Q’s & A’s…”VPS guide for MT4″
this post is dedicated to the Q’s and A’s for the recently published guide on how to make use of Windows Virtual Private Servers(VPS) to run your MT4 trading platforms. i’ve spent a considerable amount of time researching and experimenting with VPS for this purpose.
the VPS guide for MT4 is a 25-page long guide, and contains everything you will need to get started. if you would like to get a copy of that guide, click here : http://ckowyong.com/blog/?page_id=20
if you would like to be updated when new information about VPS or profitable EAs becomes available, do consider joining my mailing list.
ps : i respect your email privacy.
buy ck a coffee :O)
ckowyong said,
October 1, 2007 @ 4:13 am
please leave your technical queries about the ‘VPS guide for MT4′ here. thanks!! - ck
Rudi said,
October 16, 2007 @ 3:06 pm
dear ckowyong…
i have read your vps manual already…want to ask you…when i order from swvps.com ,there a choice..hosting signup,this mean i must create an domain name?
Thx
ckowyong said,
October 16, 2007 @ 3:11 pm
hi Rudi,
i can’t remember exactly, but i think you can just put anything you want when prompted to enter a domain name. just make sure you are not changed extra for things that you do not need. total charge for the Windows VPS whould be US$19. if you see more, then you probably have selected more than you need.
hope that helps. - ck
Kevin said,
October 24, 2007 @ 11:57 am
Good job with the manual. I used it to setup my VPS. Works great!
ckowyong said,
October 24, 2007 @ 12:03 pm
hi Kevin,
glad you found it useful :O) - ck
Kevin said,
October 24, 2007 @ 12:08 pm
A technical question for you that is somewhat related to vps. How are you using your vps to make your mt4 statements available for everyone to look at? It is a great way to see the progress of your ea without logging into your server!
ckowyong said,
October 24, 2007 @ 1:19 pm
hi Kevin,
yes… that was my intention too… to be able to see how my account is doing from anywhere, anytime.
to do that, you will need a website so that your MT4 can FTP the statement to your webserver. you can get a cheap one from my ‘good deals’ section. the one at 3ix costs only US$1 per month… one of the cheapest i’ve come across so far. once your domain and web-server is ready, just drop me a mail and i’ll pass you more information.
hope that helps.
- ck
ps : this blog is hosted at 3ix. as long as you pay your bills promptly, everything should work well.
Rudi said,
October 24, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
i have already finished the vps installation process…and know all the metatrader are running well…thx ckowyong…:)
if i want the metatrader open on maximized window..what command i must add on file “start.cmd” ??
ckowyong said,
October 24, 2007 @ 4:41 pm
hi Rudi,
i tried looking for an answer but found nothing. you may want to try posting at MetaQuote’s forum or support center. - ck
Leo said,
October 28, 2007 @ 9:35 pm
Thank you SO MUCH for the guide, it was extremely helpful. It was very nice of you to take the time to write it so clearly and thoroughly.
ckowyong said,
October 29, 2007 @ 3:20 am
hi Leo,
glad it helped :O) - ck
Rudi said,
November 7, 2007 @ 6:31 pm
i found another problem about remote connection..
i connect to the vps and finish the setting,and ea already run..and after that my friend make a connection too to the vps..the vps will make a new another session(profile)…so when the EA Open Position,it will double….
can u help me how to solve this problem?
thx
ckowyong said,
November 7, 2007 @ 6:39 pm
hi Rudi,
as long as both of you use the ‘CONSOLE’ method to connect, both of you should see the same session…. although i believe only one at a time. - ck
Cyberpasta said,
November 17, 2007 @ 5:08 am
I can’t make my VPS autologin. I follow step by step your guide but when I restart the vps a log in is required.
ckowyong said,
November 17, 2007 @ 5:57 am
hi Cyberpasta,
could you check if the registry settings that you have made are still there after a restart? if they are not there, then you may want to relook into the part of the guide that emphasis on the need to login in CONSOLE mode.
