As previously announced, listed derivatives on CME Globex will be migrating to a new, ultra low latency private Google Cloud region. This region will also support new co-location and connectivity options, including self-managed infrastructure in the co-location facility, similar to today; or Google Cloud's specialized infrastructure-as-a-service offering, both with equal network latency to the markets. Clients will have a choice of co-location offerings, enabling either the co-location you are familiar with today; new, highly specialized on demand cloud technology; or a combination thereof.  

Build-out and migration will occur over the next several years. Clients should begin preparing now for this migration, including evaluating specific cloud strategies, internal skills, partner and vendor readiness, and cloud or vendor onboarding processes. 

CME Group expects to provide clients with at least 18 months advance notice before any CME Group markets move to the new platform.

The private Google Cloud Chicago region will host Google Cloud's new, industry-first specialized platform designed to support global trading of CME Group's futures and options markets. CME Group clients will have access to cloud-based, ultra-low-latency networking and high-performance computing.

The new specialized platform will enable a number of benefits for CME Group clients, including expanded flexibility to engage with CME Group markets, strengthened operational efficiencies, and increased access to Google Cloud services, all of which will deepen the value proposition for market users around the globe. For example, CME Group clients will be enabled to rapidly experiment, test, and deploy new strategies without impacting their production trading environments.

Google Cloud and CME Group have developed a design that brings the exchange into the cloud while respecting existing market structure and industry investment. The next-generation private Google Cloud Chicago region and co-location facility merges the best of cloud operations and scalability with the determinism and low latency expected from financial institutions.

In addition, before the markets migration begins, new and existing clients will have the opportunity to access the on-premise listed derivative markets via the Google Cloud Network and Point of Presence (PoP) solutions. Through these offerings, clients will have access to:

• Submit orders via the current, on-premise iLink Convenience Gateways (CGW)

• Manage risk via the current, on-premise Drop Copy for CGW

• Consume MDP 3.0 and streamlined MDP market data on Google Cloud Network Premium Tier over SDN multicast.

Contents

Glossary

The following terms and resources are provided for your convenience.

Revision History

Key Events and Dates

Roadmap

Summary of Impacts

Throughout the migration, clients will experience different impacts depending on the type of connectivity and CME Globex applications used.

Each phase of the migration will also have client impacts. A preliminary list of known impacts is detailed below; this topic will be updated with additional information regularly.

Changes to the existing CME Globex API functionality and messaging will be avoided wherever possible. Any changes will be announced and detailed via this topic and the CME Globex Notices.

Environment Overview

Regions and Data Centers

Current State

Since the CME Group Google Cloud partnership began in November 2021, CME Group has been migrating less latency sensitive applications to existing Google Cloud regions, including Reference Data API and Reference Data Warehouse, CME STP, Risk Management services including Account Management Service and RMI; and GUIs like FirmSoft. CME Group services on Google Cloud can be accessed over the internet or via CME Group connectivity solutions.

The CME Globex platform is hosted in an on-premise data center in Aurora, IL, with an out of region DR data center. CME Globex is accessible via the co-location offering GLink Aurora and over the CME Group global backbone.

During the CME Globex Migration

During the migration of the CME Globex listed derivatives markets,

• A Preview environment will be made available in the dedicated private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region for client testing before the production launch.

• Production markets will migrate from the CME Group Aurora data center to the private Google Cloud Chicago region.

Clients are expected to be able to access migrated markets through their existing connectivity solution. Client can also access the new Custom Hardware Co-location (CHC), Ultra Low Latency Google Compute Engine (ULL GCE) Instances, and any other Google Cloud Regions or Network Points of Presence (PoPs). 

* CHC is not offered for the Preview/DR environment. ULL GCE co-location services are available.

Migration Complete

After all CME Globex futures and options markets have been migrated, CME Globex will be wholly operating in the private Google Cloud Chicago region.

Testing Environments

Information on testing environments will be available soon.

DR Region - Private Zones of the Google Cloud Dallas Region

Preview Environment

Before the production market migration begins in 2028, a CME Globex Preview environment will be made available in 2026 for clients to start testing the Globex platform on Google Cloud and the ULL network performance. The Preview environment will be the same specialized platform as Production, with performance, determinism and reliability aligned to client needs for Globex markets operating in Google Cloud.

Clients will be able to deploy and test market applications, automation, security, and other services provided by Google Cloud and the Ultra Low Latency Google Compute Engine (ULL GCE) in the Preview environment.

