Trading through VPS, any experience?

For $10 you can only get a pretty low grade VPS..that's why you noticed it restarts so much.I'm not sure how much RAM you get but I'm assuming very little and it's not good for Metatrader.You probably want at least 512MB, especially since you said you run multiple instances.

If real money is at stake here, like you said there is because you trade a live account as well, please reconsider getting a better VPS.

I'm very familiar with the dedicated hosting and vps market...$10 can't get you enough for a trader's needs.

I'm very familiar with the dedicated hosting and vps market...$10 can't get you enough for a trader's needs.[/quote]

Thanks for the advise.Ive been running this for 3 months with no problem
Im not currently running an ea on my live account so maybe Ill keep it now for demo and see how it goes.

Its been reliable my largest concern was security

just to clarify my previous post...hope you didn't interpret it the wrong way.what i mean to say is that that it terms of technical specifications, $10 doesn't buy much.

I'm quoting something from Slhost, one of the best in the Linux VPS market.Prices represent the industry realistic average for this type of config(this is at the entry level in their offer):

disk space 10GB, 150GB bandwidth, guaranteed ram 256MB and 3 IPs.
configuration is flexible and disk space, ram etc can be increased.

this comes at a base price of $44.95 a month on a linux OS, with 24/7 managed service, free control panels, root access and backups.

the hardware specs of the server housing the VPSes:

1. Dual Core Dual Xeon Woodcrest Processors (4 Core Total)
2. 8 GB Registered ECC DDR RAM
3. SAS RAID 10 for optimal redundancy and performance
4. Redundant Power Supplies

Unfortunately, their standard offer only includes Linux based configurations.I've used their services before and they're amazing people.

However, I think Metatrader could eventually be convinced to run on a Linux system if a virtualization or emulation software is used like Wine for instance.Not sure if it would run flawlessly though.

A dedicated server from Slhost could most likely be arranged to run on a Windows config.

So..there are a lot of things to take into consideration when selecting a VPS or dedicated server for trading: operating system, available RAM, CPU and hard drive type and configuration, bandwidth, managed service(if something happens to the server you want to have someone to help you fix it) and backup facilities, very important feature.

You also want to ask the provider if they provide any server securization services.I know Slhost for instance does provide this service upon request and for a relatively modest fee.This usually consists in installing a firewall and many other configurations designed to protect the server from intrusions.

Thanks for your post

But Im embarrassed to say that Im actually paying $20 a month still cheap but I had paid for haif the time I thought.

Anyway have a good night Ive got to leave early in the morn
wont trade the London tonight

Commercial Network Services are good. IMO

Micjon

If cost is only $10.00 a month - This would be excellent for the beginner that only has one or so Demo running. Would not be the best for live trading of EA's ..... Thanks for the information.

I disagree with this approach. If you really want to get twin (or more) SEPARATE internet connections and link them together for redundancy, or purchase your own T1 or equivalent connection, then fine. But if you are going to spend that much time and effort to do this yourself AND MAINTAIN IT...... for much cheaper, you can get a very decent dedicated server or vps plan that is

ALWAYS on.
ALWAYS connected to the internet.
Always have power-generator backups
Always datacenter under 24/7 security.
Always monitored if any of their servers goes down.
Always connect to it via RDC if I have username/password (and perhaps other security features if enabled)

Yes for forward ea testing you can certainly use a spare laptop computer at home. But for forward testing where you want to be sure the above checklist is ALWAYS true or for live accts, why not spend $50-100/mo to get at least a decent VPS for an EA that is supposed to make you all these profits anyway?

As for actual server security, a pc at home is no more secure than a pc hosted remotely. It is only as secure as the host (YOU) programs it to be. But typically you wouldn't be advertising these servers anyway, so they will only be known to you. You have the basic firewall protection (and antivirus if needed). Plus most VPSs monitor have their own internal checks for their servers. Dedicated servers they can provide you with option on setting up additional security features. So I wouldn't be any more or any less scared than using my personal computer (I use a mac)

I know for a fact I would not trust my home internet connection to a live trading account where I have an EA running 24/7. The internet has been out enough times for me to know. And comcast is generally good, but it's when they are not good (service outages for whatever reasons). And it's understandable....residential internet is not expected to be up 100% of the time whereas datacenters ARE.

You can get dedicated server plans where they will maintain certain services (like regularly updating windows, giving you a virtual backoffice or doing manual backups, etc), but it will cost you more. If you just want the basics (always on server, internet to the server, windows desktop, 99.9% uptime), then you can get negotiate a better deal.

I will repost what I already said about latency and other things dealing with VPS. Btw, to answer the original topic question, my experience with VPS has been WONDERFUL. Once I got a dedicated server, NO freezeups, or anyone canceling programs behind by back. 100% access to server resources so I know my server resources are "GUARANTEED" because it is mine, no different that knowing that my laptop resources are guaranteed to me because I'm the only one using the laptop.

Again, not dogging VPS by any means. VPS has it's purpose as do dedicated server. For most people, VPS will work fine.

I can run NUMEROUS forward testing scenarios with a dedicated server. I can leave this week, come back in 2 weeks and my server will be exactly how I left it. I will choose when I will reboot it.

So the person who said dedicated server is overkill, it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Most of us here simply want a separate windows desktop where we can install mt4 or whatever trading platforms to it and trade unattended. We want to eliminate ALL possible reasons for having to attend to it and VPS/dedicated servers is the only solution that allows this, unless you spend the money and time and do what the datacenters do and put it at your house.

here is the repost:
------------
There are a few considerations when choosing a VPS.
- Latency
- windows version (2003 64 bit vs 32 bit)
- tech support/service
- price

Latency is the most important, especially for scalpers. This is the time it takes from data packets to go from your computer/server to the broker's server and back to the original requesting computer. For a deeper explanation of latency, view this article. The basic rule of thumb is that the closer the VPS or dedicated server is to the broker's servers, the lower the latency.

You obviously need a windows desktop, because mt4 and most other trading platforms use windows as their OS (sorry mac/linux users) But you can access windows desktop on mac using mac RDC. Most already come with server 2003 64 bit (yes you can still run 32-bit programs on 64 bit system). But in my case, I still had to have 32 bit until the licensing for the 64 bit came through. The 64 bit does make a performance boost, even for 32 bit applications.

Support varies GREATLY among service providers. No, not everyone provides phone support and I actually can understand why. 1/3 of the calls will often be from people asking how to turn on a computer. This ties up the phone from people who have real issues with their server and need attention. But those emails need to be replied to FAST. 30 minutes TOPS for normal issues. As I understand it,

In some cases, you may be able to get dedicated server for the same or similar price as the VPS. In this case, the dedicated server is always a better option, as this is your OWN server.

I can recommend CommercialNetworkServices.com CNS. Very upfront guys over there and fees are reasonable. For dedicated work, I can recommend GalaxyVisions.com . They were also very upfront with me and they will even let you visit the datacenter in New York if you want to. You can install stuff by hand. If you ask victor in sales that Josh from 4EverMaAT sent you, he may give you a deal.

I used forexvps.com, but had some service issues with them, although some other people that use them say they have little or no issues with them. Their servers are in Atlanta, GA, which isn't the greatest place as your best latency for the majority of brokers will come from New York City or a server that is right next to their servers.

I've also tried 1and1.com. Their "guaranteed" services is that they guaranteed to take up to 24 hours or longer to reply to tech support issue or take 1 hour to pick up the phone. They also will often send you to india call center first and they want to grill you for 10 minutes and they have no idea what you are talking about when you ask them specific questions about the server operation. (yes you can tell)
Another option is that your broker may offer co-location services or vps or server space for your eas right near their servers. That would probably be reserved for their premium clients, but worth asking. Again, the closer the trading server is to the broker server, the lower the latency.

The guaranteed resources were advertised as being big, but they limit the processor resources big-time. Or something (they wouldn't say). When i inquired about why was I unable to open up more programs despite the fact that I have plenty of ram left, they denied blocking any of my programs (known, working programs) and said that my programs were just crashing. (1 sec after starting up?) This company is what led me to my search for a better VPS, and then I learned that either a) go with a good VPS company or b) get your own server that you control the resources 100%. You control reboots and every aspect of it. It's YOURS. But be prepared to pay for it.

Price is self explanatory. I get my dedicated server for around 100/mo. THAT IS A SUPER DEAL. And that's for a quad-core amd with 2 gb ram. No backoffice extras except one button to reboot and a couple of graphs to measure . Just the system, windows 32bit 2003 standard (about to be 64 bit), a 10 (or 100) Mbps connection, and RDC connection with 99.99% guaranteed uptime. I am responsible for my own backups. (could get an extra hard drive and clone it) But for the price, what you get and having an always up connection and Good luck getting that deal again.

but for vps, plan on paying $30-80/mo for good trader package. And 50-250/mo for dedicated windows server. Per month.

Hello.
I use forexvps.net . But contabo is cheaper. Do you advise me to switch to Contabo for forex trading after leaving forexvps?
Do you believe it is a good idea?

I like cloudzy. One of the better ones. And on pretty much any OS and any part of the world for IPs NY UK Germany etc

And they do dedicated servers. Will connect from my phone or through any computer

I used forexvps

wasn't impressed with number and types of connections. Went back to cloudzy

Could not connect through a phone at a minimum