btw, which VPS provider are you using? SWVPS or VPSLAND…etc?
hope this helps - ck
Cyberpasta said,
November 17, 2007 @ 6:56 am
I’m using VPSLAND. I htink now is ok. I connect to my VPS, login and Metatrader was there running!! Before when I logged , Start task begun running and then Metatrader, maybe a didn’t let enough time to restart. (Sorry for my english)
ckowyong said,
November 17, 2007 @ 7:02 am
hi Cyberpasta,
cool. i’m glad it’s working now :O). btw, could you give me some feedback on the MT4 Guide please? thanks - ck
cyberpasta said,
November 22, 2007 @ 7:28 am
Today seem not working, very extrange!! Just a question, when I edit the registry, I see AutoAdminLogin, the default value is 1, what this means?
Thanks very much for your help and your vps guide.
ckowyong said,
November 22, 2007 @ 9:49 am
hi cyberpasta,
AutoAdminLogin=1 means that the system will use the administrator’s username and password (if available in the registry) to log in automatically whenever the system starts up.
- ck
cyberpasta said,
November 26, 2007 @ 8:09 am
I was wrong, it was workint fine, but I connected from other computer, so I was logged into another session, I don’t like this very much but better than nothing.
Thanks again for your guide.
ckowyong said,
December 6, 2007 @ 7:19 am
Glenn Bacon (creator of RobinHood and TreasureFX) has launched a new website : http://www.getforexsoftware.com
… and it was very nice of him to seek permission to reproduce this “VPS Guide for MT4″ on his website to benefit the forex community :O) i’m very flattered :O)
link : http://www.getforexsoftware.com/vps/vps-guide-for-mt4.html
mynor said,
December 17, 2007 @ 11:34 am
Hi ckowyong
You have done a great job and good works on the explaining the set up on VPS to the cyber comunity
I have read ur instruction and needs futher clarification on step 4
(Configure your MT 4 to start automatically when window start up)
What is the purpose for.As long as the icon in my VPS i can log on my MT manually
Step 5(disconecting from your VPS and securing it.)
As long as it runs on VPS what matter happens on our PC(power down/line disconnect) the MT will keep on running.onVPS
Can you create 10 icons of IBFX on the VPS.The purpose is to run the EA on 10 manage account.simutaneously
ckowyong said,
December 17, 2007 @ 8:18 pm
>Configure your MT 4 to start automatically when window start up
A : in case your VPS restarts itself for some reason (power-outage, OS error…etc), you can be sure that your MT4 will come up after the OS reboots. as a VPS is a small portion of a node, if there’s a critical error in another VPS on the same node, the entire node may reboot (and so does your VPS). unless you are sure that your service provider informs you every time this happens, you may be better off automating it. furthermore, automating it will eliminate the need to rush to a computer to log in and start it manually… unless you or your EA can tolerate a couple of hours (being optimistic) of down time.
>Disconecting from your VPS and securing it.
A : it’s meant for the less technical readers… as some may think that if they power down their personal computer, the VPS might shutdown too.
>Can you create 10 icons of IBFX on the VPS.The purpose is to run the EA on 10 manage account.simutaneously
A : you can create as much as the available RAM allows you to. the basic plan from SWVPS and VPSLAND can only run about 4. running 5 will be stretching it. it also depends on how “light” or “heavy” your EA is…. and how many charts is it attached to. you’ll need to test to find an optimum level.
to install multiple instances of MT4, install it in a different folder everytime you want to add an instance.
eg. :
“C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4\terminal.exe”
“C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4.1\terminal.exe”
“C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4.2\terminal.exe”
“C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4.3\terminal.exe”
this will give you 4 instances… but you will only have 1 icon on your desktop. you will then need to duplicate the icon and specify in each the new path to each instance.
you can monitor your VPS health at the VPS control panel (not the one you see after logging into your VPS). the URL to access your VPS control panel should look like this : https://111.222.333.444:4643
if you see utilisation at 90%, better don’t add any more instance of MT4.