Custom Hardware co-location (CHC) will not be available in the Google Cloud Dallas region. The CHC solution with Globex on Google Cloud in the Chicago Region will be available for testing before any trading migrates.

CME Group Connectivity Offerings will not have access to the Preview environment. Clients will be able to access the Preview environment in the private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region by establishing one of the following solutions:

• Ultra Low Latency Google Compute Engine (ULL GCE) instances in the private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region

• Global GCE instances via the Google Cloud Network Premium Tier

• Google Cloud network connectivity (GCI) from the existing Aurora Data Center and other GCI connection point or partner interconnect services

After the Production migration is complete in 2029, the Preview environment in the private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region will be used for Globex Disaster Recovery purposes and will be accessible via CME Group Connectivity Offerings in addition to the offerings listed above.

Disaster Recovery Environment

The Disaster Recovery (DR) environment in the private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region will be the same specialized platform as Production, with performance, determinism and reliability as top priorities.

Custom Hardware co-location (CHC) will not be available in the Google Cloud Dallas region.

Clients will be able to access the DR environment via:

• CME Group connectivity offerings

• Ultra Low Latency Google Compute Engine (ULL GCE) instances in the private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region

• Custom Hardware Co-location (CHC) and ULL GCE Instances in the private Google Cloud Chicago region via Google Cloud Network Premium Tier 

• Global GCE instances via the Google Cloud Network Premium Tier

• Google Cloud network connectivity (GCI) from the existing Aurora Data Center, through other GCI connection points or partner interconnect services

The DR environment will be accessible via CME Group connectivity offerings and GLink Aurora in addition to the access solutions listed above, and can be used for client testing and checkout activities when CME Globex is operating normally in the Production environment.

Primary Region - Private Google Cloud Chicago Region

Production Environment

The new private Google Cloud Chicago region for CME Globex is designed to deliver client access to the listed derivatives markets with determinism, performance and reliability aligned to client needs for Globex markets operating in Google Cloud.

Before production trading migrates to the new Primary region, clients will have the ability to test during a Primary region pre-production phase. Pre-Production testing in the Chicago region allows clients to directly engage, build confidence through testing, and finalize migration decisions to the new connectivity and co-location solutions, including CHC, before any market migrates.

Clients will be able to access CME Globex for testing in the Primary region via

• CME Group connectivity offerings

• Custom Hardware co-location (CHC) and ULL GCE Instances in the private Google Cloud Chicago region

• Ultra Low Latency Google Compute Engine (ULL GCE) instances in the private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region via Google Cloud Network Premium Tier 

• Global GCE instances via the Google Cloud Network Premium Tier

• Google Cloud network connectivity (GCI) from the existing Aurora Data Center and other GCI connection point or partner interconnect services.

Dual Zones Solution

CME Globex operating in the private Google Cloud Chicago region will alternate production trading in two isolated zones. The innovative dual zone design unlocks greater determinism and reduces the potential for variance by deferring software updates and maintenance for the zone supporting production trading. While the active zone is supporting trading, the alternate zone will take available maintenance and software updates so that when production is moved to the second zone, the markets will continue to experience determinism and reduced variance. 

During normal operations, production trading will operate in one specific zone for a pre-determined period of time until there is a zone cutover event. Software rollouts and traditional cloud planned maintenance will be deferred in the zone currently hosting Globex production trading until the next zone cutover event. This dual zone solution ensures changes will not introduce variances during trading sessions while maintaining version uniformity consistency for machines and network infrastructure.

In the production trading zone, Google Cloud will not make non-critical uncoordinated changes. Clients will be able to operate in Google Cloud Managed co-location aligned with traditional cloud operating models and their specific change processes, including but not limited to: 

• Create, launch, or delete Google Cloud managed co-location instances within the client’s approved quota 

• Create/update/delete network configurations

• Client level changes to cloud native products and services (e.g., drop CloudSQL table, create Cloud PubSub topic/subscription, create/delete GCS storage buckets, etc.) 

• Deploy or change client applications

Please note that Google Cloud ULL Networks are isolated to each zone. Google Cloud Premium Tier Networks are specific to each zone, but are able to communicate with Google Cloud Premium Tier Network(s) and Google Cloud services in other zones.

The private Google Cloud Chicago region and the private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region will each contain two zones. The private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region will also operate in this dual zone design to ensure the DR environments are operating in step with the Primary region.

