Suggestion: Allow multiple terminal instances

[imported_tickstoryParticipant February 24, 2014 at 12:38 am Post count: 1479]

#19755

Hi Saxon,

Thanks for your suggestion. This feature has been requested before, however we are not planning to support this in the short term as it requires some work to constantly update the launcher for each successive MT4 version. We are looking towards creating an open-source version of the launcher which could help alleviate this overhead. For the moment, however, Birt’s TDS (http://cd710nh5qn5ax84ol4ncpnfp99.hop.clickbank.net/ Disclosure: Affiliate link) is the only option for allowing multiple instances.

Hope this helps.

[lukemp3Participant September 20, 2014 at 5:32 pm Post count: 17]

#19756

hi tickstory

I renew this post because I personally think that you should consider to put your great tool in a speedway.
How to?
Add a multi-loader function!

Nowadays, all traders/programmers uses multicore desktop/server to run their personal (mt4) optimization.
As mt4 is still single-thread , why we have to use only one core? getting the others (five for a six cores i7) to go sleep. Damn!!

As someone already wrote, in the recent past we all were using to run multiple mt4 instances using Birt’s script, till build 409.
But 600+ build need for sure TICKSTORY or TDS to run new fxt files.
Tickstory is free and very powerful.
But it misses the professional way of TDS, I mean the multiple istances of mt4!

Please CONSIDER to create an independent loader to place into each mt4 folder.
This could avoid the problem to constantly update the launcher for each successive mt4 version??
So, in this way, with a SIX CORE desktop, We all will be able to run SIX OPTIMIZATION instead only one 😎 😎 😎
This means to:
1. spend money better
2. using all power of new CPU
3. getting results in faster way

Why not to consider that?!?!

[lukemp3Participant September 25, 2014 at 9:35 am Post count: 17]

#19757

Hi everyone

I made some tests about tickstory multiple terminal.
I am able actually to run x6 optimization metatrader 670 at the same time.
I started 16 hours ago and all is going well.

Well, it seems working!
What I did

I have a i7 3970 with 4GB ram, mt4 670
I dloaded data with tickstory, then created fxt/hst and put them into respective mt4 folders
then I created 6 identical copies of the same mt4
I ran each mt4 at least once, setting my personal EA, to make about 1 million optimization,
I installed tickstory setting the 1st mt4 as inst folder
F8, and started mt4 optimization.
After that I closed tickstory, I opened it again, choosing the 2nd mt4 installation folder.
F8, and started mt4 optimization on 2nd folder.

And so on, till 6 (I mean six!!!) mt4 optimization.
Here my attached screenshot where you can see six mt4 optimization working since 16h!!
[attachment=0:2weijxs2]6mt4.jpg[/attachment:2weijxs2]

I need someone else to confirm my workaround

[agoraParticipant September 26, 2014 at 6:50 am Post count: 25]

#19758

Wow thx for sharing, i will try it out on the wwekend.

Which System do you run, Windows 7 64 Bit?

I was also searching a way to start more than 1 backtest in Windows 7 64 Bit at a time,
i was only able to run 2 at once with Windows Xp 32bit (2 Different users, with different Mt4 Brokers/Folders).

My plan waas to try out virtualisation (with a Core Quad Q6600) but Virtual Box, and Sandboxie failed.
Next on my plan is to try out Xen.

I figured out , you need only at the start to test all parameters (i usually had 360k-500k possiblities),
later when you analyse the results in Excel (i use libre office) you can figure out which parameter ranges pop up the of the time
in the top profitable settings. So later you can test this limited range which goes faster.

greetings

[agoraParticipant September 26, 2014 at 7:06 am Post count: 25]

#19759

i missed a second question, what happend when you try more than six ?

[lukemp3Participant September 26, 2014 at 8:56 am Post count: 17]

#19760

hi there
I use win7 64 bit
As I have “only” six core on 3970, I’m not interested in using more than 6 mt4 in optimization
It will slow the entire system.

