What a VPS Actually Does for a Cloud Platform Like TT
TT is SaaS: the matching-critical parts already sit in data centers next to the exchanges, and no server you rent will change how fast an ADL algo running on TT's co-located infrastructure reacts. So why do TT traders host with us? Because everything TT doesn't run for you — your workspace session, your API applications, your monitoring — still needs a machine, and a laptop that sleeps, patches itself, or rides hotel Wi-Fi is a poor machine for a derivatives desk. Here is where the VPS fits.
Your Workspace Is the Part That Crashes
TT's execution layer is engineered for uptime, but the screen you trade from is ordinary software on an ordinary computer: the TT desktop app or a browser session, streaming ladders and charts over your internet connection. When that machine reboots for Windows Update mid-session or your ISP hiccups during a payroll print, your working orders live on — but your ability to see and manage them doesn't.
Hosting the workspace on a VPS separates screen from location. The session runs at 427 S La Salle on a dedicated connection, with managed update windows that never interrupt trading hours; your laptop, iPad, or phone just carries compressed RDP pixels. Losing your local connection means losing the view for a few seconds, not losing the running workspace — reconnect and every ladder is exactly where it was.
ADL and API Applications Need a Home
ADL's superpower is that algos deploy server-side — but nobody runs unattended algos without watching them. The audit trail, algo dashboard, and kill switches live in your session, and the discipline of professional desks is that supervision stays up whenever algos are live. A VPS makes that cheap: the monitoring workspace runs 24/7, and checking on an overnight Eurex algo is a ten-second RDP from your phone.
The TT SDK and REST API open the second use case. Fill recorders feeding a database, custom risk dashboards, spread-legging tools, position reconciliation against your FCM's reports — these are your applications, running on your hardware. Swing ($45/mo) covers a workspace plus a light API app; Momentum ($85/mo, 8 Ryzen 9950X cores, 20GB RAM) is right when custom software, a database, and a heavy multi-ladder workspace share the box.
Location Still Matters — Just Differently
For workspace traffic, being in Chicago keeps the streaming path between your session and TT's Aurora-area infrastructure short and consistent, which shows up as steadier ladder updates during bursts. For API applications the effect is more concrete: a REST or FIX application in our Chicago facility talks to TT's US infrastructure with minimal and stable round trips, which matters when your app is part of the order workflow.
TT traders working Eurex or Asian hours can place their VPS in Frankfurt, London LD4, Singapore, or Tokyo instead — the right answer is the facility nearest the infrastructure your session actually talks to. If you trade CME products, Chicago is the default.
