Support Board
Date/Time: Fri, 15 May 2026 07:37:28 +0000
Cannot access or manage a simulation account —
View Count: 136
| [2026-05-05 22:56:51] |
| User471150 - Posts: 2 |
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Hello Support, I'm running into a problem I haven't been able to resolve from documentation and would appreciate your guidance: the simulation account I'm trying to use for paper-validation does not appear to be a functional, registered account in Sierra Chart, even though it shows up in the chart's active-account selector. My setup - Sierra Chart version: 2899 64-bit (executable dated 2025-12-27) - OS: Windows Server 2022 (Build 10.0.20348.4529) - Account context: I have a funded futures trading account connected via Teton CME Routing — confirmed in my Sierra Message Log: "Updated verified funded futures trading account ending date to: 2026-06-03 21:19:31" - Use case: paper-validation of an external trading bot via DTC binary protocol (port 11099) before going live, running on the same Windows machine and connecting to Sierra's local DTC server. The problem I want to use a Sierra simulation account named "Sim1" so that order submissions from my external DTC client are routed to Sierra's internal simulator (and not to my live funded account). The active-account selector at the top of the chart and the trade panel dropdown both show "Sim1" as selectable. But when I open Trade > Trade Account Monitor / Balances Window, "Sim1" is not listed there — it doesn't appear as a managed account, has no visible balance, no positions, no order history, and I can't open or configure it from within the GUI. It behaves as if "Sim1" is a string the dropdown accepts but not an actual registered account in Sierra's account-management subsystem. Downstream symptoms This appears to cascade into a broader persistence problem. Even with "Trade Simulation Mode On" enabled (visible purple background) and "Sim1" selected in the dropdown, and the chartbook explicitly saved: - The expected TradeActivityLog_<date>_UTC.Sim1.simulated.data file is never produced. Instead, I see TradeActivityLog_<date>_UTC.E8933.data (no ".simulated." segment) or TradeActivityLog_<date>_UTC.None.data, or — as on 2026-05-05 — no TradeActivityLog file is written for the day at all. - After the 22:00 UTC Globex daily reopen, the active TradeAccount frequently reverts from "Sim1" back to my funded account or empty, despite the chartbook having been saved with Sim1+sim mode active before close. - DTC clients submitting orders with TradeAccount=Sim1 get no broker order_id response — the submit goes out, but Sierra never echoes an ORDER_UPDATE message back, suggesting the routing target is invalid. I've reproduced this behaviour across four separate session reopens in the last week (2026-04-29, 2026-05-04 morning, 2026-05-04 evening, 2026-05-05). Saving the chartbook does not appear to persist the setting through the 22:00 UTC boundary. My specific questions 1. How do I properly create a registered, persistent, manageable simulation account in Sierra Chart? Is there a Trade > Sim Account Setup flow, a Global Settings > Sierra Chart Server Settings... panel, or a configuration file under C:\SierraChart\Data\ where I should be defining named simulator accounts so they appear in the Trade Account Monitor / Balances Window? 2. Given that the live is a funded futures trading account, does my Sierra Chart Service Package permit creating named simulator accounts alongside it, or does Sierra's funded-account framework constrain what simulator accounts I can use? If the latter, what is the correct way to do bot-driven paper-validation against a funded account? 3. Is "Sim1" a reserved name that Sierra accepts as a routing string for legacy/compatibility reasons but doesn't bind to a real account by default? Or is there a setup step I've missed that registers Sim1 properly? 4. Why might Sierra not write a TradeActivityLog file at all for a given trading day (today, 2026-05-05) — is this a sign that the trade service did not initialise at the 22:00 UTC reopen, and what would prevent it from initialising? 5. For Trade Simulation Mode + active TradeAccount + DTC server settings to persist across Sierra restarts and the daily 22:00 UTC Globex reopen, is File > Save Chartbook sufficient, or do I need to set defaults somewhere outside the chartbook — Sierra preferences, a default-chartbook-on-startup setting, or a configuration file? What works correctly (for context) - Sierra's local DTC server starts cleanly: "DTC Protocol Server listening on port 11099.adress local" - DTC handshake from my bot succeeds: "Sent successful Logon response message to client. Username: . Result text: Connected to SC DTC Protocol server. Service=sc_futures_direct.dtc.trading" - Heartbeats flow normally between Sierra and the DTC client - Teton CME Routing connects fine to futurestrading13.sierracharts.com:11090 (Firm: Dorman) with Service=cme_ilink3.trading So the protocol layer and broker connection are healthy. The issue is specifically about how to set up and persist a manageable simulation account. I'm happy to share TradeActivityLogs, the relevant Trade Service Log slice, or other diagnostic output if it helps the investigation. Best regards, Kola. Date Time Of Last Edit: 2026-05-05 23:14:28
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| [2026-05-06 13:06:01] |
| John - SC Support - Posts: 46151 |
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Simulation accounts (or simulation mode if you prefer) do not show in the Trade Account Manager. That window only shows information for live accounts. Refer to the fourth paragraph at the following link: Trading Information Windows: Trade Account Monitor (Account Balances) Window 1. See above. 2. You are either working with a live account or a simulation account depending on the setting of "Trade >> Trade Simulation Mode On". 3. See #2 above. 4. Trade Activity Logs are kept on a per calendar day basis. 5. We do not understand this question. For the most reliable, advanced, and zero cost futures order routing, use the Teton service: Sierra Chart Teton Futures Order Routing |
| [2026-05-06 13:34:37] |
| Sierra_Chart Engineering - Posts: 23754 |
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Yes this will be true for an account for the internal Trade Simulation Mode but a simulated account will have order history: . But when I open Trade > Trade Account Monitor /
Balances Window, "Sim1" is not listed there — it doesn't appear as a managed account, has no visible balance, no positions, no order history, and I can't open or configure it from within the GUI. It behaves as if "Sim1" is a string the dropdown accepts but not an actual registered account in Sierra's account-management subsystem. We recommend using the simulated futures trading service: Simulated Futures Trading Service 4. This would mean there was no trade activity. Also refer to: Trade Activity Log: Missing Trade Activity 5. There is nothing special to do regarding saving simulated trading activity. That happens automatically. If you are referring to saving the selected Trade Account within a chart, then you do need to use File >> Save while the Chartbook is open. For Trade Simulation Mode + DTC server settings These are saved in the global configuration file, when the program is exited. Nothing special to do.
Sierra Chart Support - Engineering Level Your definitive source for support. Other responses are from users. Try to keep your questions brief and to the point. Be aware of support policy: https://www.sierrachart.com/index.php?l=PostingInformation.php#GeneralInformation For the most reliable, advanced, and zero cost futures order routing, use the Teton service: Sierra Chart Teton Futures Order Routing Date Time Of Last Edit: 2026-05-06 13:43:32
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| [2026-05-09 13:04:36] |
| User471150 - Posts: 2 |
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Thank you for the detailed response — that resolves several open questions. The clarification that simulation accounts don't appear in the Trade Account Manager (because that window is for live accounts only) is exactly what I needed; we'd been assuming this was a configuration issue when it's actually by design. One question remains that wasn't fully addressed: In Trade Simulation Mode, is the synthetic sim account's NLV expected to be reported via DTC ACCOUNT_BALANCE_UPDATE messages to an external DTC client? Currently in our setup (Sierra 2899, Trade Simulation Mode On, Sim1 selected as TradeAccount), our DTC client receives ACCOUNT_BALANCE_UPDATE messages with all fields zeroed — cash=0, pnl=0, net_liquidation_value=0, margin_requirement=0. We've verified via raw hex capture that the message frame is well-formed and Sierra is explicitly sending zeros at the correct offsets, not garbage. Two questions arising from this: 1. Is this expected? That is, does Sierra simply not propagate sim-account synthetic balance via DTC (consistent with the Trade Account Manager not displaying it), and is local equity tracking on the DTC client side the recommended pattern for sim mode? 2. Or is there a setting we should enable — perhaps under Global Settings or in the DTC server configuration — to expose sim-mode synthetic balance to DTC clients? If the answer to #1 is "yes, sim balance is GUI-only," that's perfectly workable — we can use our local risk-config starting balance as the baseline and track equity changes from observed fills on our side. Just want to confirm before locking that pattern in. Thanks again for the help. Best regards, |
| [2026-05-09 20:58:46] |
| Sierra_Chart Engineering - Posts: 23754 |
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No. No internal Trade Simulation account has an account balance: In Trade Simulation Mode, is the synthetic sim account's NLV expected to be reported via DTC ACCOUNT_BALANCE_UPDATE messages to an external DTC client?
Sierra Chart Support - Engineering Level Your definitive source for support. Other responses are from users. Try to keep your questions brief and to the point. Be aware of support policy: https://www.sierrachart.com/index.php?l=PostingInformation.php#GeneralInformation For the most reliable, advanced, and zero cost futures order routing, use the Teton service: Sierra Chart Teton Futures Order Routing Date Time Of Last Edit: 2026-05-09 20:58:57
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