London stock exchange switches to Linux

To me it seems that this discussion about which platform provides better reliability is a moot one. Nobody cares about reliability any more, in low latency trading speed is the name of the game. TradElect wasn't sacked because it fell over frequently, rather it got kicked out because it is slower than Chi-X and others.

Brokerage systems now get direct memory access to the exchange's trading engine, there is no time for checking what they send in, and now the LSE even declared that they would no longer require the certification of brokerage systems to make trading easier. Enormous amounts of money to gain, and very few controls to prevent fraud - we will see where this will lead to ...

It wasn't clear from this article just what, exactly, Linux is being used for here. That would be a useful bit of information.

Regarding the security behind various operating systems when driving various SCADA software ... just what OS were the utility companies in the East Coast of the US using when the lights went out a few years ago?

Are people finally starting to wake up? Most of the super computers in the world run Linux. See this blog with links to relevant sites and a discussion on this subject: http://chrismalan.blogspot.com/2010/01/linux-vs-windows.html. If people, in general, were more intelligent more people would have been on Linux and far fewer on Windows.

Apart from all those listed by that very knowledgable gentleman.

VMS is also used in a vast number of SCADA systems here in Australia, including Sydney water board, AGL gas, power stations, in fact most councils in Australia, are using VMS for their SCADA systems.

They have incredable security, can be clustered on the fly, and they are regularly reporting system up times of over 10 years.

It's exceptionally well documented, well written, has excellent scripting language, as well as was said, it's streets ahead of Linux for security and stability.

So the LSE would or should take that onboard when considering alternatives to Windows, or linux. there are far better solutions available that will do that specialist job far better,, hourses for courses.

A Real-Time system is designed to respond to all work requests in a timely manner. Windows can't. Did you miss your trade because Windows chose that moment to page to disk?

A Fault-Tolerant system is designed to survive both software and hardware failures without corruption. Windows can't. Were your financial records corrupted without warning because you had 1 bad RAM chip and Windows said nothing?

A Secure system is inspected and audited before it is run. Windows can't. Claiming a system is 'secure' while depending on 3rd party closed source drivers written in China is laughable. Does your ethernet or printer driver keep secret copies for your competition? You should know companies have already been caught doing this.

When something goes wrong, these points will be brought up.

Windows could cost you your job.

Yes, the money-shufflers finally clued in that a lot of their money was being "shuffled" into Microsoft's accounts.

With the LSE now using secure real-time Linux, perhaps other businesses will have a look at their past, current, and projected balance sheets for IT-related costs (software and hardware costs, licensing, downtime, maintenance, security patching, virus-scanning, security risks, and so forth). Then compare it to modern open-source thin-client systems.

Microsoft business customers will find a significant portion of their budget directed into the accounts of Microsoft, into high IT maintenance costs in general, and into associated anti-virus/security companies. Thin is in.

This just headsßup for Nigel, swd and Mike.

Mike said...
Have you got a link to that OpenVMS based solution all coded up and ready to go?

Yes, of course.
HP has stated since many years that OpenVMS is used in more than 60% of the world's exchanges. In most, OpenVMS is the platform for the primary trading resolution system. When including Tandem Himalaya systems that stat goes up to 90%. OMX provides a standard software for derivative exchanges. Although it runs also on Unix and other OS's, I have repeated seen references from OMX that most of there customers have OpenVMS-based installations. A quick list of exchanges that are OpenVMS based include ISE (with own custom software), Nymex and Amex in New York, CHX and CBOT in Chicago, both the Xetra and Eurex (with own custom software)(and don't be fooled by reports that they are being replaced by linux etc. those are just the peripheral systems and clients), ADEX, AEX, ASE, ASX (with own custom software), Sydney SFE Corp, NZX, Belgrade Stock Exchange, Bolsa de Madrid, Bucharest Stock Exchange, Czech Securities Exchange, HEX Oyj, Irish Stock Exchange, Istanbul Stock Exchange, MATIF, Nord Pool, OMHEX, Oslo Børs, Stockholm, SWX (with own custom software), MGEX, PHLX, TSX, Bolsa de Valores de Caracas, Quito Stock Exchange, TASE, Philippine Sock Exchange, MDEX, KOFEX, SET, SGX (Singapore has recently greatly expanded their OpenVMS system landscape migrating most non-VMS systems to OpenVMS-based applications), Autria-Wiener Boerse, BorsaCED, Borsa Italia, JSE, and probably many more for which I haven't yet found public statements in the Internet.