The dual zone solution allows us to offer clients the ability to deploy and test software for several days, in the environment that will shortly become Production. Currently, this offering is only available on select Saturdays.

Zone Operation and Cutover Events 

To support client coordination, automation, and high confidence in production access, CME Group applications will be updated to denote the Production and non-Production trading state.  In addition, Google Cloud will offer discovery services for determining which zone has been scheduled for regular maintenance.  These services will be offered via Google’s gcloud CLI and REST API. 

Because the Google Cloud ULL Network are isolated to each zone, the IP addresses for CME Group applications deployed to the Google Cloud ULL Network, including iLink MSGW, Drop Copy for MSGW, and MDP 3 market data, will be zone specific and clients will need to ensure they are connecting to the correct IPs for the zone currently in use for Production trading (or for testing in the non-Production zone). 

Applications deployed to the Google Cloud Premium Tier Network like iLink CGW, which are specific to a zone but can communicate across zones over the Google Cloud Premium Tier Networks, will have a single set of IPs for client sessions.

Each CHC offers connectivity to both zones in the Primary region and the Google Cloud Premium Tier Network.

• One connection To the Google Cloud ULL Network in one zone in the Primary region with access to that zone’s iLink MSGW, iLink CGW and both A and B feeds for market data

• One connection to the Google Cloud ULL Network in the other zone in the Primary region with access to that zone’s iLink MSGW, iLink CGW and both A and B feeds for market data, and

• Two connections to the Google Cloud Premium Tier Networks with access to iLink CGW, Drop Copy, multicast on Google Cloud network and all Google Cloud zones and regions.

CHC does not support connectivity to the Google Cloud ULL Network in the DR region, however clients can connect to DR from CHC via the Google Cloud Premium Tier Network for access to iLink CGW, Drop Copy and market data via multicast on Google Cloud network.

ULL GCE Bare Metal instances are zone specific and must be spun up in the specific zone the client desires to connect to. Each ULL GCE Bare Metal instance will have three Network Interface Controller (NIC) cards

• Two NICs provide connectivity to the Google Cloud ULL Network in the zone where the instance resides.

• One NIC provides connectivity to the Google Cloud Premium Tier Network with access to all Google Cloud zones and regions. 

ULL GCE VM instances are also zone specific and must be spun up in the specific zone the client desires to connect to. There are no requirements for clients to operate infrastructure in both zones at the same time for production trading; however, clients can operate an instance in the non-production zone for testing if desired. Each ULL GCE VM instance will have one Network Interface Controller (NIC) card for connectivity to the Google Cloud Premium Tier Network.

Clients connecting to Globex on Google Cloud from CME Group's existing connectivity solutions will not need to change IP addresses for order entry or Drop Copy services; but they will need to connect to different multicast destination IP addresses for market data channels. Each zone will have unique IP addresses for these channels.

Maintenance Windows

CME Group and clients will move Production operations between the two zones on a pre-determined and communicated regular cadence. Following the swap, the zone previously used for Production trading will become the non-Production zone and undergo potentially disruptive cloud maintenance. Clients could experience maintenance events and can leverage Google Cloud solutions to actively Monitor and plan for a host maintenance events. Subsequently, the zone will become a stable environment capable of supporting client deployments, functional testing, and performance and stress testing. Specific details on these different states and the duration of each will be published soon.

For scheduled and previously announced holidays, and in extraordinary circumstances, zone swaps may be deferred for a period of time. In these scenarios, the current zone for Production trading will remain in place and no swap will occur. These events will be communicated via the new zone discovery services and the new flags on CME Group applications, in addition to GCC email alerts.

Connectivity

Clients will have the option of using existing CME Group production connectivity offerings to CME Globex (e.g., CME Group Hubs, EConnect, etc) or using GCE instances and Google Cloud network connectivity options.

CME GLink Aurora is intended to provide access to CME Globex markets both on-premise and in the Google Cloud Chicago region throughout the migration.

CME Group is aligning the connectivity types and applications to better service existing and new client segments. Clients will have access to different services based on their connectivity type. Please see details under Access.

New Preview and DR Co-Location Options

The following co-location options will be offered in the private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region.

• Ultra Low Latency Google Compute Engine (ULL GCE) instances are designed for latency sensitive clients who prefer to use Google Cloud's fully managed and operated low-latency machines. 
  
