Latency & Infrastructure
Methodology
Latency in HFT is measured at every layer of the stack: network round-trip time, kernel processing, application logic, and order submission. Reducing tick-to-trade latency requires co-location, kernel bypass networking, and cache-optimized data structures.
This page covers the key infrastructure components and techniques used by institutional HFT firms, from co-location and DMA to FPGA acceleration and lock-free programming patterns.
High-frequency trading depends on minimizing latency at every layer: hardware, network, and software.
Co-location & proximity
Co-locating servers next to exchange matching engines reduces round-trip time to microseconds. Proximity hosting and direct market access (DMA) are standard for institutional HFT.
Network optimization
- Kernel bypass (DPDK, Solarflare) for low-latency packet processing
- Minimizing serialization and context switches
- FPGA and custom hardware for critical paths
Software stack
C++ and Rust are common for hot paths; lock-free data structures and cache-friendly layouts help avoid stalls. Tick-to-trade latency is measured in microseconds or less for top-tier firms.