I've split up all my trading across 7 servers at great expense. There is no way for me to test if this issue will arise again until it arises and costs me a fortune!

Have I reached the limits of MC?

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Svetlana MultiCharts
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Re: Performance level reached BUG

Postby Svetlana MultiCharts » 31 Jul 2020

Hello William,

Earlier we offered you the following by email:
1. Turn off manual trading (if you do not use it).
2. Open all desktops before the session start, so that it is enough time to load data for all instruments.
3. Reduce the load on the current machine by moving a part of workspaces to a different computer.
Please specify if you tried the above steps and if any of them helped so that we could continue with the issue.

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Re: Performance level reached BUG

Postby wilkinsw » 31 Jul 2020

Hi Svetlana,

I only suffer with the issue maybe once every two months. It only happens when markets are busy. It still happens despite splitting up workspaces across more and more servers.

When it happens it leaves me without the ability to manage live auto trading until markets quieten. It also triggers downstream bugs: lots of hung workspaces and app error pop ups.

The best chance i have to not trigger the bug is to open workspaces one at a time and only when Cpu has dropped following each round of loading. Also to start the workspace without any auto trading .

I also have the registry edit you shared with me but will only use that if i have to next time round as i don’t want to remove manual trading functionality.

MC need to understand that the way the performance level reached block currently works...... you can be trading without issues for months.... then one day out of the blue (maybe because the market is at its busiest for a long time) the message appears and you can’t trade unless you spend hours setting up a new server inclusive of MC license, data /broker feeds etc etc. It’s a horrible feature and creates a nasty operational risk when trading.

If MC insist on such a feature, how about a warning that pops up (not only when opening workspaces for the first time) that says “performance level reached. It is strongly advised to split workspaces across more computers”. It’s then down to the user to start creating more machines and subscriptions. It shouldn’t be an out of the blue surprise the way it currently is that also blocks trading!

Maybe keep it simple and place a cap on the number of charts allowed with auto trading on.

You wouldn’t build an aircraft that when breaches performance limits (maybe due to unforeseen circumstances), jettisons it’s wings in an effort to get back to the ground as quickly as possible!!

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Svetlana MultiCharts
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Re: Performance level reached BUG

Postby Svetlana MultiCharts » 04 Aug 2020

William,

It's impossible to predict when the machine will be overloaded and fail to function. MultiCharts can work on high load for a long time, but as soon as there’s too much market activity there’s a possibility that the computer won’t be able to manage all MultiCharts processes. What we do is notify the users that the machine is reaching its performance limit. In MC 12 these notifications appear mostly upon opening workspaces and plotting new charts. In MC 14 this feature is improved: you will be able to receive notifications any time while MultiCharts is running. It will help you evaluate your system’s performance more precisely and take actions to prevent undesirable consequences in time.
Limiting the number of charts with trading on is not the solution. MultiCharts performance is affected not only by the number of charts but also by the following factors: data range, resolution, the number and complexity of the studies applied, the speed of receiving real-time data from the data source and the speed of processing the orders at the broker. Therefore, you should take your machine’s capacity into consideration and configure MultiCharts according to it, so that it works well even on peak load.
If we compare MultiCharts to an aircraft, then the user is a pilot. If the pilot fails the control, the plane crushes.

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Re: Performance level reached BUG

Postby wilkinsw » 04 Aug 2020

Svetlana we will have to agree to disagree.

I spend a fortune on servers that in turn never come close to high loads. Only during initial startup. I firmly believe MCs software is not scaleable on one machine of even infinite power. Please educate me if you think i’m wrong.

I’ve also used many versions of MC since 2013. MC12 was the first, I noticed to have this issue.

Sometimes reloading a workspace has to be done when markets are busy. MC12 now will generate pop ups and app errors, then crash, following the performance level reached alert. Previous versions didn’t do that. Once the crash happens i can’t do a full restart until markets quieten.

Multicharts, in MC12 at least, added a feature which makes behaviour worse than it not being added in the first place. That’s my objection here.

Maybe MC14, like you say, is better.

In MC12 , the startup of too many workspaces when markets are busy can result in normal trading not being possible until markets quieten thanks to the performance level reached alert. It indeed means i need to streamline code and split up workspaces across more machines. But in the heat of the moment it presents a nightmare scenario. There are no early indications that hardware is overloaded (and it always seems to be MC processes tripping up not the hardware limitations being exceeded).

I think my analogy sticks. There is a software intervention that causes a behaviour that can’t be immediately rectified by the user causing disaster due to the timing of its occurrence. Only after the fact and the damage, can the user take action. Obviously the pilot would have expired! MC should never ever be blocking live trading because of slowdowns. It should warn that issues may arise under the current circumstances but not throw the baby out with the water.
Look forward to testing MC14.

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TJ
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Re: Performance level reached BUG

Postby TJ » 04 Aug 2020

Svetlana we will have to agree to disagree.

I spend a fortune on servers that in turn never come close to high loads. Only during initial startup. I firmly believe MCs software is not scaleable on one machine of even infinite power. Please educate me if you think i’m wrong.

。。。
When there are a lot of work to be done, and yet the TaskManager is not showing at full load, that is because the machine is at a Wait-state.

The wait-state could be in MultiCharts, or the Windows operating system, other programs (eg AV), or hardware.
Or a combination of the above.


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