- ck
mynor said,
December 18, 2007 @ 10:07 am
Ckowyong
1)To restart the VPS .I think i will scheduled it weekly ie Saturday or Sunday.
But in Swvps and VPS there are a control panel where you can restart or reboot our VPS from the web.Which is the better option?Configure the restart at our VPS or through the web?
2)For eg i have 10 accounts so for the automatic start of 10 acounts.i have to create 10 start.cnd in the start up folder in the VPS?
1 Meta file eats up 100 mb of space so 10 meta is around 1 G .the utilasation is only 20%..If i have more than 10 manage accounts i have to upgrade to 10 G VPS.
ckowyong said,
December 18, 2007 @ 4:33 pm
hi mynor,
you are right. restart for SWVPS has to be configured in the VPS control panel… the method documented in my guide is only good for VPSLAND. technically, there’s no difference whether configured within the VPS or at the control panel. both does the same thing… ie. run the shutdown.exe program.
you don’t have to create 10 x start.cmd file. open the start.cmd file in NotePad and you will know what needs to be done.
- ck
mynor said,
December 18, 2007 @ 11:14 pm
Suppose i have 4 icons on my VPS
“C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4\terminal.exeâ€
“C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4.1\terminal.exeâ€
“C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4.2\terminal.exeâ€
“C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4.3\terminal.exeâ€
ping localhost -n 30
start “1″ “C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4\terminal.exeâ€
exit (autostart for first icons)
How about autostart for second icons
ckowyong said,
December 18, 2007 @ 11:22 pm
it will look something like this :
ping localhost -n 30
start “1″ “C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4\terminal.exeâ€
ping localhost -n 5
start “2″ “C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4.1\terminal.exeâ€
ping localhost -n 5
start “3″ “C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4.2\terminal.exeâ€
ping localhost -n 5
start “4″ “C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4.3\terminal.exeâ€
exit
mynor5535101 said,
December 19, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
ckowyong
Thanks for the comand of the start cmd files.I have found another company offering the VPS http://www.commercialnetworkservices.com/VPS/Windows/Traders/PremiumEAs.htm
ckowyong said,
December 19, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
if you tell them i referred you, they will know what you need. Barry from CNS have been through my VPS guide before and we have emailed a few times.
you can contact him at : barry@commercialnetworkservices.com
ck
ckowyong said,
December 19, 2007 @ 5:54 pm
once again…
Barry Bahrami ( email: barry@commercialnetworkservices.com )
Commercial Network Services
http://www.CommercialNetworkServices.com
if you use this link, they will know you came from this site and will give me a little bit of coffee money to keep this blog going : http://hsp.commercialnetworkservices.net/redirector.cgi/ID,0f33af3088
thanks for the support in advance :O)
- ck
mynor said,
December 20, 2007 @ 1:11 am
ckowyong
When we leased the VPS of vpsland and Wsvps what are the basic sofware that already load in the VPS.
1)Is there Internet Explore? or Mozilla firefox or Microsoft office..
2)How to transfer file from our PC to our VPS.? Is there a facilty to transfer form the web? or by emailing ourself?
ckowyong said,
December 20, 2007 @ 1:50 am
hi mynor,
1) a VPS comes with no additional software…Internet Explorer is available though since it’s part of the Windows operating system.
2) you’ll have to email to yourself. that’s the easiest way, but not the only way.
- ck
mynor said,
December 20, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
Hi Ckowyong
Once we rent the VPS we will get our web Virtual Private Server’s control panel website address eg.Http://64.111.222.333:3456 / .What are the facilty we have when we acces this site form our PC. Could we upload our file from our PC and then transfer it to our VPS?
ckowyong said,
December 20, 2007 @ 12:44 pm
explore it a bit. if there’s a file manager and an upload function, then “YES”.
else, you will need to email the file to yourself, then go into your VPS to access your web-based email to detach the file into your VPS.
Rudi said,
December 20, 2007 @ 7:02 pm
hi mynor,
just want to share…
u can use ftp://11.222.333.44/ too for upload file to vps…
ckowyong said,
December 20, 2007 @ 9:56 pm
hi Rudi,
tks for sharing :O) - ck
mynor said,
December 22, 2007 @ 7:31 pm
Ckowyong
1)Try to download files from my email in the VPS.”security setting doest not allow you to download file” But…the files from public forum i can download in my VPS.
2)Conection to my VPS i do this way Start=>program=>accessories==>comunication=> remote desktop.
I try to creat short cut in the step you gave but fail.
Rudi
I use ftp://11.222.333.44/ too for upload file to vps but cannot
mynor said,
December 23, 2007 @ 12:18 am
I have found a very simple method of transfering local file to VPS
Remote Desktop connection==>Option===>Local Resorce===>Tick disk drive,
Then click Connect..Then on you VPS you go to My computer and you can see your local files
ckowyong said,
January 4, 2008 @ 5:52 am
thanks for sharing Mynor :O)
good tip!! :O)
Luk said,
January 4, 2008 @ 11:28 pm
I just started looking at the VPS option and checked out your favorite VPS services. vpsland.com/winplans.html has double ram limited offer right now. I think im going to take advantage of this offer. Not sure if you want me to put you as reffering party, if you have any type of relationship with them.
Regards. Luk.
ckowyong said,
January 5, 2008 @ 3:32 am
Luk,
VPSLAND does not pay commissions for referrals…. so it does not really matter :O)
…but thanks for the thought anyway. really appreciate it :O)
- ck
ckowyong said,
January 5, 2008 @ 4:32 am
regarding how to publish your MT4 statements onto a website so that you can see your statements anywhere-anytime, you will first need to have a website where you can upload/ftp the statements to.
to get your own website, you can register one for yourself at http://www.3ix.com. if you don’t mind, you could use my affiliate link to order it : http://www.3ix.org/sys/aff.php?aff=2371
just take their cheapest plan at $1/month and also pay the $12 per year for your domain name (ie. http://www.yourname.com)
after ordering, 3ix will inform you when your web-space is ready for use. you do not need to create a website or anything like that. all you need is your personal web-space for you to upload/ftp your MT4 statement to… so you can access it at anytime/anywhere.
over at the MT4 platform, you will need to use the “PUBLISHER” feature to set up the statement upload. here’s an example of how it will look like :
http://www.ckowyong.com/blog/members/mt4_publisher.gif
the above is by no means a step-by-step guide of setting it up…. so you will need a fair bit of exploration to get this going. please give it a try and post your questions here if you hit any road-blocks.
- ck
ckowyong said,
January 5, 2008 @ 4:43 am
email feature is dependent on the EA. if the EA allows it, you can enable it at the EA and then set up the EMAIL feature like what you see here :
http://www.ckowyong.com/blog/members/mt4_email.gif
it’s a technical thing and it’s hard to explain everything you see on the picture. but basically, you will need to configure your SMTP server and account details into MT4 to have it send email alerts to you.
if you want them to be sent to your mobile as an SMS, you will need to check with your mobile provider if they have an SMTP server you can use to send the SMS out from your VPS. the destination email address will then look like mobile-number@mobile-company.com
this is the best i can do without going into the gory details about SMTP servers and accounts…etc etc.
