Running NT on Azure

[junkone]

I just am experimenting with NT on azure. i do have a vm with 2 cores and 8 gigs of ram running 2 indicators connecting to fxcm. i want to leverage the Azure infrastruture. Has anybody used the cloud instrumentation for monitoring?

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/app/console

[NinjaTrader_ChrisL]

Hi junkone, thanks for your post.

We don't support running on Azure. I've never tried it so I will let our other forum members provide what input they can.

Kind regards.

[junkone]

so do u support NT on VPS ?

[NinjaTrader_ChrisL]

Hi junkone,

Not officially, but in most cases, a VPS is fine to use.

[junkone]

one thing that i noticed was that when i shut down my vm over weekend and restarted it today, the machine id changed. i got a popup that it will default to simulation and i have to re-enter my connection details.
the fxcm userid/pass disappeared from my connection
how does NT figure out the machine id so i can keep that element constant in my azure configuration. i dont want to be setting my connection info every weekend sunday

[NinjaTrader_Jim]

Hello junkone,

Machine ID is created from BIOS, Operating System, and other hardware values. A BIOS update or Windows update has the potential to change this unique ID, along with hardware changes.

If the connection has disappeared, this could be due to NinjaTrader failing to reach it's licensing servers, or if there is another application on your machine that is re-writing the Documents\NinjaTrader 8\Config.xml file. OneDrive and similar syncing software that is constantly backing up the Documents folder are known to cause these issues.

We look forward to assisting.

[junkone]

it is very evident from the logs that the machine id that NT is deriving has changed. However i dont know how NT derives this machine id.
"how does NT figure out the machine id?" Give me a direct answer only on the machine id so i have something to work on on my azure environment to make it consistant..
I am also a paid customer using licenced NT. i am expecting that you will give me a answer that i can use. I plan to migrate NT from my computer to Azure so i can leverage availability features of that platform.

[NinjaTrader_Jim]

Hello junkone,

The information provided is as direct as we can provide. The target machine's BIOS, Operating System and the hardware specs all affect how NinjaTrader creates the machine ID. To minimize changes when this occurs, I would advise keeping these factors constant in your virtualized setup. However, it would be advised to stay up to date on security patches with your operating system, and these Windows updates can change the calculated machine ID.

The actual code for calculating the Machine ID is proprietary and I cannot provide more specifics. Periodically, you will have to let your vendors know what your new ID is to continue using the products they have registered on our licensing servers.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

[junkone]

i dont care about your code.
what should be constant? . CPU/Hard drive/Network card..., you need to tell atleast your elements that i have to keep as constant. we are talking about professional grade product and you need to be clear on what are the elements that you use.

[NinjaTrader_Jim]

Hello junkone,

NinjaTrader is designed for desktop PC's with static hardware that is not expected to change frequently. The concept behind the Machine ID is meant to be under wraps. We do not want users being able to spoof Machine ID's knowing how it can be reconstructed. This protects you from having your 3rd party products stolen by someone who knows how to duplicate your Machine ID.

The only additional information we could divulge is that Processor ID, MAC address, and BIOS are used in addition to the PC specs and OS values. A virtualized setup could potentially change these and then NinjaTrader will develop a new Machine ID. This is where support on these sorts of systems gets limited as opposed to traditional desktop PC's. If you want to move forward on this type of setup, try to keep ALL factors in your control static to emulate a traditional desktop PC.

If you would like to discuss this further, please send me a private message.

[futures_newbie]

junkone - did you find a way to mitigate this machine ID issue in Azure? I just started experimenting with NT on Azure and am running into the same "machine ID change" problem.

[cnecorp]

futures_newbie Curious, been running it on VM a couple of years. Only had one change of machine ID.

[futures_newbie]

Good to know cnecorp , thanks. I'll hang in there.

[junkone]

the machine id change is a hit or miss. when you shut down for a longer duration like weekend, there is a higher chance of machine id change as azure may change resources. so far, Ninjatrader has not been helpful on providing ideas on it. we can argue back and forth, but this is a issue that has no realistic mitigation as i hit a wall with ninjatrader support on this.