FAST protocol

The FAST protocol (FIX Adapted for STreaming) is a technology standard developed by FIX Protocol Ltd., specifically aimed at optimizing data representation on the network. It is used to support high-throughput, low latency data communications between financial institutions.

In particular, it is a technology standard that offers significant compression capabilities for the transport of high-volume market data feeds and ultra low latency applications.

Timeline

 * 2004         Market Data optimization Working Group (“mdowg”) was formed
 * 2005         Proof of Concept (“POC”) project
 * 2006         FAST 1.0 released
 * 2007         FAST 1.1 released
 * 2009         FAST 1.2 proposed

In November 2004, Mike Cormack (then CEO Archipelago Holding) spoke at the FPL (FIX Protocol Ltd) conference in New York regarding a call for action to meet the challenges of the increased market data volumes. The increasing volumes of market data were causing delays, preventing market data from reaching traders in a timely fashion, thus disrupting their ability to trade. The classic FIX tag value format was considered to be too verbose and had a high processing overhead. A working group was formed within FPL shortly after the conference.

Current version of FAST
The approved standard is currently at version 5.0, and is used in commercially available products. There are Open Source implementations of the Protocol available.

Exchanges that have adopted FAST

 * NYSE Archipelago
 * CME Group (CME)
 * International Securities Exchange (ISE)
 * NasdaqOMX
 * Eurex
 * Xetra
 * Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE Ltd, India)
 * BATS
 * ICAP
 * OPRA
 * B3
 * Nordic Growth Market (NGM)
 * Moscow Exchange (MOEX)
 * Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE, China)

Open source implementations
Source code for implementations of the FAST Specification are available from the following sources: