What is a VPS?

VPS stands for “Virtual Private Server” and is commonly used amongst traders who are running automated strategies (such as FAPTurbo). A VPS allows the trader to run a (robot) trading strategy continuously, night and day, without having to keep their own personal computers switched on. When a trader loads up their trading robot into a VPS it is then running on the VPS company computers, which they then maintain and keep running for you. You as the trader still remain in full control of your trading account and must make all decisions relating to your account and trading robot settings, as normal. 

 Whilst your trading robot is running on a VPS server you are able to log in to the account and have a look at how your trades are progressing. Some VPS providers may provide you with a small piece of software which you can just run on your computer to connect to the system. Other VPS providers require you to create a simple login on your desktop, this is as simple as (for Windows users) right clicking on your desktop, creating a shortcut, then entering in the information they provide you with. Either way the setup is relatively straightforward.

Known Problems With VPS

One of the most common problems on VPS is for “double” trades to start occuring. This is where the robot appears to be entering two identical trades and trading at twice the normal frequency. To prevent this you must make sure you sign out of your VPS in the correct way, and if you are unsure or think something may be wrong, to contact your VPS company as soon as possible, since double trading can mean double the risk, and double the amount of loss if you lose money. Generally, the correct way to log out of a VPS is to go to the Start Menu—>Shut down—>Disconnect. 

Another issue that people experience with VPS is memory overloading. This is when you are running too many trading platforms for the VPS to handle. If you overload your server it will crash and this can have a potentially very negative effect on your trading accounts if you happen to have trades open at the time. If you are trading live accounts and especially with larger accounts you might want to make sure that you do not get near to overload point with your servers, sometimes it is cheaper to just upgrade your VPS service than to risk having a crash and then losing some of your trading capital.

Which One To Choose?

VPS services vary widely in price, starting at under $10 a month and going up to $99 a month or more, depending on the company, the specifications of the VPS, and the level of service. You should be wary of all companies and seek reviews online or try to find other people who are using the company you are interested in to get an idea of how good or bad the service is.  There are some VPS services charging $69.99 a month (like Forex Hoster) whose service, customer support and reliability is no where near as good as others, such as ForexVPS who charge only $35 for a basic package. I personally use ForexVPS and have no trouble recommending them to others. 

When considering which VPS package to choose you will want to take into account how many trading robots and trading accounts you want to run at the same time. The basic package from ForexVPS will run two or three Metatrader4 platforms with no problem. If you intend to run more than that you would be best going for the professional level package, at $65 a month you are able to run six or more Metatraders at once.  

If you are ever unsure about exactly what you will get for your money with a VPS provider, don’t be shy- speak up and ask them. This contact with customer support can often tell you a lot about a company. A company who does not care even about its own sales should make you wonder how they will care for you once you are a customer. 

Transferring VPS Companies

If you are already with a VPS company but want to go to someone else, it is very easy to do, don’t feel you have to stick with one provider for evermore. Just contact them to cancel your payment (or click the links in your members area to cancel) and then when it is coming towards the end of your paid-for period with your old VPS company, register with the new one. Try to leave an overlap of a few days to a week so that you don’t miss any trading.

When you get your new VPS account, just setup your Metatrader on there and load up all your trading robots again, and you are done. Don’t forget to close out the trading robots on your old VPS or else you will get multiple trades.

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All the accounts shown on donnaforex.com for trading robots are hosted with ForexVPS.