- ck
EA on remote servers ? - Page 12 - Forex Trading said,
February 12, 2008 @ 6:01 pm
[...] i could not being connected continuously thanks alot please see if this answers your question : forex blog by ckowyong - finding the best forex expert advisor… » Q’s & A’s&#… regards - [...]
trias said,
February 14, 2008 @ 2:14 am
ok, can i use other software to autorestart?
second, vps looks more slowly than localcomputer, is it normal?and do you know how to accelerate it? thanks
ckowyong said,
February 14, 2008 @ 5:41 am
hi trias,
yes… you should be able to use other s/w to restart.
it’s normal that the VPS feels slow… you are looking at it over the internet… so it’s bound to be slow. speed should be usable though. you could explore http://www.logmein.com for an alternative access method (vs Remote Desktop Connection)… i think LogMeIn has better data compression which makes the screens faster.
- ck
Brandon said,
February 16, 2008 @ 8:44 am
Thank you very much for the guide CK, I would have been lost without it.
I am having a bit of trouble with the daily restart though. I am using swvps and I followed the guide perfectly and got everything to work but the MT4 session boot up after scheduled restart.
The vps will restart as scheduled but when I log back in from my base PC the MT4 session is not up. It is failing to boot up with the VPS restart. But it does start up 30 seconds after I log back in from my base PC.
Does anyone know where I might look to fix this perhaps? Thank!
bayai75 said,
February 27, 2008 @ 9:28 pm
Hi!
I have read your Manual guide and found that it is interesting. I try to create the shortcut and type exactly the example that you gave in page 5 except that my VPS ID address but it said that it could not found.
Do I need to download anything before I could proceed with the creating shortcut. Please advise.
Thank you,
Regards
bayai75
Craig said,
March 2, 2008 @ 12:40 am
Thanks a million for the manual! I would’ve never figured it out without it. Once suggestion - It may be useful to state that the directions do not work with Win2000. I have Win2000 on my laptop and it could not find the mstsc.exe file. I then tried it on my desktop (WinXP) and it worked fine. Is there any way of getting the console shortcut on Win2000?
ckowyong said,
March 2, 2008 @ 12:47 am
hi Craig,
thanks for the feedback. really appreciate it.
you’ll find what you need here : http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/tools/rdclientdl.mspx
- ck
ckowyong said,
March 2, 2008 @ 12:54 am
hi Brandon,
does the start.cmd start the MT4 properly when you invoke it manually?
are you absolutely sure that you are logging into the VPS in CONSOLE mode? the command line in the shortcut should read something like this :
mstsc.exe /v:123.333.444.555 /console
if both the above are fine, then i may need to log into your VPS to have a look to see what’s wrong. let me know how it goes.
- ck
ckowyong said,
March 2, 2008 @ 1:26 am
hi bayai75,
could you email me the command that you are using in your short cut please? i will need the actual IP address to check.
email to ck@ckowyong.com
tks - ck
Ben said,
March 27, 2008 @ 6:23 pm
Hi Guys
If anyone trying to administer their VPS under console mode I strongly recommend the following free application called Royal TS.
http://code4ward.net/CS2/Default.aspx
For the non techies its very easy to use.
Thanks to CK for his VPS manual too. ;-)
Good Trading!
Regards
Ben
Mike said,
March 30, 2008 @ 11:37 am
Hi
we have been attempting all kinds of methods of connecting and taking over the console using the mstsc /V: ip /console from windows Vista. but know mater what we do it starts a new session and does not take over the console. However when using the same command from another machine OS windows server 2003 it will work and take over the Console session as needed. I have a suspission that this may have something to do with Vista or there are some default setings that are throwing us off. Do you have any idea or have heard that Vista has issue with this RDP Console OverTake?
Mike said,
March 30, 2008 @ 11:58 am
Never Mind
Found the issue. Windows Vista does not support the /Console switch by design. the work around is to use /admin instead of /console. detaild artical can be found here http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2008/01/04/mstsc-exe-no-more-console-switch-in-rdc-6-1.aspx
Great blog. Please keep this gowing. and thanks for the help
aduka said,
April 2, 2008 @ 12:57 pm
hi CK,
i already got my vps and instll everything follow your guide
but i wonder why my vps very very slow connect to inthernet?
not just connect internet i click any icon at my destop also like that?
is that normal??
tq
Sugeng said,
April 2, 2008 @ 3:59 pm
aduka. See CK’s reply to Trias on February 14, 2008 @ 5:41 am above.
