From the Archives: The Stock Market’s Morning Routine with Ramon Gonzalez of IEX Exchange
Oct 24, 2023
auto_awesome
Ramon Gonzalez, Head of Technology Operations for IEX Exchange, discusses the daily checklist his team goes through to prepare the stock market for a smooth day. They also delve into topics such as 'bare metal' infrastructure, data centers, and the potential for exchanges to move into the cloud.
The daily checklist performed by the technology operations team at IEX Exchange ensures the smooth operation of the stock market by focusing on system reliability, application deployments, and reference data.
Running an exchange in the cloud presents challenges regarding latency, determinism, and control, highlighting the importance of stability, determinism, and consistent trading experiences.
Deep dives
Overview of stock market infrastructure
This podcast episode delves into the intricate tech and infrastructure that powers the stock market. It explores the daily checklist performed by the technology operations team at IEX to ensure the smooth operation of the market. The episode discusses bare metal infrastructure, data centers, and the future of exchanges in the cloud. It highlights the importance of top-of-the-line gear and talent in servicing the trading systems on which the market relies.
The process of turning on an exchange
The episode provides insight into the process of turning on an exchange every day. It explains that the system reliability engineering team handles the start-up, conducting various checks, and ensuring the operation of servers, application deployments, and reference data. The episode emphasizes the criticality of having an immutable infrastructure and the flexibility it provides for changes, redundancy, and capacity requirements.
Market hours and trading stability
The episode discusses the timing of market opening and closing, as well as pre- and post-market trading. It explores why some markets open earlier, such as at 4 a.m., to allow traders to secure a position in the queue based on price-time priority. The episode emphasizes the importance of stability, determinism, and consistent trading experiences, and highlights the challenges of running an exchange in the cloud due to latency, determinism, and control issues.
Challenges and concerns in exchange operations
The episode touches on the concerns and challenges in operating an exchange. It highlights potential risks related to external factors, such as GPS satellites, and the impact of issues within the ecosystem, including other venues or member firms. The episode also underscores the focus on quality assurance, testing, and protocol compliance to ensure a smooth and reliable trading experience.
While you were still sleeping, the stock market was busy getting ready for the day. Ramon “Ray” Gonzalez, Head of Technology Operations for IEX Exchange, joins Ronan and JR to walk us through the checklist his team goes through every day – starting at 4 am – to get the market ready for smooth sailing. Plus, they delve into “bare metal” infrastructure, data centers, and the potential for exchanges to move into the cloud. Recorded January 31, 2022.
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode