This post was most recently updated on May 18th, 2023
The Forex VPS is one of the most essential tools for autotrading. As Forex trading has evolved in the past decade. Using a Forex VPS , or Virtual Private Server to automate and execute auto trading has grown leaps and bounds.
Forex VPS – What is it?
Forex VPS are Virtual Private Servers specifically configured to handle Forex automated software and expert advisers.
We’ve heard the term “server’ used all over news media in recent years, the most notable(or notorious) being Hillary Clinton’s personal home server. “Servers” are just fancy technology terms that refer to a computer(s) on a network(usually large ones) that handle specific tasks.
Hillary’s server primarily handled email, while in our case, Forex VPS will handle automated trading software.
Why Would I need a Forex VPS Service?
It’s a FAQ and the same question I asked myself a few years ago when I first delved into automated forex robots. You certainly wouldn’t need a Forex VPS if you’re just manually trading the forex market, but if you’re going to be trading Forex Metatrader Expert Advisers ,particularly if you’re trading multiple trading bots simultaneously, then there are several reasons why a VPS is a must. Lets take a look at a few of the most important reasons.
Your Trading Robot Can Be Online 24/7 – If you run a Forex EA on your local computer, chances are you’ll need to have your computer on all the time.
This is fine if you’re running the autotrader for a few hours, but certain automated forex robots and its strategies require the autotrader to be on constantly to execute trade signals and to properly manage trades that have been opened by the Expert Adviser.
Your Forex Trade Robot resides in the Cloud – Ever lose your electricity for a week? It’s a reality for some people, especially those of us in the tropics that have run ins with Hurricanes. It’s really great to still be in trades when the lights go out. No lost time, lost trades or lost profits.
Forex VPS – Step one, find a VPS provider
While Forex VPS servers can certainly handle various types of trading software, for this discussion we will be specifically referring to the Metatrader trading platform. At the time of this writing, both Metatrader 4 or mt4 and Metatrader 5 mt5 are widely used and is the dominant trading platform in Forex trading industry.
Forex traders have loved metatrader for well over a decade because of of its speed, simplicity and its versatility. Whether you trade manual or with trading robots, Metatrader will almost always be able to handle whatever strategy you plan to implement in your trading plans The most important thing to remember when you setup a Forex VPS is that the server itself is not located locally.
The server is located in a remote location, no different than any other server that you’d connect to when you use your Internet browser. When you connect to Google Gmail, all you’re doing is connecting to a server in a remote location, sometimes across the country or even overseas. Forex VPS’ are in the Internet cloud no different than Gmail or Facebook.
While i’m sure you can find free forex VPS services, I personally prefer to go with a reputable provider that I know will have solid technical support and uptime. The cost shouldn’t be a huge issue if in the end your forex trading robot makes money, at least that’s how I see it. The monthly cost can be as low as $10 a month.
Forex VPS – the Server and the Client
We’ve already discussed what a “Server” is. To use a server, you almost always have to use a “Client” to connect to it. A client is just an application that allows you to connect to a server. With email , this is usually done with an Internet Browser or smartphone app. Both these pieces are software are different forms of a client software.
With Forex VPS Servers, a very specific type of application needs to be used and because we all will be using different operating systems, Windows, Apple Mac and various versions of Linux like Ubuntu, you’ll have to use the client application specific to your operating system which will then connect to your providers Forex VPS.
Windows – Remmina Remote Client
Mac Users – Microsoft Remote Desktop found in the App Store.
Linux Users – Remote Desktop Viewer (works great)
Same as Windows, this is my preferred client since I’m on Linux often.
All 3 flavor clients are free downloads(at the time of this writing)After receiving the address to the VPS and login details from your Forex VPS provider, your remote client software will open a familiar looking desktop located on a remote machine. The provider I chose uses a Windows server so the desktop I will see on my client is a Windows desktop.
Install Metatrader after logging into your Forex VPS
Using the Forex VPS will be no different than using your local computer. Open up a browser in the VPS , go to your brokers home page and download a copy of metatrader from you Forex broker. For my VPS it was just a Windows version of Metatrader from my broker TradersWay.
If you want to transfer the custom settings for your Metatrader like charts and indicators, you can either install Dropbox on your VPS, or compress theses files on your home computer, ZIP them and use Google Drive, then access Google Drive from within the VPSA good Forex VPS provider will usually assist you if setup and installation gets too confusing or too technical, this is really where a paid VPS service will really pay off if you’re a newbie. For me personally .
All I do is log in from time to time to make sure everything is in order, and it usually is. The only tricky thing about installing metatrader on your Forex VPS is when you install and want to run several separate instances of Metatrader. This usually is the case if you use more than 1 broker, of if you have several separate accounts with one broker, and each account needs a different Expert Adviser to execute trades on that account.
You have install each Metatrader in its on unique folder and you have to be careful where you copy custom settings and Expert Advisers.
How many Metatrader EA’s can I have running at the same time?
This will depend on the type of VPS account you sign up for. The wonderful thing about Metatrader is that it isn’t heavily intensive on a computers resources, ie CPU and memory I usually sign up for a mid level/tier account and on average I will run 5-6 instances of Metatrader.
So 5-6 separate metatrader applications are open at the same time, as you may have noticed in the video. Within each separate instance of metatrader you could have any number of Expert Advisers running simultaneously trading different types of strategies.
Closing thoughts
Automated forex trading may not be for every trader. During my early days of trading, automated trading was in its infancy. There were lots of skeptics, doubters, VPS providers weren’t as accessible. While I would not recommend autotrading at the very start when you’re at the very earliest stages of learning to trade to forex market , I would certainly take advantage of how affordable and accessible this technology is as you gain more skill and knowledge. You can really take out the emotions and fear from trading if you find that trading robot that matches your trading goals and risk tolerance, while diversifying and minimizing your risks. If you haven’t already read the short piece on automated trading robots, you can check it out here:
One of my brokers is Traders Way. I’ve been very pleased with the service and the results I’ve gotten using their accounts for my autotrading They accept customers from the United States and allow funding and withdrawal via Bitcoin, something I thought was attractive. Click below to find out more
As for my Forex VPS provider I’ve also been with https://www.cheap-forex-vps.com/ the past few years, trading with a Basic level account. I have no affiliation with them whatsoever, other than I use their service, and their support and service have been excellent. I have no problems recommending them. Please share this info, so I can continue to make it available. Thanks for visiting stay tuned, good luck ,and good trading!!