Odirlei said,
April 7, 2008 @ 9:41 am
Hi,
I have a SWVPS account ando I would like to konw if anyone know what the difference between:
Program Files
Program Files (x86)
And were I have to save my MT4.
Regards.
ckowyong said,
April 7, 2008 @ 10:04 am
hmm…. seems like SWVPS are using 64-bit verison for their Windows Server…. a bit unlikely, but that folder “Program Files (x86)” indicates so.
from Microsoft :
“Windows x64 Edition redirects the \Program Files directory for all programs that are 32-bit during the installation to the \Program Files(x86) directory. Programs that 64-bit are installed into the \Program Files directory.”
to play safe, just install a fresh MT4 and let the system decide where to put it. should not go wrong that way. as far as i can see from MetaQuotes.net, MT4 is still a 32-bit application.
ck
mynor5535101 said,
April 8, 2008 @ 10:04 am
I am using http://www.vpsland.com/ With this VPS they gave me the facility to control my VPS through the web .They caledd it VZPP control panel From this web i can restart my VPS ,upload file and other facility..It is very convinience
Kian said,
April 9, 2008 @ 10:50 pm
why do we need to schedule a reboot for the VPS? How often should it be? is it necessary to do it every day or once a week will do as well?
ckowyong said,
April 10, 2008 @ 1:22 am
hi Mynor,
yes… you can use VZPP to control and work with your VPS too.
hi Kian,
the frequency for the restart is a personal preference. i do a daily reboot because i’ve seen that the statements that i publish to my website sometimes fail to upload. and by rebooting daily, the uploads have been working well.
rebooting on Sat or Sun weekly is perfectly sound in my opinion.
ck
mynor said,
April 10, 2008 @ 7:50 am
Auto restart MT 4 when we restart our VPS.
Just clik right mouse button at the at start menu==>open===>program folder===>start up folder
Then copy and paste your short cut to this folder
peter smith said,
April 10, 2008 @ 7:44 pm
hi ckowyong,
first thnks a lot for your guide it’s really a nice piece of work !
my trading is running in swvps and with an expert advisors. so my question is:
if i connect to my account trought my smartphone and found that my EA is doing really wrong and i want to cancel the opening orders, so can i cancel them trought my smarphone ???
if it is possible, it means my EA will continu to generate new trades until i stop it from my swvps ??? so i have to cancel each new trade trought my smartphone one by one until i stopped my EA in my swvps ???
thnks for your help
peter
ckowyong said,
April 11, 2008 @ 4:29 am
hi Peter,
yes… you got it right :O)
ck
Kian said,
April 11, 2008 @ 4:40 pm
I’m using swvps and trying to configure the auto restart of my vps. I followed the steps given in the manual to test run the “daily restart” but only a flash of black screen appear (similar to the black command prompt screen when you run the “start.cmd”), then nothing happened.
Does anyone know what’s the problem?
dave said,
April 15, 2008 @ 10:36 am
Hello Ckowyong,
First - many many thanks for your Guide. It is very well written, very helpful. I’ve follwed all the steps and have the same problem Kian about has: at VPSLand when I try to run the restart I get a momentary flash of a black window with text
and then nothing happens.
What could be causing this not to work?
ckowyong said,
April 15, 2008 @ 10:41 am
hi Kian/Dave,
sorry for not answering that question sooner.
instead of using :
C:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe /r /t 60 /f /c “VPS Restartingâ€
… try simplifying it to just this :
C:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe /r /t 60 /f
let me know how it goes by posting the outcome here, ok?
hope this solves the prob.
ck
Kian said,
April 16, 2008 @ 1:07 am
Hi Ckowyong,
This simplified method works.
