Source failover for a multi-asset prop firm
A reference scenario for a prop-trading operation that needs controlled recovery across FX, metals and index products with different calendars and source definitions.
Illustrative implementation scenario. This is a reference architecture, not a completed customer case study. No customer identity, deployment outcome or performance improvement is claimed.
Engineering scenario · Published October 24, 2026 · PriceFeed.xyz
Discuss a similar deployment ↗The requirement
A source can stop updating while a connection remains open. A replacement source may describe a different contract, session or quotation unit. Switching every instrument after a single timeout can introduce misleading prices instead of improving resilience.
A source-to-consumer design
- Primary and eligible backup
Verify instrument equivalence and permitted usage before a source can participate.
- Per-source health checks
Track connection state, source age, session state and quote validity separately.
- Instrument policy
Select an eligible source according to an explicit decision rule and publish its identity.
- Normalized output
Deliver a complete quote with source status and timestamps to each agreed consumer.
- Operational review
Record failover decisions, recovery conditions and the ownership of exceptions.
What belongs in the technical scope
| Area | What to agree |
|---|---|
| Product definitions | Distinguish spot metal references, cash indices, futures and broker CFDs; a similar symbol name does not prove interchangeability. |
| Source eligibility | Define the source set per instrument, relevant licenses, field availability and acceptable fallback conditions. |
| Session policy | Keep expected market closures separate from unexpected stale updates; retain each instrument calendar. |
| Recovery contract | Agree hold-down, recovery and failback rules per instrument or explicitly defined group. |
| Consumer behaviour | Define whether trading, charts and risk tools pause, show a stale state or consume an eligible replacement quote. |
Implementation and review
Instrument inventory
Review the product definition and quotation unit with each source owner. Mark instruments without a compatible fallback.
Health model
Separate transport health from data health. Document the source-age calculation and the time source used for it.
Controlled drills
Disconnect the primary, freeze updates without closing the connection, and inject a non-eligible backup observation in an isolated test stream.
Operational handover
Review decision logs and consumer state transitions. Assign an owner and escalation route for an instrument that cannot safely recover.
Proposed acceptance checks
Use these as a starting checklist. Agree numerical thresholds, test duration, source data rights and expected consumer behaviour for the actual environment before acceptance.
| Check | Evidence to capture |
|---|---|
| Silent stale source | A connected but frozen primary enters a stale state according to its agreed session policy. |
| Incompatible fallback | A different underlying, currency or contract cannot silently replace the intended instrument. |
| Market closure | A scheduled source closure is handled according to the calendar instead of being reported as a transport outage. |
| Failover transition | Source identity and status change together with a usable current quote; no half-updated bid/ask pair is published. |
| Failback stability | Repeated connect/disconnect events follow the agreed stabilization rule and leave an auditable decision trail. |
Scope and limitations
Redundancy does not guarantee uninterrupted pricing. Some instruments may have no eligible backup, and data rights or product differences may prevent substitution. Availability targets must be measured and agreed for the actual deployment.
Related technical resources
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