FIX Client Simulator Release Notes

The FIX Client Simulator 3.13.0 release introduces a configurable Grid View for the events. Previously, INFO and FIX messages were displayed as plain text in a List View, which made long event streams hard to read.

A new configurable Grid View provides a structured, table-like layout. It also allows you to configure the view by right-clicking on the columns, including highlighting specific FIX tags for easier navigation and readability. To switch between List View and Grid View, we added a checkbox at the bottom (Grid View) that lets you toggle between the two views.

The FIX Client Simulator 3.11 release introduces Kafka session integration, supporting existing features - the Send Message Tab, Auto-increment and Replay Logs - to work seamlessly with Kafka.

The FCS Kafka session supports the following functionality:

• Producer & Consumer Creation

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  • Create, configure, and save Kafka producer or consumer sessions.

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  • Configure topics, groups, optional keys, and more.

• Authentication & SSL/TLS

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  • Supports SASL/Plain (username/password) or no authentication.

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  • Optional SSL/TLS encryption with the ability to validate certificates.

• Send Message Tab

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  • User can send or receive a FIX message or arbitrary text (non-FIX content) via Kafka sessions.

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  • FIX-specific features (like the context-driven workflows, validation, and auto-increment) are supported but require proper FIX tag=value formatting.

• Auto-increment

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  • Automatically increment fields (e.g., sequence numbers) in FIX messages, just like in FIX sessions.

• Replay Logs

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  • Replay FIX message logs using Kafka session, facilitating troubleshooting, performance review, and re-testing.

The FIX Client Simulator 3.10.0 release introduces the "Backup Connection Parameters" section, which allows configuring a backup connection to ensure a seamless transition if the primary connection fails.

• "Enable Cyclic Switch Backup Connection" will cyclically try to reconnect to the primary and backup if either is lost

• "Enable Auto Switch to Backup Connection" automatically switches to the backup if the primary fails after a few attempts. If disabled, no backup attempt will be made

• "Keep Connection State" retains the same log files for both connections if enabled. If disabled, separate logs will be created for the backup connection

In the FIX Client Simulator 3.10.0 release, the Message Details window has been enhanced with the following features:

• Added a tag search functionality, allowing users to find tags by number through the auto-search bar located at the top of the window.

• Implemented the ability to add and remove tags directly within the interface.

• Tag information (number, name, value) is now displayed in a simplified and organized format, accompanied by actionable icons.

The FIX Client Simulator 3.9.0 release introduces a multiline session display option within the Session list. Previously, session details were confined to a single row, causing readability issues. This update allows to enable "Multiline Session Display" through the Options menu. This functionality allows users to have control over how they view session information.

With FIX Client Simulator 3.9.0 release it is possible to access detailed message information within the Event Viewer. By right-clicking on a specific message and selecting "View FIX Message" a dedicated window launches, presenting comprehensive message data in a structured table format. This window offers the functionality to collapse and expand sections containing repeating groups, allowing users to efficiently navigate and analyze message content.

FCS Console now offers the ability to replay log files and the "Help" command has been expended for detailed guidance. The available options for log replay customization are the following and they allow to:

• Log File: Specify the precise log file to be used for the replay.

• Repeats: Define the number of times you want to replay the chosen log file.

• Speed Multiplier: Adjust the replay speed to run faster or slower than the original session.

• Message/Second: Control the message rate during replay based on timestamps within the log file.

• Sequence Numbers: Choose which sequence numbers to process or exclude from the replay.

• Message Filtering: Select specific message types to include or exclude from the replay process.

• Session Timeout: Set the maximum wait time for establishing the replay session to avoid unnecessary delays.

FIX Client Simulator now provides the ability to select incoming Order Single (35=D) message in the Events Viewer section and automatically form the Execution Report (35=8) with 39=8 to send in running Initiator or Acceptor session (reject).

When working on test scenarios at the stages “Expect”, “Expect Until”, and “ExpectThenSend”, the tags that go into specific repeating groups can already be validated, not just based on a particular tag but also with an asterisk (*) instead of 0,1,2, etc.

FIX Client Simulator now has Balance quantities checkbox which allows checking the messages     “Partial Fill” and “Fill”, balance 32, 14, 151 tags by filling empty values with correct values according to the order flow when "Balance order quantities" is set and incoming message is New Order Single.

If Partly Fill, and Fill do not contain some of tags 32, 14, 151, the tags will be added.

If the user sets some of the tags to have an incorrect value (too big or too small), the tags will be filled in with correct values.

Additionally, tag 6 (AvgPx) is being calculated.

FIX Client Simulator now has been updated with button “duplicate command” as well as other commands have been changed to icons instead of wording.

Coloring on the active test scenario button has been added to make it easier to define the running scenario among others as well as the name of the running session is being displayed under “Session” column.

With 3.8.0 release it is already possible to manually configure the delays between messages in ExpectThenSend command Parameter. Additionally, the random delay interval can be set up with minimum and maximum values as well as fractional values are possible for seconds.

Now the horizontal scroll bar will be displayed in Event viewer only when it’s needed.