GTNet

Concept and Functionality

GTNet connects different Grafioschtrader instances with each other and enables the mutual exchange of price data. Each instance can decide for itself whether it provides data, receives data, or does both simultaneously. The exchange is automated via secure machine-to-machine communication (M2M).

Types of Data Exchange

GTNet supports three types of data for exchange:

• Intraday Prices: Current day prices for securities and currency pairs with OHLCV data (Open, High, Low, Close, Volume).
• Historical Prices: Daily closing prices for the past.
• Security Metadata: Master data of securities such as ISIN, name, asset class, exchange information and connector settings. This enables the import of security configurations from other GTNet instances.

Connection Setup and Authentication

The connection between two GTNet instances is established via a handshake procedure. During the first contact, authentication tokens are exchanged, which are used for further secure communication. Each instance can decide whether it automatically accepts unknown servers or only allows predefined servers.

Messages and Status Notifications

GTNet uses a message-based communication protocol for various purposes:

• Handshake Messages: For establishing and confirming connections between instances.
• Status Messages: For communicating changes such as online/offline status, maintenance mode, or capacity utilization.
• Data Requests: For requesting and approving the exchange of specific data types.

Request Limits and Load Management

To protect servers from overload, daily request limits can be defined. These apply both to incoming requests from other instances and to outgoing requests to other servers. Additionally, an instance can be marked as “busy”, whereby only status messages are communicated.

Getting Started with GTNet

This section provides a step-by-step guide to set up your GT instance for participation in the GTNet network.

Prerequisites

To participate in GTNet, your own Grafioschtrader server must be accessible from outside via HTTPS. Ensure that your server is properly configured for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. If you encounter issues with external connectivity, consult the Problem Solving Guide in the wiki.

Step 1: Enable GTNet in Global Settings

First, activate GTNet functionality via the Global Settings GTNet:

• Set gt.gtnet.use to a value greater than 0 to enable GTNet
• Optionally enable gt.gtnet.use.log to track data exchanges

Step 2: Register Your Own Instance

Before communicating with other participants, you must register your own server in the GTNet Setup view:

1. Open the GTNet Setup view
2. Create an entry for your own server with your domain URL
3. After saving, the system stores your instance ID in the global setting gt.gtnet.my.entry.id

Step 3: Add Remote Instances

Add one or more remote GTNet instances to establish communication:

1. In the GTNet Setup view, add entries for remote servers
2. Recommendation: Prefer PUSH_OPEN servers, as they maintain an active data pool and enable bidirectional exchange without requiring local instruments
3. Configure the daily request limit and other settings as needed

Step 4: Establish Initial Connection

Request data exchange directly, which automatically handles the handshake process:

1. Select the remote server entry
2. Use the context menu to send a Request for Data Exchange message
3. The system automatically performs the handshake and token exchange if this is the first contact
4. Wait for the response (acceptance or rejection)
5. Once accepted, the data exchange is activated and authentication tokens are stored for future communication

Step 5: Configure Automatic Answers (Recommended)

To avoid manually responding to every incoming request, configure automatic response rules in the Automatic Answer view:

1. Define rules for different message types (e.g., first contact, data exchange requests)
2. Set conditions using variables like time of day, daily request count, or domain patterns
3. Specify whether to accept or reject requests automatically
4. Configure waiting times after rejections to prevent repeated requests

Step 6: Configure Securities for Exchange

Define which instruments should participate in data exchange:

1. Open the Exchange Price Data view
2. For each security or currency pair, configure the four exchange options:
   • Receive intraday prices
   • Receive historical prices
   • Send intraday prices
   • Send historical prices
3. Save your changes

Where GTNet Is Used

GTNet integrates into various parts of the application, both automatically by the system and through user actions.

System-Triggered Usage

graph LR;
    A[Application Start] -->|Broadcast| B[Server Online Message]
    C[Application Shutdown] -->|Broadcast| D[Server Offline Message]
    E[Settings Changed] -->|Broadcast| F[Settings Updated Message]

• Application Startup: When the GT server starts with GTNet enabled, an “online” status is automatically broadcast to all connected peers
• Application Shutdown: During graceful shutdown, an “offline” status is broadcast to inform peers
• Settings Changes: Configuration changes are automatically synchronized to connected instances

User-Triggered Usage

• Watchlist Update: When updating a watchlist, instruments configured for GTNet exchange can receive intraday prices from connected peers. See Last Price Exchange for details.
• Historical Data Loading: When loading historical price data, GTNet can fill gaps from peer instances. See Historical Price Exchange for details.
• Security Creation: When creating new securities, the GTNet Security Search allows importing security metadata and connector settings from other GTNet instances.

Monitoring GTNet

GTNet provides several ways to monitor the status and activity of data exchanges.

Static Overview: Exchange Price Data

The Exchange Price Data view provides a static overview of which instruments are configured for exchange and which OPEN instances can supply data:

• View all securities and currency pairs with their exchange settings
• Expand rows to see supplier details (which peers can provide data for each instrument)
• Useful for understanding the current configuration state

Dynamic View: Exchange Log

The Exchange Log view offers a dynamic, time-based view of actual exchange activity:

• See statistics for both intraday and historical price exchanges
• Track supplier and consumer statistics per connected instance
• View aggregated data by day, week, month, and year
• Requires logging to be enabled via gt.gtnet.use.log in Global Settings

Background Tasks

Several background tasks handle GTNet operations automatically. These can be monitored in the Task Data Change Monitor:

For detailed descriptions of each task, see Background Tasks.

Setup Pages

The detailed setup is done via the following subpages: