When trades aren't reaching a follower over Remote Copy, the cause is almost always a blocked port, a misconfigured network adapter, or a leader/follower setting that fell out of sync. This article walks through diagnosing and fixing the connection between a Replikanto leader and a remote follower (node) on the same local network. If the follower receives trades over the internet (Remote Node Mode), see Followers over the internet near the end of this article.
Symptoms
- The leader sends trades, but the follower never receives them.
- The follower's Replikanto node does not appear connected, or appears connected but stops relaying trades.
- Everything looks correctly configured on both sides, yet copying still fails.
Quick Connectivity Test
Before changing any settings, confirm whether the follower's Replikanto node is even reachable on the network. On the leader computer, open a web browser and navigate to:
http://<follower_ip>:<port>/replikanto_node
For example, if the follower's IP is 192.168.1.112 and the port is 4547, the URL would be: http://192.168.1.112:4547/replikanto_node
On the follower (Network Node Mode), the IP and port for the test URL are shown under Node IP and Port.
If the node is active and reachable, the page confirms that the Replikanto node is enabled. If the page does not load, there is a network or firewall block between the two machines — go through the causes below.
Common Causes and Solutions
Leader on the Simulated Data Feed or Playback connection
Replikanto never sends trades to remote followers — over the local network or the internet — from a leader account on NinjaTrader's Simulated Data Feed connection or on the Playback connection. Those trades are still copied to followers on the leader's own computer, so everything looks fine locally while the remote follower receives nothing. This is by design, not a network problem.
So when you test with a Sim account, test on a leader whose NinjaTrader is connected to your broker or live data feed, not to the Simulated Data Feed or Playback connection. For the test, connect the leader's NinjaTrader only to that broker or data feed connection. The followers can use Sim accounts on any connection.
If the leader is on the Simulated Data Feed, the leader's Log tab shows:
Replikanto: [Copier] Discarded the leader order because it came from a Simulated Data Feed connection; it will not be sent to any node.
On Replikanto 1.6.x the same line read Has discarded the order ... originated from Simulated Data Feed connection. A Playback leader writes no Log line — see Does Replikanto work with the NinjaTrader Playback connection?
Firewall blocking the follower's port
Both computers must be on the same local network, and the follower must allow inbound traffic on the port Replikanto uses (4547 by default, or the port you defined). Check first whether the follower's Windows Firewall has an inbound rule opening that port — see Why can't I copy trades over my local network? for how to create it. Once the rule exists, test with a Sim account on a leader connected to your broker or live data feed (see the previous cause) until trades are reaching the follower, and keep the NinjaTrader Log tab open on both computers while you test — the Log on either side usually shows exactly what's failing. When the leader cannot reach the follower, the leader's Log shows:
Replikanto: [LAN] Could not reach the remote node, so that follower did not receive the trade. Check the follower's IP address, port and Windows firewall. node='192.168.1.112:4547'
On Replikanto 1.6.x the same problem was logged as:
Replikanto: Node 192.168.1.112:4547. Communication error. Unable to send trades to the remote node. Check the follower's IP, port or Windows firewall.
If trades still aren't copying after the inbound rule is in place, temporarily disable the follower's Windows Firewall for all profiles (domain, public, private) and test again:
- If it works with the firewall off, turn the firewall back on and re-check the inbound rule — the Public profile is often the one left unselected. Select it and test again.
- If it still doesn't work with the firewall off, the block is coming from somewhere else (see the next causes).
Wrong network adapter selected
On a computer with two or more network interfaces, Replikanto shows the IP of the first adapter it finds — which isn't always the one actually connected to your LAN. If the follower's active interface isn't the one Replikanto is using, right-click inside Replikanto, select Properties, go to the Network Replikanto group, open Network Adapter, and select the interface that's actually on your network (usually Ethernet or Wi-Fi, depending on how this computer reaches your router). Changing the adapter changes the follower's IP address, so you'll also need to update the follower's Node IP in the leader's Replikanto Nodes section, then test again.
Properties > Network Replikanto: 1 = Network Adapter, 2 = Port (4547 by default).
Third-party antivirus or security software
If the follower still isn't receiving trades, check for other software with its own firewall — antivirus suites such as Malwarebytes, Norton, or McAfee are common culprits. Temporarily disable its firewall component and test again; if that resolves it, add a Replikanto/NinjaTrader exception rather than leaving it disabled.
Leader computer recently rebuilt or changed
If the leader computer was recently rebuilt or had hardware changes (such as a CPU upgrade), its firewall rules and Replikanto configuration may need to be reconfigured. On the leader computer, check the following:
- The follower's row in the Replikanto Nodes section (below Follower Accounts) has the correct follower IP address and port — check that its Node IP and Port cells match the Node IP and Port shown on the follower's Replikanto.
- An inbound firewall rule exists for TCP port
4547on the leader too. Even though the leader initiates the connection, Windows Firewall can still block the return traffic. -
NinjaTrader.exeis allowed through the leader's Windows Firewall, both inbound and outbound. - If the leader runs antivirus software with its own firewall (Malwarebytes, Norton, McAfee, etc.), it isn't blocking NinjaTrader's network communication.
On the leader, the follower's row in Replikanto Nodes: 1 = Node IP, 2 = Port. Both must match the Node IP and Port shown on the follower.
Followers over the internet (Remote Node Mode)
The causes above are about the local network. If the follower receives trades over the internet with Remote Node Mode (Internet), there is no port to open on the follower. Check these instead:
-
The connection to the Replikanto server dropped. Starting with Replikanto 1.7.0.0, after a passing connection error Replikanto keeps trying to reconnect on its own, with Remote Node Mode left on. The Log tab shows
The connection to the Replikanto server was lost; reconnecting.and laterReconnected to the Replikanto server after N attempt(s).If the follower's Log saysGave up reconnecting to the Replikanto server, uncheck the box under Remote Replikanto ID on the follower and check it again, or restart NinjaTrader. On older versions, a single connection error could turn Remote Node Mode off until NinjaTrader was restarted — update to 1.7.0.0. -
A trade arrived late, only when the leader sent its next trade, or not at all. Replikanto 1.7.0.0 fixed a rare case where, after a brief connection problem, a remote follower over the internet could hold back the leader's next trade instead of copying it. The fix is on the follower's side, so it applies only once the remote follower runs 1.7.0.0. Keep the leader and every remote follower on the same Replikanto version. Starting with Replikanto 1.7.0.0, a trade held back this way is copied about 3 seconds later, together with any earlier trade from the leader that had not reached the follower, in the order the leader sent them. The follower's Log tab shows
Holding the trade for 3000 ms, in case an earlier trade from the same leader is still on its way.This short delay is expected. -
Firewall. Allow outbound HTTPS (port 443) from NinjaTrader to
api.replikanto.comandwss.replikanto.com.
For the full internet setup and troubleshooting, see How do I copy trades between machines over the Internet?
Prevention
- After rebuilding a leader or follower machine, or changing its network hardware, re-verify the firewall rule and the Network Adapter setting before assuming Remote Copy itself is broken.
- Re-check the Network Adapter setting on both machines first when trades stop copying on a previously-working setup — it's one of the most common causes alongside firewall rules and the port number.
- Run the Quick Connectivity Test above right after any network or hardware change, before starting live trading.
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