  

  • Bare Metal instances offer

    • Google Cloud Ultra Low Latency Network for low latency access to CME Globex for order routing and MDP 3

    • Google Cloud Network Premium Tier for access to CME Group shared services and Google Cloud services

  • Virtual Machine (VM) instances offer

    • Google Cloud Network Premium Tier with close physical proximity to CME Globex as well as access to CME Group shared services and Google Cloud services

    • Instance types available in various compute shapes, allowing clients to optimize their compute requirements to their specific application and business requirements.

Clients may use their Preview and DR co-location instance to access the Production environment via the Google Cloud Network Premium Tier.

New Production Co-Location Options

With the migration to the new private Google Cloud region, CME Group is introducing three new Production co-location solutions.

• Custom Hardware co-location (CHC) is designed for our most latency sensitive clients who prefer to bring their own hardware to the cloud platform.

• Ultra Low Latency Google Compute Engine (ULL GCE) instances are designed for latency sensitive clients who prefer to use Google Cloud's fully managed and operated low-latency machines. 
  
  

  • Bare Metal instances offer

    • Google Cloud Ultra Low Latency Network for low latency access to CME Globex for order routing and MDP 3

    • Google Cloud Network Premium Tier for access to CME Group shared services and Google Cloud services

  • Virtual Machine (VM) instances offer

    • Google Cloud Network Premium Tier with close physical proximity to CME Globex as well as access to CME Group shared services and Google Cloud services

    • Instance types available in various compute shapes, allowing clients to optimize their compute requirements to their specific application and business requirements.

Clients may use their Production co-location instance to access the Preview and DR environment via the Google Cloud Network Premium Tier.

Co-Location in the Private Google Cloud Chicago Region

Custom Hardware Co-Location (CHC)

The new CME Custom Hardware Co-location (CHC) offering will maintain many of the current products and services in the existing CME co-location facility such as:

• Clients contract with and are supported by CME Group, including 24/7/365 CME Remote Hands and CME Colo Support Portal.

• Same large, 52RU cabinets and the ability to cage your environments.

• All cross-connects to other clients, carriers, towers and campus connectivity are equidistant and operated by CME Group.

• Telecommunications Carriers hosted by CME Group.

In addition, there are some enhancements to our client experience within the CHC, including:

• New GLink with direct GCP network termination provided via the equidistant GLink Demarcation Cable.

• Designed to support higher power density deployments with additional cooling options.

• Clients can provide their own PDUs for their cabinets.

• Power is delivered via an overhead busbar, maximizing under floor air flow.

• Towers and Tower Equipment Rooms owned and operated by CME Group.

CME Globex Applications

Deployment

CME Globex applications will be deployed to the Google Cloud solution best suited to each services' business purpose and client needs.

The most latency sensitive applications will be deployed on the new ULL network in the Private Google Cloud Chicago region for Production, and in the private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region for the Preview/DR environment.

Less latency sensitive applications link iLink CGW, Drop Copy, and market data recovery services will be deployed on the Google Cloud Network Premium Tier in the Private Google Cloud Chicago region for Production, and in the private zones of the Google Cloud Dallas region for the Preview/DR environment.

Shared services and other applications with the least latency sensitivity will continue to be hosted in the remote Google Cloud Regions.

Production Environment

Preview/DR Environment

Access

CME Group is aligning the connectivity types and applications to better service existing and new client segments.

• iLink Market Segment Gateways (MSGW) will be available over the Google Cloud ULL Network.

• All hosting and connectivity types will have access to iLink CGW.

• MDP 3 and streamlined MDP market data will be available over the CME Group global backbone, the Google Cloud ULL Network, and Google Cloud Network Premium Tier.

  • MDP 3 and streamlined MDP on the Google Cloud Network Premium Tier via SDN multicast.

• Shared services, including reference data, CME STP, and Drop Copy, will be available over the CME Group global backbone, GC Network Premium Tier, and internet (where applicable).

Clients can select the connectivity option(s) that best serve their needs. As each market moves into the private Google Cloud region, the connectivity access will shift as reflected below.

Access Solutions

All Production hosting and connectivity solutions support access to both the Production and DR environment.

For markets trading in the Private Google Cloud Chicago region:

Key Attributes

CME Group Applications Access

Markets Migration

The markets migration is expected to follow an 18-24 month timeline. Further details on the migration timing for specific market segments will be provided as soon as it is available.

Partner Exchange Impacts

Hosted Partner Exchange markets, including GME, Bursa Malaysia and MGEX, will be migrated to the Google Cloud solution alongside the CME Group DCMs.

Contact Information

Please contact Global Account Management (GAM) with any questions.