MT4 is unstable. Yes, tell me something I don't know. However, it is actually
stable enough to run Expert Advisors, as long as it is reliable at trade
execution level. Trade execution is determined mainly by 2 things: broker
connection & client platform reliability. Unfortunately, I can't speak for
the Backtester, which is a completely different issue.
Honestly, there's nothing we can do about broker disconnect. However, the
number one premise in the financial trading industry is RELIABILITY OF
CONNECTION UPTIME. This does not only mean data feed, but also availability
of electronic trading desks/counters to standby and process order requests
from clients. The Uptime premise is the most basic service from electronic
brokers and the term is very simple: 99.99% ONLINE. If not, then notice
should be distributed prior to deliberate offline period and after emergency/
unintentional offline period.
Comparing from several MT4 brokerage service, I have noticed several
conditions with regard to connection uptime:
- Whole MT4 universe breakdown,
- MT4 broker breakdown, and
- MT4 client breakdown.
Let's talk about each of them:
--------------------------------------
A. Whole MT4 universe breakdown
--------------------------------------
Characteristics & notes:
- connection indicator (lower right corner) goes dead red with
COMMON ERROR message
- happens in all brokers
- usually caused by critical updates, like the latest 186 to 188 build
- as far as I know, there's been 2 occasions so far this to happen ever
since brokers went live account on MT4 and both during critical updates
Anticipation:
- written notice from broker, then avoid trading within the period
Solution:
- nothing u can do but complain to MetaQuotes
--------------------------------------
B. MT4 broker breakdown
--------------------------------------
Characteristics & notes:
- connection indicator (lower right corner) goes dead red with
COMMON ERROR message, or
- connection is active, but Expert Advisors not trading
- happens only on a particular broker (which is currently InterbankFX)
- usually caused by either routing or main feed disconnect
- not supposed to happen once it is connected and running, unless somebody
is tampering with the hardware, major forces of nature happening, or major
terrorism act (offline and online), or ghost in the machine due to memory
corruption and other strange glitches
- MT4 architecture is supposedly hackproof due to redundant network setup
unlike MT3 era when Alpari went down (supposedly) from their main ISP
getting assaulted about a year ago
Anticipation:
- written notice from broker, then avoid trading within the period
- track disconnects and frozen feed, then perform force MT4 relogin,
or even MT4 restart (frozen feed only)
- nothing u can do on disconnection
Solution:
- gather objective data and email them, or
- call them up and yell as hard as u can on the phone, or
- drive to their office and find the CEO, or
- move ISP to get more reliable internet routing (doubtful), or
- reduce account size, warn others, migrate/distribute account to
competing broker.
--------------------------------------
C. MT4 client breakdown
--------------------------------------
- connection is active, but Expert Advisors (EA) not trading
- Experts log tab is filled with error messages, bloating the log to
100's of megabytes, and even gigabytes very quickly
- should already happened and debugged when u demo test the EA
Anticipation:
- test, test, and test before you go live - at least for 10 trading days
including 2 large news breakout scenarios
- MT4 update or downgrade to previous build
Solution:
- if you're solving this on live account, u're already too late.
See anticipation note.
This document is all about doing the most that we/clients can do in
scenario B anticipation, especially in frozen feed cases. There is
actually NOTHING we or anybody else in the world can do on feed
disconnection. Though keep in mind, that no sane broker should be
operational with ugly connection/execution reliability in the first
place, like the days of VT platform. Anyway, if it is proven to be
MT4's problem, it should be solved by the scripts, but I cannot say
or do anything if it's the broker's fault, and I am here to do
that: determine either it's the broker's liability or the MT4's,
keep them from hiding with excuses, and have them improve their
data connection service. Somebody has to start somewhere.
Final note
Due to my unfortunate programming knowledge, the addictive C++
like simplicity of MQL4, and practical side of having a ready made
platform for charting, indicator, and automated trading development
I (and many of you) am stuck with MT4 for now. Though it's best
to start the effort to port whatever profitable full-mechanical
system you find using MT4 to other broker using API as we can never
be sure of MT4's future development due to the stonewall policy
that MetaQuotes applies to MT users. Nevertheless, MT4 has been a
great achievement so far, apart from MQ's development attitude -
but that's what the MT4 Yahoo group is for.
Disclaimer
I am not to be blamed, if you try this and fail. As a matter of
fact, just by using MT4 or MT3 practically make any claim useless.
They're in Russia, we're somewhere else in the world. There are
things that can be done to work around this and it's better to
contribute and create better hacks than whine. The best thing to
happen at this point is have the MT4 client done as open source
project as it is basically an API box with a nice wrapping.
MQ would still get the MT4 backend contracts and let us user/
developers lend our hands to get the software mature faster. But
I guess that wont happen in the near future. I just hope these
guys realize what they got and and live up to the potential.
=============================================================================
2. COMPONENTS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are 2 main components to this safety procedure, the monitoring script
(internal) and the external script. The monitoring script serves to check
MT4 connection periodically and provide a place where the external script
can check and perform the forced/manual task to get the MT4 to resume proper
trading procedure. The meeting place is actually the status file and the
events will be recorded in the log file.
In addition, I have also allowed a periodical relogin just to refresh MT4
incase the scenario is not caught/solved by the initial solution.
1) MT4 Monitoring Script
2) External (keysender) script for frozen feed relogin
3) Status & log files (output of the MT4 script)
4) External script for periodical relogin
So in diagram, it's very simple:
MT4 Monitoring Script --- status file --- Keysender script
|
|-- log file
Elegantly done, it's probably much better to build a DLL to interface with
MT4 directly within the code, but unfortunately it is beyond my capability.
For this, I have the Auto-It program to help me with the external script.
=============================================================================
3. INSTALLATION
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0) Download and install the Full Installation of Auto-It from http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/
1) Unzip files where they belong
Within the ZIPped file, you fill find several files already in their
proper folder. All you have to do is unzip them in your MetaTrader4 main
program folder. Default install paths would be :-
MonitoringScript.mq4 - C:\Program Files\Metatrader 4\experts\scripts
checkStatus.au3 - C:\Program Files\Metatrader 4\experts\files
autoRelogin.au3 - C:\Program Files\Metatrader 4\experts\files
2) Start MT4 and attach MonitoringScript (found in Navigation Window under
[+] Scripts)
3) Configure the .au3 files to match the window title of your MT4 instance.
For example:
555094: MetaTrader - Demo Account - GBPUSD,M15
or
12345: MetaTrader - EURUSDm,H1
3) Open Windows Explorer with the .au3 files location/folder opened.
Right-click and choose "Run Script" for each au3 script
(you will have 2 small Auto-It instances running).
What the checkStatus.au3 will do is force account relogin when frozen
feed or disconnect signal is found in the cStatus.txt file.
Read what happened with the connection events inside the connection log
file (dcLog.txt by default). Best to dump the dcLog.txt file every weekend
into a folder and start fresh for good reporting and maintenance.
The autoRelogin.au3 will perform force relogin at specific time
interval set within the code.
Information on the parameters of mq4 and au3 script is available inside.
You can open it with Notepad or simple text editor.