I run 6 mt4 with optimization of 6 timeframes on the same server with tickstory.
no virtualization sware. After that, I save result in excel and mix them into one single sheet.

Try my configuration and my workaround, hope not to be the only one who did it! ^____^

[agoraParticipant September 26, 2014 at 1:52 pm Post count: 25]

#19761

Hello,

i recently backuped my pc aresenal with some good value low price pc’s (Dell Optiplex 330, with 4gb Quad Cpu Q6600)
So i have 3x 4 Core’s aviable(i have more but the 3 PCs are for Forex only),
My intension was to backtest 28 pairs on 4 Timeframes (112 tests needed).
Usually a test took avg 8h (168x 8h= 224 Days xD ), that is why i am interested to speed up.
When i could use 12 cores the same Backtest takes only 22 Days for 28 Pairs.

Is it neccesay to use the same Broker software, or is it ok to use Broker A,B, and C for example together.
Do you execute Tickstory everytime as the same User?

[lukemp3Participant September 26, 2014 at 4:42 pm Post count: 17]

#19762

yes
same user
same broker

try on your own to run more than 6 mt4
good luck ^__^

[agoraParticipant September 27, 2014 at 12:21 pm Post count: 25]

#19763

Ok on XP this doesnt work with same user, but with different users.

On the first try i could used 4 cores with 4 different users at 95% Workload (each mt4 used 1 Core seperatly), but unluckily i stoped the test (becuase i just used default values for quick test) and made somesomething wrong (2 Tickstoryinstances where open by accident) and then the Mt4 behaved complete different.
3 mt4 instances used 3 cores together (not 1 mt4 on 1 core), when i try to start the 4th mt4 instance the cpu workload breaks down to 35-45%

This behavior shows a strange rectangle in the left upper corner (like a small window in grey 60 pixels wide approx)
when i started the 4 mt4. When i quit the 4th mt4 instance the workload goes back to 75% (on all 4 cores, 3 mt4 instances used)

I will try from cratch on another pc, and i will avoid to run 2 tickstories by accident.
I will report if it works then.

[lukemp3Participant October 11, 2014 at 1:13 pm Post count: 17]

#19764

hello

can anyone confirm my personal workaround to get x6 metatrader with 99% accuracy using tickstory?

Hope not to be the only one who did it..

[agoraParticipant October 15, 2014 at 9:32 am Post count: 25]

#19765

sadly i cant reproduce the situation, where 4 cores work at 100%.
now when i try it i dont came over 50 with 2 cores, when i launch a third mt4 instance all cores go down to 25%.
Sad, i cant figure out why, i restated and tried different combinations of Broker brands and users.
Now i can run only 1 instance at one pc, extreme bad this dot net language.

[agoraParticipant October 20, 2014 at 3:22 am Post count: 25]

#19766

TEST Failed

I can confirm that you can start the multiple instance BUT their suck each others performance down.
I tested exact as you described.
Same Broker only differnt Installation Paths (AAAFX MT X1,AAAFX MT X2,AAAFX MT X3)
Windows 7 32 Bit, Quad Cpu , 4 GB Ram.
I found out that is better to bind a mt4 instance on a specific core.
I first tried without binding, but it was to noisy to judge % load.

1 mt4 = ~80% avg Cpu core load
2 mt4= 25% + 20% = 45%(+-3% fluctuation, exept first started mt4 is max load)
3 mt4= 9% + 8% + 6% = 25% avg (+-3% fluctuation, exept first started mt4 is max load)

So i cant believe you achieved more than 25% overall cpu load.
Mabe you can upload a Image?

greetings

___________________________________________

I also tried out Xen Server + Client 6.2
I installed 1 Virtual machine and cloned it (slow cloning, not fast)
the i used Tickstory for Backtesting.
But the main problem here is the Cpu load per core is only 65-75% (70avg) so
when i use 4 cores they only so efficent like 3 cores without virtualisation. (in theory offcourse , because tickstory doesnt work to make a real comparsion)
The loss of ~30% of the cpu overall calculating power is a alot and becomes huge when think it over time. (30% per day is a lot)

I will try now birt tickdatasuite, to see it works more efficient than xen.

