Document Actions
Technical Information
The Subotnick Financial Services Center’s (SFSC) cutting edge technology can provide useful teaching examples in CIS courses. Below is an overview of the different technologies within the SFSC.
Workstation and Server Infrastructure
- The trading floor contains 42 high-end Dell Precision workstations with dual monitors.
- The primary operating system used is Windows XP Professional
- Click Resources for a list of software used on the trading floor
Network Infrastructure:
- All areas within the Center are connected to the server room using multiple category 5e cables
- The main network switch is a Cisco 4000 series with gigabit and fast Ethernet blades
Reuters Market Data System (RMDS):
- RMDS provides the following features/benefits:
- User connectivity - Efficient and robust distribution of real-time data to and from users inside and outside the enterprise. Connectivity to desktops, browsers and wireless devices.
- Content management - Filtering, integration, enrichment and analytics capabilities, providing results and datastreams that are tailored to the user and context.
- Display - A range of display options to meet a range of end-user requirements.
- Supplier integration - Adapters for commonly used information sources and facilities for contributing data to vendors. Infrastructure for managing the information flow efficiently and reliably.
- Management - Control over your market data and applications across the financial enterprise.
- Application development - A suite of APIs and tools to build bespoke applications for your exact needs.
Wallboard and Scrolling Ticker Displays:
- The Center has two Daktronic wallboards on the trading floor, as well as a scrolling ticker. A dedicated server in the equipment room delivers specific information to the wallboard and overhead ticker. This server harnesses the Reuters information through a scaled down version of the Reuters 3000 Xtra client, provided by Rise Softools. Data is fed to the Daktronics equipment through a dedicated RS 232 communication cable.
Subotnick Servers:
- The Subotnick Center is designed on a Microsoft Windows 2003 Domain single domain model. This model creates a redundant authentication system to ensure system availability.
- The trading floor has a dedicated Backup Domain Controller (BDC), which authenticates user and workstation credentials. A Primary Domain Controller provides authentication for the trading floor workstations in the event of any communication or hardware failure.
- Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) is responsible for managing the installation of new software on the workstations, storing the information on the SQL server. SMS also collects data for logging any changes made to applications and user activity on each workstation in the Subotnick Center.
- All machine build updates are stored and tracked on the SQL server.
Security:
- SFSC computers are protected from hacker attacks launched outside the center by a dedicated firewall and content filtering system. This system connects to the Internet through the Baruch College network backbone, and filters any outgoing activity to the Internet.
- The security system logs Internet use, indicating what machines are accessing the Internet, what sites were visited, and what Internet applications they are using.
Network Applications:
- A webcam server link to the SFSC website provides full streaming video of the trading floor to anyone with an Internet connection.
- As a convenience to professors and employees who are given personal user names, there is a designated drive on the SFSC file server reserved for their use. Each user receives a “personal” drive where he or she can store files.
Other Computer Equipped Rooms in SFSC:
Development Classroom:
- The development classroom is available for students and professors to use for hands-on computer teaching. The computers in the development classroom do not receive the Reuters data feed. They are stand-alone machines that permit students to install development applications as needed, and are located outside the SFSC firewall. An Alpha cluster server using a Unix Tru64 operating system can be accessed via a secure tunnel through the network. It also serves as an Oracle server. The development environment provides tools to design applications using client-server technology that can be tailored to any course.
Research Lab:
- The research lab machines are high speed, server quality computers commonly used for data-mining research projects. The machines are located behind the SFSC firewall and permit access to the Reuters services.