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Set-up

Do You Need a VPS to Run an Expert Advisor?

An Expert Advisor only trades while MetaTrader is running. A VPS keeps it running around the clock. Here is when you need one and what to look for.

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An Expert Advisor trades only while MetaTrader is open and connected. Close the laptop, lose the connection or let Windows restart for an update, and it stops watching the market, including any trade it has open. A VPS solves that.

What a VPS is

00:0006:0012:0018:0000:00Home PCasleepasleepupdateupdateWi-Fi dropWi-Fi dropVPS15 h watching24 h watching
An EA trades only while MetaTrader runs. A home PC sleeps, restarts and drops its connection; a VPS keeps watching, including any trade it has open.

You reach it from your own PC or phone through Remote Desktop, install MetaTrader once, attach your Expert Advisors and disconnect. It keeps running whether your own computer is on or off.

When you need one

Trades held for hours or days

Or an EA that trades at night.

An unreliable connection

Or an unreliable power supply at home.

A strategy sensitive to delay

News trading, or a breakout system with a short stop.

Several terminals at once

Several accounts, or several EAs.

Only testing on a demo account, during the day?

Your own computer is enough.

What to look for

< 1 mssame data centre1 to 3 mssame city10 to 40 mssame continent70 to 150 msacross an oceanBroker
Distance is delay. Put the VPS in the data centre or city of your broker's server: commonly London, New York or Amsterdam. Typical figures, for illustration.
  • 2 GBmemory for one MetaTrader 5 terminal with a few charts
  • 5 msor less to the broker, from the right data centre
  • 24/5the hours the markets are open, covered
Uptime

A stated uptime figure, and an automatic restart after maintenance.

Windows

MetaTrader is a Windows program, so you need a Windows VPS.

Setting it up

  1. 1
    Order it, then connect

    Remote Desktop, with the details the provider e-mails you.

  2. 2
    Install MetaTrader 5

    From your broker, and log in.

  3. 3
    Install your EA

    Install your Expert Advisor and attach it to its chart.

  4. 4
    Disconnect, do not shut down

    Close the Remote Desktop window. The VPS keeps running.

No new licence needed

A K3Bxn licence is tied to your trading account number, not to the computer. Moving MetaTrader to a VPS does not need a new licence: install the Expert Advisor there and enter the same key.

See the VPS providers we use.

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