[agoraParticipant November 2, 2014 at 7:45 am Post count: 25]

#19767

Ok, i finally got it working. Why is it so hard? damn strange behavior of mt4!

i discoverd 3 bugs in the meantime in mt4.see at the end.

Anyway, the way it works is,
I use Win XP 32 bit (works also under Win7 32 and 64 Bit)
Quadcore cpu

5.Different Users:
Admin
User-1
User-2
User-3
User-4

---

User-1 first core

Step.1
Make One installtion of an mt4 setup of your faviorite Broker with the Adminacount.
Install Tickstorylite as Admin too.

Step.2
Logout as Admin, login to User-1
Start Tickstory lite.
Download some history data you need.
Before you export the data to mt4 you need to Start the new installed mt4 once and close it again.

Note: Since you have 4 Users, you must do this step for User-2,User-3 and User-4 too.
You dont have to login to anathoer useraccount on XP, you can just use right mousebutton “run as” and type Username+Password.
(this trick didnt work properly on Win7 64 )

Step.3
Since you are logged in as User-1 and i assume Tickstory is still running, press F8 or click in Menu to start mt4.
Dont log in to your broker. Only if if the strategytester some symbols are missed which you need.
in this case right click in the currency-pairs window and choose “show all” then close mt4 and start again with tickstory but second time donw login.
Now you can configure your EA,Currencypair,Timefram and Optimization parameters in the Strategy tester and hit the start button to run the optimization.
(dont forget to allow EA trading + allowed dll)
So here is an important tip: To maximise the Backtest efficiency.
It is a good idea to start the taskamager and assign the terminal.exe to the first core of your CPU (rightclick context menu)

Dont forget that starting a backtest needs some time for mt4, so it is best to wait until you see the first
number of the optimization iterations, i mean Example 1/1400(70000).
After that you can proceed to start next mt4 instance.
This is important because if you donw do it like this it will slow down the other cores.

---

User-2 first core

So here comes the second manual which is differnt from the first user.
But this is the same process for User2,User-3,User-4 and so on.

Step.1
important info: to make it work to use more than 1 Tickdatabacktest run at once,
Do not run Tickstory lite under no circumstance twice. If you do it, it will mess up some bugs in the ram (my experience)
and will lower the cpus usage at a minimum , affection all cores and mt4 instance running.
If you do it by accident, best soloution: close all programms restart your Windows, and beginn on the start of this manual.

So if all Works the actual state is:
You are loggeg in as User-1, Mt4 is running a backtest (as User-1) and Tickstory is still open.

Step.2
Close Tickstory now.
rightclick on the Tickstory programm icon and choose run as differnt user.
Type in User-2 and the password.
now hit F8 to start the second mt4 instance.
Now you can configure your EA,Currencypair,Timeframe and Optimization parameters in the Strategy tester and hit the start button to run the optimization.
(dont forget to allow EA trading + allowed dll)
Again, it is a good idea to start the taskamager and assign the terminal.exe to the first core of your CPU (rightclick context menu)
go to wondows start button, commandline promt (execute field) and type:
runas /user:User-2 taskmgr
now a balckwindow pops up, type in the password.
Go to precesses, look for terminal.exe and chose the one (of actual 2) which is run by User-2.
Rightclick, assign CPU-Core 2 to it (uncheck all other. Number are confusing, Cores are named 0,1,2,3)

Dont forget that starting a backtest needs some time for mt4, so it is best to wait until you see the first
number of the optimization iterations, i mean Example 1/1400(70000).
After that you can proceed to start next mt4 instance. This is important because if you donw do it like this it will slow down the other cores.

