How to use windows VPS For Forex Traders

Where to get a suitable Windows VPS for Forex Traders ?

I have been asked this question many times, so I am going to explain what's behind the scene of Windows VPS hosting so you can have a better view of it.
Firstly, you should know what we need for forex hosting: Do we need a lot of space? A lot of RAM? A lot of traffic? The answer is NO, we need very high network uptime and VPS stability , so it is very different from VPS’ which are used for hosting purposes. A crash on a website hosting VPS may result in several minutes of downtime which may not be very important; but on a forex VPS, it can cause thousands of dollars of loss or interruption in EA work which is important.
Currently there are several virtualization technologies, but these two are the most widely used:

• Virtuozzo by Parallels Company : 95% of Windows VPS’ on the market use this technology. It is a software layer virtualization, resources are not dedicated and overall, I wouldn’t recommend it for Forex Hosting. So why do so many companies use this technology? The reason is that they make more money from it. Hosting companies can oversell the server as the resources are not dedicated in Virtuozzo e.g. they get a server with 8GB of RAM and can sell 100 VPS’ on it with a total 32GB of RAM. Some companies use Virtuozzo and I suggest avoiding them for forex hosting.
• Hyper-V by Microsoft : This technology is new and was introduced in Windows Server 2008. It is a hardware layer virtualization so resources are dedicated and very stable. It is extremely close to a dedicated server so it is highly recommended for forex VPS hosting. By using this technology, hosting companies cannot cheat on people. It is more expensive than Virtuozzo but it’s the real deal.

How to connect to your windows VPS:

In order to connect to a windows VPS remotely, you need to use a software named “Remote Desktop Connection” which is bundled with all versions of Windows.
Under Windows XP it is located under : All Programs –> Accessories –> Communications
Under Windows Vista it is located under : All Programs –> Accessories
After running this software, you will see the following window. Enter the IP or host name of your VPS into the computer file and click ‘Connect.’

 

After a few seconds, a new window will open and you will be asked for the username and password. Enter the username (which is usually Administrator) and password which is provided by your Windows VPS provider.
if you enter the login details successfully , the desktop of windows VPS will be shown to you.
In order to install any software such as Meta Trader or any other trading station, do the same as you usually would on your home PC. You can run Internet Explorer on your VPS, download and install the software you need and you’re ready to use it.

Disable Automatic Updates :

Automatic Updates may restart your VPS automatically and close your running trading platforms. For a trading station, it is wise to disable automatic updates.
in order to disable automatic updates on windows 2003 :
Right click on My Computer -> Properties -> Automatic Updates -> Choose OFF -> Click on OK

How to transfer files from home PC to windows VPS : 

The best solution is to use Dropbox. It is very simple to use and a comprehensive user guide can be found on their website. It has many features, so I am not going to dig into the details.The idea is that you install Dropbox software on your home computer and Windows VPS. It will create a folder called Dropbox. The files that you copy inside the Dropbox on your home computer will be automatically copied into the Dropbox on your VPS and vice versa.

How to install several MT4 instances of same broker on your VPS :
Most users want to install several instances of MT4 on their VPS. if MT4s are from different brokers , there would be no conflict. they will install in different folders and have different shortcut names. But if you want to install several instances of MT4 from one broker then you should:
1.Rename the MT4 shortcut on your desktop to something else.
2.Run MT4 installer , but when it asks where to install the new MT4 , choose a different folder. you can add a number to the end of the folder name.
3.Complete the installation. The above procedure installs another MT4 from the same broker on your VPS with a separate shortcut on your VPS desktop.

Make Sure only one session is running :
One of the common problems of traders is that most of them are not familiar with remote desktop multi session functionality.
Remote desktop allows you to connect to Windows VPS in different sessions. In other words, you can have several (generally 2) independent desktops.
For example, if you run a trading station on session one and before closing it you login to VPS again using remote desktop connection , a new desktop will be opened for you which won't show your running programs in session one. most traders may think their VPS has restarted and/or their platform is closed while in fact it is running in another session.
Therefore, it is very important to make sure that you only run one session. If you want to run more, you will need to know exactly what to do.
In order to determine how many sessions are running on your VPS , enter your windows task manager ( Start -> Run -> type “taskmgr.exe” and enter ) and then go to the users tab. There, you can see the logged in users on your VPS. If more than one is there, two or more sessions are running.
You can simply connect to or logoff the extra sessions by right clicking on them and choosing the proper option.

How to Exit from VPS ? 

After you have your softwares running on your VPS , do not shut down or log off from your VPS. It will cause your programs to be closed.
Simply click on the [x] button of the VPS desktop button and click OK on the next confirmation window. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next time you connect to your VPS , you will see that your programs are still running.