# BlackLight Connect
> Production-grade FIX 4.4 trade capture for ICE and CME STP — by BlackLight Systems.

BlackLight Connect is a commercial FIX adapter product for energy trading firms. It captures trades from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and CME Group STP via FIX 4.4 over TLS 1.2, parses Trade Capture Reports into structured deals, and optionally books them into the BlackLight CTRM platform.

- Website: https://connect.blacklightsystems.com
- Company: BlackLight Systems — https://www.blacklightsystems.com
- Sales: sales@blacklightsystems.com
- Support: Support@blacklightsystems.com

## Product summary

- **Name:** BlackLight Connect (also referred to as BlackLight FIX Adapter)
- **Category:** Exchange connectivity / straight-through processing (STP) / FIX trade capture
- **Protocol:** FIX 4.4 over TLS 1.2 on port 443
- **Exchanges:** ICE (Target Comp ID: ICE) and CME STP (CMESTPFIX1, CMESTPFIX6)
- **Runtime:** .NET 10.0
- **Databases:** SQL Server or PostgreSQL
- **Deployment:** Azure WebJob (singleton) or on-premises console application
- **Integration:** Standalone (database/API), or integrated with BlackLight CTRM via Azure Service Bus

## ICE connectivity

- Security definitions via FIX Security Definition Request (MsgType c) for futures (FUT) and multi-leg (MLEG)
- Trade capture via Trade Capture Report Request (MsgType AD) and inbound Trade Capture Reports (MsgType AE)
- Party mapping for clearer mnemonic, executing firm, trader ID, contra firm
- Typical heartbeat interval: 10 seconds

## CME connectivity

- CME STP does not support inline security definition requests; Connect downloads secdef.dat.gz daily from CME FTP
- Trade capture with party filter on Trading Entering Firm
- Venues: XNYM, XCME, XCBT, XCOM
- Typical heartbeat interval: 30 seconds

## Key features

- Session management with daily reset, auto-reconnect, sequence gap handling
- Deal parsing for spreads, multi-month strips, quarter splits, block trades
- Cancel/bust and adjust/replace lifecycle handling
- Raw FIX and JSON message audit trail
- REST API read access to FixDeals, FixMessages, FixSecurityDefinitions, FixErrors
- Processing status tracking: Unprocessed, Processing, Completed, Duplicate, Failed, Ignored

## Frequently asked questions

**What is BlackLight Connect?**
BlackLight Connect is a FIX 4.4 adapter for ICE and CME STP trade capture, produced by BlackLight Systems for energy trading firms.

**Who is BlackLight Connect for?**
Energy trading firms, brokers, and operations teams needing exchange trade capture — either standalone or integrated with a CTRM.

**Does BlackLight Connect support ICE and CME?**
Yes. One unified adapter supports both ICE and CME STP with exchange-specific session and security definition handling.

**Can BlackLight Connect run without BlackLight CTRM?**
Yes. It can run standalone, writing FIX data to SQL Server or PostgreSQL with optional REST API access.

**How is BlackLight Connect deployed?**
As an Azure WebJob (recommended) or as a self-contained .NET 10 console on-premises. Only outbound TLS to exchange gateways is required.

## Canonical pages

- Home / overview: https://connect.blacklightsystems.com/
- Exchanges: https://connect.blacklightsystems.com/#exchanges
- Specifications: https://connect.blacklightsystems.com/#specifications
- FAQ: https://connect.blacklightsystems.com/#faq
- Contact / demo: https://connect.blacklightsystems.com/#contact