Another way to run the restart is as follows (contributed by the support of SWVPS):
Create a file called “autoreboot.bat” on your VPS desktop. Inside it add
the following 3 lines:
shutdown -r
pause
shutdown -a
Then setup a scheduled task to run this file daily at:
Start -> All programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Scheduled Tasks
EliMarc said,
April 21, 2008 @ 9:07 pm
Hi CK
Thanks for the wonderful work done thru the vps guide. It’s really excellent.
Also thanks for this helpful blog.
I am still at the stage of choosing an appropriate vps.
I went thru all the posts and I have some questions (pard me if this message is long)
1) I have a Windows Vista installed; should I follow
Mike recommendation (March 30)? Can you give some more details?
2) I don’t have admin privilege on my (work) computer. I need
a web access; please explore more mynor thread about VZPP (April 8)
How it works? Is it provided as default or add-in?
3) If VPSLand provide web access, then I prefer using their service
4) vpsland offer 1 remote desktop connection, while wvps offer 2. What’s
the difference? Is this the number of remote access that I can have?
5) I am always on travel and I need UNLIMITED access from ANYWHERE…
How to overcome this? Is web access the solution?
6) What about security? can anybody “view” my vps? We need this vps
to do trading work… and of course we do not want any spies!!
Thanks in advance
dave said,
April 22, 2008 @ 7:31 am
CK - the new instruction on the restart worked fine.
Thanks a bunch. Your guide is excellent & now I just need to find the right EA to run in the background and make me a few dollars richer every day.
I’ve flipped some well deserved coffee money into your paypal jar - thank you.
Dave
ckowyong said,
April 28, 2008 @ 10:21 am
thanks Dave :O) coffee very much appreciated :O)
Mark said,
May 1, 2008 @ 8:06 pm
Hi CK,
Thank you for your wonderful free gift on the server user guide. The word is spreading fast. Anyway, thank you very much.
Quick question, the vpsland is offering 64 bit and 32 bit vps for the same price. Which one to choose for running mt4 application?
If I choose the cheapest vps with 256 mb ram, what is the maximum ea i could run at any given time?
Thanks again.
Mark
ckowyong said,
May 2, 2008 @ 9:18 am
hi mark,
it’s my pleasure :O) i’m really happy to know that it has been useful to others :O)
regarding 64-bit, it will only make sense if MetaQuotes announces that they have a 64-bit version of MT4 that runs better than the existing 32-bit version on a 32-bit machine. else, i’ll stick with the normal 32-bit packages for now.
from my experience with VPSLAND and SWVPS, the basic package should be able to run 4 instances of MT4 without much issues, assuming that each is trading 2 pairs(ie. 8 pairs in total). but that said, it also depends on the way the EA is written. complex ones will require a lot of processing power and RAM, and so does those that re-evaluates that charts on every tick movement on the pairs. i’ll suggest that you put on 2 EAs first and monitor the RAM usage on the VPS Control Panel for at least a day before adding more. try not to utilise over 80% of the RAM to be safe.
with EAs like SHARK and GRIFFIN, 4 should not be a problem. with monsters like STEINITZ’s, i would estimate 2 is the max if you ran it on 12 pairs each.
hope the above helps.
ck
ps : the links above are not affiliate links… so feel free to click on them! :O)
jimmy said,
May 3, 2008 @ 11:46 am
Hi CK
I am very new to this EA n VPS thing, would like to know once installed, must I need to let my home PC running 24hr or I can simply shut down?
Thanks
Jimmy
ckowyong said,
May 3, 2008 @ 10:48 pm
hi Jimmy,
if you run your EAs on a VPS (virtual machine) that’s located at the service provider, you will not need to keep your computer running. your EA will continue to run on the VPS as it’s not dependent on your home PC.
hope that helps.
ck
EliMarc said,
May 4, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
A question to mynor and CK
Hi,
In your April 8 comment, you mentioned that “vpsland gave the facility to control the VPS through the web.They caledd it VZPP control panel From this web i can restart my VPS ,upload file and other facility…”
Can you explore this point? is this same as Plesk control panel?
