What is VPS and what can it do for you?

[Eric Alyea]

What is VPS and what can it do for you?

If you had a free VPS account???... How/What/When/Why would you use it?

Does anybody have any experience with VPS, I’m and old fart and want to try to keep up on this new stuff.

 

[jeremylocnguyen]

logmein.com

What is VPS and what can it do for you?

If you had a free VPS account???... How/What/When/Why would you use it?

Does anybody have any experience with VPS, I’m and old fart and want to try to keep up on this new stuff.

Eric,

VPS is Virtual Private Server. Let says you pay someone to have a computer access remotely. You can use any computers or laptops to access your files or programs on that server. You can work on the server anytime, anywhere, e.g. airports, buses, or train stations. VPS has another name Web Hosting.

VPS in Forex is the place where you install your MT4 platform and access remotely. For example, GallantFX.com and IamFX.com and other brokers may give you free VPS services; however, you must meet their requirement, e.g. maintain a live account at a certain balance.

Read this paragraph carefully because I will instruct you how to create a VPS at home for free.

First, you need to find an energy efficient desktop computer. I recommend AMD computer over Intel because it is faster when needed, low idiling energy use. Since you only use this computer to access MT4 platforms or other trading softwares, you do not need a powerful computer.

Second, use the www.logmein.com service online, they give you 14-days trial. They will help you setup your computer. If you decide to continue their service, you would have to pay a yearly fee. If you decide not to pay, they will give you free basic service for life, e.g. logon to your dedicate computer remotely.

VPS is great trading server for those who travel or on the street most of the time. There is small fee you have to pay to maintain VPS service. However, use www.logmein.comservice to access your dedicate computer at home for free, you would need a computer on 24/7 to trade Forex market.

Best,
Happy Trading

 

[Pharaoh]

Jeremy's idea turns a dedicated trading computer into a remotely accessible computer. For some people, this is all they need. For others, a true VPS is needed.

The two main considerations are:

1. How reliable is your electricity?

If you live in a rural area (or even some urban areas), power outages can be common. You'll need a good UPS to cover these, and even that may not be enough if the outages last long enough. Don't forget to plug your modem/router into the UPS in addition to the computer. There's no point in keeping the computer powered up to trade if you don't have an internet connection.

2. How fast and reliable is your internet connection?

At my home in the wilds of Florida, the ONLY broadband available is via satellite. Download speeds are fine, but there's always a small delay when I send a command to do something. My mouseclicks have to travel all the way up to a satellite in geosynchronous orbit, and then back down to a receiving station somewhere else before they are passed on to the internet. Needless to say, scalping isn't an option. Worse, a rainstorm or even heavy clouds can knock me offline.

When I travel, I use whatever connection I can get. Some are fast, some aren't. Some are up 99% of the time, some aren't.

If you've got lots of money on the table, an internet service interruption can be very expensive.

Most VPS services have redundant backup power supplies and redundant (and fast!) internet connections. Ping the MT4 server of a broker from the VPS server and from your home system. Unless you've got a really good connection at home (or a not-so-good VPS), the response time from the VPS should be significantly faster. This really won't help manual trading, since you'll be adding the delay from your home to the VPS lag time, but should reduce slippage and requotes for EAs and other autotrading significantly.

 

[Eric Alyea]

VPS & Fancy phone use

Thank you “jeremylocnguyen” and “Pharaoh” good concise answers. You guys know I love those brief but courteous answers (Myself, I’m still working on the courtesy part).
This brings up my next question:
VPS & Fancy phone use (Blackberry, I-Phone, etc.)???
The hand phone and MT-4 through a 3rd party/VPS to keep things running while you are on the run.
Any comments of experiences, minimum type phone that can use it, and usefulness without crashing your car would be appreciated.
I’m pretty much a stay at home trader, but knowing how to do things on vacation would be nice.

Most of the traveling “Super-Pro” traders that I have met are “Laptop-Wives”. They have the mobile connection on the laptop, and finding a Wy-Fy or plug in, not to mention a power source, and that is just part of the new trade business. The only time they are down is “Take-Off/Landing”
My question stands???... Besides “Take-Off/Landing”, what benefit does VPS/hand phone have over Laptop/com-link???

 

[Pharaoh]

I've never personally tried remote access via MT4 mobile or getting to a VPS or dedicated trading computer via a mobile device, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Since there is a mobile version of MT4, if all you want to do is check the market or occasionally tweak a live trade, you wouldn't need to access a 2nd computer. If you want an EA or to have trailing stops, then the VPS or dedicated trading computer would be needed.

Can someone out there who's played with this tell us how well MT4 mobile stacks up against remote access to another computer running MT4?

 

[5of7]

I have to say danger, danger will robinson. That was too much, and yet too little at the same time wasn't it.

Anyway, be careful with "forex" vps's. They have the absolute minimum ram (which is not nearly enough), and you are on the same server as every other forex trader.

So what does that mean?

I'm glad you asked.

Imagine if you will, it's a nice quiet morning, just before non-farm-payroll. You and 59 (yup 60 vps's per server) other forex vps traders have metaquotes sitting on the SAME server.

Suddenly, a flurry of ticks come flying in, and 60 MT4 platforms spike the CPU till there ain't nothin left. With the CPU pegged, and 59 other traders trying to calculate whatever indicator they have. Good luck, and welcome to lagville.

So, I think VPS's are a great idea. Find a non-forex vps. All those are hosting websites and other mambsy-pambsy applications. Then you'll have the entire CPU to yourself.

Then, add as much RAM as you can afford. Remember that the little VPS operating systems eats up nearly all of it. So add some RAM.

If you are really serious about it, buy yourself a 1U server, and have it hosted for $100 per month. Then it's ALL YOURS.

-Remotely Insane Trader 5of7 of TheCollectiveFX-

 

[Kaes Kniestedt]

Just my two cents -

I found the cheapest and most reliable VPS service was Gigenet cloud hosting. I run a Windows 2003 server with the minimum requirements for the OS and it costs me a little under ten dollars a month.

Cloud hosting is very cool because you can change the specs (CPU, memory, hard drive space) with a click of a button, as many times as you want. However, the minimum is enough to run several MT4s. Cloud servers also tend to be more reliable. A "Forex VPS" isn't anything special, they just install MT4 on there for you, so don't waste your money.

 

[Eric Alyea]

Worthwhile post

I have been caught in a gov rip tide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_current and have to swim parallel to shore for a while. I like this report and think this guy may be OK.
I always check this:
https://www.forexpeacearmy.com/forex-forum/search.php?searchid=221191
before I say this:
Worthwhile posts, make him PVT.