For 3 or 4 Users, just repeat, but insteas User-3 or User-4 where i had wirtten User-2.
This works for WinXP Sp3. I prefer it because in terms of hardware it is more efficient (you need only 512mb for WinXp it self, So you can run 4x Mt4 with juast as little as 1,5GB, On Win64 you need at least 1GB for the System itself, + ~850mb for 4x mt4 so overall you need more Ram= more expensive hardware,
especially when you run more than on PC (i use 4 Quadcore-Pcs at once))

—Some bugs / problems i encountered:
1.When i exportet the Tickdata to mt4, the files are often not write-protected. So before you run a backtest, it is recommend to go to mt4-file-menu
click open datafolder, go to the folder testerhistory , mark all files , rightclick write protected.

2.Often (50% of the cases)
When i start mt4 with tickstory (F8), tickstory doenst start as write-protected (can be seen in the mt4 programm titelbar)
You should always check this before running a backtest. If in the titelbar is no comment aboute write-protected fxt,
close mt4 and start it with tickstory again (F8 key)

3. Some pair combinations seem to influence each other in the cpu.
(since i run mt4 whith different Users on different cpu-cores in theory they could not influence each other)
But in pratice they do. ( I guess because of the hardware design cpu’s are made, phyiscally 2 cores are packed on one die)
So for example in when i run a test with gbpusd m1 and on another core nzdusd m5,
often Cpu effeciency breaks down for the 2 cores to 10-20%.
What helps here is switch cores with other mt4 instace, or use other pair/timeframe/ea in the meantime.
Sometimes i got 3x 100% load and the 4th core stumbles at around 50/60/80/95 % load.
But often it is impossible to use all 4 cores, becuase of the strange influence. So i just use 3x Cores in that case.

I wrote this manual so others encouter similar problems dont give up.
(i was often frustrated, but i had no choice to give up , so i proceed a 3 weeks journey of bruteforce installing + trial& error xD )

[agoraParticipant November 16, 2014 at 5:05 am Post count: 25]

#19768

Ok i have some interesting new info, this time my brother made the discovery.

It is possible to use tickstory with windows xp inside of VirtualBox, but only with a Trick.

At first let my explain why Windows XP is still usefull.
When working with (one or more) Virtual machines, Ram and Diskspace can get rare.

So lets see,
Windows7 needs in standard installation:
20gb harddisk
1Gb Ram at least

WindowsXP needs in standard installation:
1,5gb (with updates)
512mb Ram

Trying to Run Tickstory on Windows XP Sp3 inside of Virtual Box fails. (without Virtualbox, its working fine)
My Brother discovered that using and older Version of Windows XP (SP2) + “Net 3.5 setup” + “windows installer 3.1”
Tickstory works inside of Virtualbox.

So why do we need to run Tickstory + Mt4 for Backtesting inside of Virtual box you might ask yourself.
When doing a Backtest optimization usually i configure my EA,the Pair,Timeframe,Spread and then hit the Start buttons.
Then i leave the PC for work. So there is no Problem.

BUT when i want to make a single backtest (optimization unchecked) to gain fast informations ,
then i noticed that there is a huge delay caused by Metatrader before it
starts the actual Backtest (i guess Mt4 loads Data from HDD to Ram). This Process needs usually 6-10 Minutes!.
So gaining Intuitive fast Backtest is impossible with this large delay between 2 Backtests.
So my Idea was to run the the hole Software-chain (Xp,Tickstory,Mt4,Tickdatafiles) inside of a Virtual Machine ON A RAMDISK 😀
My brother was so kind to test it out. It works awesome, when you hit the Button for Start the delay is gone!
Best*=fastest, free RamDisk Software is “SoftPerfect RAM Disk”. (The host System was Windows / 64bit with 8gb ram, the guest was WinXP 32bit Sp2 on a virtual 4gb Harddisk(the ramdisk partition))

happy testing

[Author]

Posts