Please note that OpenVMS also provides unmatched data security as the only proven Disaster Tolerant (not just Disaster Recovery) solution surviving Terrorism (9/11 - 7 customers in both towers) and Disasters (Credit Lyonaise' HQ Fire).

Also many Financial Investment Services connected to the exchanges have OpenVMS as their primary platform such as Wallstreet Systems (possibly the fastest trading system in New York), Deutsche Bank and ETrade.

Several large banks are also OpenVMS-based such as Commerzbank,

I think this rather large ecosystem of OpenVMS-based exchange systems having mostly existed since decades must have a few appropriate OpenVMS solutions that could also be adapted for use in London.

And by the way, OpenVMS isn't more secure just because it is more rare or less known to the Hacker community. It has a well-deserved earned reputation based on a secure layered (MULTICS-style) architecture coupled with descriptor-based call standard for all privileged services that simply avoids the constructs allowing buffer-overflow abuse in most cases. These are 1960's Computer science concepts that Windows, Unix and Linux simply failed to implement in their base OS architecture. Now, that they have a large application base that depends on a incorrect base-architecture for security, it is too late for these other OS's to reach the security level of OpenVMS. To reach OpenVMS's discipline in terms of globally secure architecture, it would be necessary to force a secure minimum 3-level privilege ring based secure API down the throat of all programmers of any application allowed to run on the OS, and that includes also all services native to the OS, drive's, Daemens, and third party languages, utilities and tools.

This is not an advertisement by a salesman, but the qualified opinion of an independent consultant with 30 years exp. earning from any platform, but choses OpenVMs for enterprise mission critical projects.

Cheers!

KEC

Answers to Questions related to my comments posted on this article :-

I didn't pull these comments idly out of my backside if that is what you are thinking

First to swd

You obviously have no idea how many top class programmers there are currently available with over 10 years OpenVMS experience. It is a buyers market. When I last posted an advertisement (Free on the Openvms.org website), I received over 30 qualified applicants within the first 24 hours. As a contrast to this, my wife has great difficulty finding qualified Linux applicants that will stick around longer than a year, leaving an unsupported mess after they close the exit door.

My next reply is for Mike

The Deutsche Börse stock exchange in Frankfurt runs on OpenVMS. The Australian Stock Exchange runs on it. The Korean Stock Exchange runs on it. The train system in Ireland, Irish Rail, runs on it, as does the Amsterdam police department. The U.S. Postal Service runs its mail sorters on OpenVMS, and Amazon.com uses it to ship 112,000 packages a day. Most of the world's text messages are handled by OpenVMS systems. It has "a very loyal installed base of customers.

Here is a link to a HP video demonstrating the high regard for OpenVMS expressed by Deutsche Borse.

http://h30423.www3.hp.com/?fr_story=368c17070e17b8c2deb78e1d3a2ac62aa70650d8&rf=sitemap

Have you got a link to that OpenVMS based solution all coded up and ready to go? No? Well then, there's your answer.

It sucked that the LSE spent 20 million on patches, but it would suck even more if no one was around to even do the patches.

If you want to find someone to code for Linux, you will find him quite easily, even in low cost countries. Try doing the same for OpenVMS and you will fail miserably.

Less and less people are able to program for OpenVMS, so in the end the platform would be reliable as hell, but the software, hence the whole solution, would be crap.

HP started death spiralling OpenVMS and now it is a platform without future...

I think it was the right idea to sell it. Take out the middle man, have the professionals directly at your place, something you want in that kind of business. And the software probably ends up as some kind of commodity.

Microsoft claims that there overpriced buggy software cost less than Linux.
I am hoping to see a lot more of this.
I realize Linux is not for everybody but it simply kick MS'S butt.No os will ever be perfet but the people that contribute to Linux, and there are many don't have profit as the main motivation. It's something most ceo's don't know anything about it's called PRIDE. Making the best product possible.

Why don't they just use an OpenVMS based solution if they need something that works reliably and offers much higher levels of security by virtue of it not being Windows or Linux. Why persist using platforms which come under attack by the world and his wife ?

Why so sad? The software is, by all accounts, a success. The LSE is a high profile place to have your software and even if you were made redundant because of the sale, that's going to look pretty damn impressive on your CV!

I work for the MillenniumIT & proud what they achieve in short term. Sad they sold it. :(

You're lucky you've still got a Stock Exchange!

Remember what their "cousins" did (or did not...) @ Enron?

I still remember when they were in a firm I used to work for: all dressed the same (like black crows), all dumb the same.

'nuff said.