Error message "Account unavailable for trading"

[PhillyD]

Hi,

I am running a NinjaTrader automated trading strategy (NinjaScript) through my MBT account. I started the strategy last night, and when I checked on it this morning there was an error message "Account XXX is unavailable for trading." NT was still running but MBT Navigator had been shut down. At some point last night, my account became unavailable. What could be a possible reason for this? I contact MB customer support but they insist that they can't help me and it's a NinjaTrader issue. Below is the chat log:

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James
Hi, welcome to MB Trading!




Philipp D
Hi


James
Are you able to login to Navigator?



Philipp D
Yes. I restarted both NinjaTrader and Navigator a few mins ago when I found that error message and tehy're running fine now
as far as I can tell

James
Do you also have the live NT license?

Philipp D
Yes. This is all running live, in a live account.

James
one moment please.

Philipp D
Is there some kind of nightly downtime or maintenance done on your servers or accounts that would have caused my account to become unavailable for trading?

Chris F. has joined the chat.

Chris F.
Hello
Philipp

Philipp D
Hi

Chris F.
The ATM order type is Ninja Traders order type and the ATM will only stay live if your software is connected
It sounds like you may have been disconnected sometime through out the night
Either way there will not be much we can do with regards to trouble shooting this atm error message

Philipp D
I thought ATM was a semi-manual method of trading? I'm running a completely automated trading strategy in NT
NinjaScript, not ATM

Chris F.
Ninja Trader would be able to help you out either way
these are their features and their software
You will need to check with NT support
I would suggest emailing them and having them call you back

Philipp D
Do MBT accounts/live servers do some kind of nightly maintenance or rollover that might have caused a disconnection?

Chris F.
so they can connect to your cpu and to view the logs
We have our server maintenance at midnight ET
but the software normally reconnects
that is what it is built to do

Philipp D
OK, I will contact them. Thanks.

[NinjaTrader_PatrickH]

Hello PhillyD,

Thank you for your post.

The Strategy would not have access to the account if there was a disconnect and it was unable to reconnect. Please send me your log and trace files for today so that I may look into what occurred. You can do this by going to the Control Center-> Help-> Mail to Platform Support. Please reference this thread in the subject line of your e-mail: "http://www.ninjatrader.com/support/forum/showthread.php?t=71345"

[PhillyD]

Sent. Let me know if you don't get it.

[NinjaTrader_PatrickH]

Hello PhillyD,

Thank you for your response.

The message regarding the account being unavailable is due to the server maintenance at 12 AM ET (11 PM CT)

1/13/2015 10:59:01 PM|0|4|Account 'MBT*****' is unavailable for trading.

On the next day when you attempt to connect to MB Trading the following message appears and would indicate a restart is required:

1/14/2015 8:16:33 AM|3|2|MBTradingLive: You must restart NinjaTrader in order to re-connect to a MB Trading based account.(Panic)

Please let me know if you have any questions.

[PhillyD]

Hi Patrick,

I contacted MB Trading customer service again and they told me there is no workaround from their side. The server do maintenance every night at midnight EST for about 10-15 minutes or so.

Since I don't cherish the idea of getting up at 11:15pm CST every weeknight to restart MBT and reconnect NT to MBT, is there any way to automate a reconnect in NinjaTrader? Can it be done programmatically in the strategy script?

[NinjaTrader_PatrickH]

Hello PhillyD,

There is unfortunately no option to automate the re-connect.

[PhillyD]

Hi,

I wanted to post and let everyone know that I found an easy solution to this problem.

In NinjaTrader, go to Tools -> Options -> Strategies -> NinjaScript and change the disconnection handling settings.

I increased the disconnection delay setting from 10 seconds to 1200, and I increased the number of reconnection attempts from 4 in 5 minutes to 5 in 20 minutes.

When I checked on it this morning, I had the "Account XXX unavailable for trading" popup message again, BUT: MBT Navigator was still running, NT was connected, and my strategy was green. So, it looks like once server maintenance at the broker was finished around 11:15pm, NT reconnected and continued running without problems.