What Every Forex Trader Should Know About Virtual Private Servers

Rachel Burstyn · Apr 10, 2024 · 5 minute read

Forex trading can be a very rewarding side hustle or a lucrative full-time career. The best Forex traders have the most useful attributes for the job: supremely confident, highly analytical, and the ability to remain calm under pressure.

Your technology needs to have the most relevant features, as well. It should be stable, secure, and super-fast. That includes your hardware, your software, and your VPS provider. Here are some of the best tech-stack tweaks every trader needs to make for maximal profits. 

What is VPS hosting for Forex?

A cloud VPS server is your dedicated space on a physical server that is split into isolated, high-performance sections. This provides a stable and secure space to make trades. A VPS is the best hosting environment for Forex trading because your trades won’t be disrupted if your home Wifi goes down, or your computer crashes. 

Forex trading is buying and selling currencies to benefit from changes in price. A Forex VPS is especially suited for traders, with super-fast connectivity, a high level of reliability, and increased security. Forex traders rely on low latency and proximity to their broker’s servers to minimize slippage and requotes. Slippage is caused when slow processing times cause a gap between a trade’s expected price and the price at which it is actually executed. A requote is a request to accept a new price before execution. They can both lead to delays and missed opportunities. Having the right environment can make all the difference, so let’s dive in. 

The Basics of Your VPS Server

A VPS has four main resources that determine performance: CPU (processing power), memory (RAM), storage space, and network bandwidth.  

CPU (central processing unit): This is the brain of the server, handling core functions like calculations and data processing. Forex trading platforms customarily need a CPU that can handle heavy loads.

RAM (Random Access Memory): This acts as your VPS’s short-term memory, storing frequently accessed data. Having enough RAM ensures smooth operation of your trading applications.

Storage space: Your VPS holds all your data in storage, including trading platform installations, historical data, and configuration files. Storage space isn’t as critical for performance, but using it efficiently can avoid unnecessary clutter.

Network bandwidth: The bandwidth determines the speed and volume of data transfer between your VPS and the internet. Low latency (minimal delay) in data transfer is crucial for executing trades promptly.

How to Get Maximum Trading Efficiency from Your VPS

You know how it is when you’re playing an old game on your phone: it lags, crashes, and drives you nuts. Well, the same thing can happen with outdated trading software. If you’re still rocking that ancient version of MetaTrader or haven’t updated your charts in forever, bugs, glitches, and compatibility issues may be slowing you down.

Fine-tuning parameters within your MetaTrader, or any other Forex platform, is also essential for maximizing VPS performance. This process may require calibrating refresh rates, limiting the number of visible charts, or reducing the amount of historical data loaded. Most important to remember: always use the latest versions of VPS trading platforms, and make sure your settings are optimized for best performance. 

Hardware

As you set up your computer to run like a well-oiled trading machine, one key area to look at is CPU usage. You want to make sure your forex trading apps aren’t getting bogged down by other programs taking up processing power. A quick win is disabling any unnecessary services or background processes. That could be things like cloud backup syncing, software updates, etc. 

While we’re talking performance, let’s not forget about RAM allocation. Having enough memory is crucial for your trading platforms and strategies to operate smoothly and seamlessly. The right RAM allowance keeps everything humming along nicely. 

Depending on your specific trading needs, it may also be worth optimizing your storage setup. Solid-state drives are speedier than traditional hard drives. And for Forex traders, having a blazing-fast and low-latency network connection is also critical. A delay of even a few seconds can sometimes mean the difference between profit and loss. 

Software

We’ve given you a slightly daunting list of tasks, but you don’t have to run a solo show. Harness the power of the AI robots to help you enhance your VPS server’s performance and get the most out of your hardware and resources. Here are three apps that will make your life easier so you can concentrate on making money. 

1. Memcached: A distributed in-memory caching system to reduce latency for data retrieval, which is crucial for high-frequency forex trading.
   
   

By caching frequently accessed data in memory, Memcached can provide much faster response times compared to directly querying a database.

2. NGINX (Pro-tip: it’s pronounced “engine-x”) is an open-source web server known for its speed, stability, and low resource consumption. Forex traders use NGINX as a load balancer, distributing incoming trading connections across multiple servers to ensure high availability during periods of high trading volume.
   
   It can also act as a reverse proxy server, sitting in front of trading apps and handling incoming requests.
   
   
3. Server monitoring software like Zabbix can be extremely useful for forex traders running their operations on a VPS. It monitors the health and performance of their VPS servers, including things like CPU usage, memory utilization, disk space, network traffic, and more.

Zabbix can also monitor real-time forex data feeds from providers like Dukascopy or   FXBlue, ensuring traders always have access to accurate and up-to-date market data.

Conclusion

At Kamatera, we understand that the success of your trading journey depends on your VPS’ speed, stability, and reliability. A Kamatera VPS server with all the optimization bells and whistles can significantly improve your trading performance. With 99.95% uptime, cutting-edge security features, and flexibility that lets you scale memory, storage, and processors up or down in a few clicks, you’ll be on your way to more consistent and profitable trades.