ZeptoMux overview v1.03

OVERVIEW

ZeptoMux 10GbE multiplexing switch

~130ns latency

Faster switching, optimised for trading applicationsThe ZeptoMux is a 23-to-1 multiplexing switch that’s purpose-built for latency-sensitive trading. Broadly speaking, the ZeptoMux is a 10GbE layer 2 switch that’s been stripped of non-essential functionality and re-imagined as a multiplexer/de-multiplexer, or mux.

The ZeptoMux provides n-to-1-to-n connectivity, rather than the n-to-n connectivity of a traditional switch. It features an approximate fibre-to-fibre latency (including SFP+s) of 130ns – which is far lower than any switch on the market.

Protected ports and truer FIFO Through a ZeptoMux, up to 23 downstream client ports can communicate with a single, common upstream host port, but not with each other. The ZeptoMux doesn’t have client-to-multiple-host capability because that’s non-essential in many trading use cases. And it doesn’t feature peer-to-peer connectivity because, in many cases in the trading world, that’s not only non-essential, it’s undesirable.

The 23 client ports in the ZeptoMux are protected from each other, and they’re given fair, scheduled access to the host port. That means the packets are always FIFO – First In First Out – the packet which arrives at the ZeptoMux first (to within 7ns), will be forwarded first.

Performance highlights

• World’s lowest latency ~130ns• Closest to naked access• Substantially faster than competitors• Optimised for order forwarding• FIFO fair access multiplexing • Hot swap redundant fans and PSUs

Scalable and SFP+ independentThe ZeptoMux supports 2-tier switching for up to 23 x 23 clients, so you can connect hundreds of client nodes to a common upstream service with a one-way latency of ~260ns, and a round trip latency of ~520ns.

In a break from industry convention, the ZeptoMux is SFP+ independent, so you're free to use cheaper, generic SFP+ modules. Zeptonics will not lock you in and force you to pay for expensive, proprietary SFP+ connectors.

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ZeptoMux overview v1.03

Use cases

1. Broker – get orders from client lines to the gateway fasterBrokers can gain a competitive advantage for their HFT clients, and for themselves, by using a ZeptoMux to funnel trade orders from multiple client lines to the market gateway.

A ZeptoMux will do this job a lot faster than the switches it was designed to replace. The order confirmations from the exchange will travel back downstream to the traders faster too, via the same ZeptoMux.

2. Exchange – create a faster, fairer link between multiple gateways and the matching engineConsider an exchange that uses an internal 10G network to communicate between its order gateways and its matching engine. Currently, it uses a data-centre oriented switch to connect many order gateways to the single matching engine, but this has a significant latency penalty.

Replacing that switch with a ZeptoMux, and its extremely low latency of ~130ns wire-to-wire, would result in a round-trip latency overhead of ~260ns, compared with more than 500ns for the most commonly used switches.

In addition, the exchange would be fair – the first message to hit the ZeptoMux would be the first message to hit the exchange. The second would be the second, and so on. The market would be made fair by ZeptoMux's determinism.

3. Trading firm – accelerate algorithmic tradingA high-frequency trading firm uses many machines running trading algorithms (algos). The machines operate independently and don't need to communicate with each other, or, if they do, they communicate over an independent network. This leaves the upstream network free for communications when required.

The many trading machines can be connected via a ZeptoMux to a single broker port with an overhead of ~130ns one-way, or ~260ns round-trip.

4. Sys Admin – accelerate access to shared serversIn any network environment, if multiple computers/nodes need super-fast access to a single server, connecting them via a ZeptoMux is as close as you can get to naked access.

Management highlights

• Dedicated 10/100M Ethernet management port

• Industry standard CLI• Linux and AJAX-powered web GUI• SNMP compatible management, for

integration with network management and monitoring infrastructure

• Software updates via USB, TFTP, console or on-board web app

• Configuration of internal switch operation, including per-port MAC address filtering

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