Case Study: Chicago Board Options Exchange achieves complete network visibility with VIAVI Solutions Observer Platform

Chicago Board Options Exchange - Customer Case Study

Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) needed a way to capture and analyze every transaction across its fast-moving financial networks, where even tiny delays or packet loss could have major consequences. The firm also had to meet strict privacy, compliance, and forensic requirements while handling bursty multicast traffic. To address this, CBOE turned to VIAVI Solutions and its Observer Platform, including Observer GigaStor and Observer Analyzer Expert Edition.

VIAVI Solutions deployed GigaStor appliances and Analyzer Expert Edition consoles across strategic points in CBOE’s network, giving the team line-rate packet capture, full FIX protocol decoding, and tools like Connection Dynamics and time interval analysis. The solution let CBOE go back in time to isolate issues, replace manual Excel-based analysis, and detect micro-bursts and WAN congestion in minutes instead of days. As a result, CBOE gained much faster troubleshooting, better visibility, and a more cost-effective way to protect trade integrity and reduce data loss.

Chicago Board Options Exchange

John Rittner

Network Manager