I purchased Lite Plan but when I asked about web connection I got the following reply from vpsland support:
“We do not provide plesk control panel with lite vps, hence you are not able to access the url:- https://75.127.—.—:—-
If you wish to have plesk control panel, then you have to upgrade your server to next available plan”
Thanks in advance
EliMarc
ckowyong said,
May 5, 2008 @ 5:08 am
hi EliMarc,
yes… what VPSLand offered when i signed up back in Aug 07 was PLESK… and it was free. from what you said, seems like they have revised their packages now. i am no longer with them since Feb 08.
SWVPS calls it Virtuozzo Control Panel before…. and it does allow file upload and reboots. they seem to call it PLESK now too… and are charging $6.95 p.m. for it now for new subscribers.
hope that helps - ck
EliMarc said,
May 5, 2008 @ 3:01 pm
hi CK,
Thanks for your reply
This blog is extremely helpful
I will go for the upgrade…
But before that, please answer the following question:
If I upgrade and get Plesk Control Panel, would I be able to access my VPS through https://75.127.–.–:—-??
knowing that when I click on this (https:…) I am getting now the following error message:
Error Code: 502 Proxy Error. The specified Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) port is not allowed. ISA Server is not configured to allow SSL requests from this port. Most Web browsers use port 443 for SSL requests. (12204)
Awaiting your answer
Thanks in advance
EliMarc
ckowyong said,
May 5, 2008 @ 9:19 pm
hi EliMarc,
sounds like your company’s firewall is not allowing you to use Plesk. and without admin rights to your own machine to install any 3rd party software like LOGMEIN, i must admit that i do not have a solution for you.
however, if all you need is to OBSERVE the trades at the office (instead of controlling them), you can read this post for an alternative way to achieve that :
http://ckowyong.com/blog/?p=28#comment-566
ck
EliMarc said,
May 12, 2008 @ 3:24 pm
Dear CK,
I want to share with you and the blog’s community, some problems that I am facing with vpsland.
I admit first that I am not technically sound, and that the problems might be associated with this reason. I therefore request any suggestion/help from you.
The problem: for at least 3 occurances, I was not able to access my vps due to reasons (unknown for me). VPSLand were restoring the service for me. One time with complete re-install of the vps.
Today I had same problem, and when I complained, I received the below explanation from vpsland.
Could you please explain to me what are these issues, how they happen and advise how to avoid such issues?
Many thanks in advance
EliMarc
============================================
From vpsland.support
——————-
The problem is that your vps is out of numsessions as you can see from the following QoS alerts that can also be verified from within your Power Panel’s Alerts section:
2008-05-11 07:11:34 5140 The barrier was reached numsessions
2008-05-11 07:11:44 5140 90% of the barrier was reached numsessions
2008-05-11 07:53:04 5140 The barrier was reached numsessions
2008-05-11 07:53:24 5140 90% of the barrier was reached numsessions
Please take care to logout the vps whenever you rdp the server.
In the interim, we’re now rebooting your vps for you and it should be available shortly.
Thank you,
VPSLAND.com
ckowyong said,
May 13, 2008 @ 9:02 am
hi EliMark and all,
***** IMPORTANT UPDATE to the VPS GUIDE FOR MT4 *****
i’ve just whipped up an appendum to the original VPS Guide for MT4 to document a common issue that VPS users may face.
you can find the appendum here : http://ckowyong.com/blog/?page_id=20
regards,
ck
Mark said,
May 13, 2008 @ 3:49 pm
Hi CK,
I need to ask you how to publish the mt4 statement on the website so we could check our own trades during traveling abroad. Just like you did with yours. I noticed you briefly mention on the mt4 platform side; however, you didn\’t elaborate what to do on our web or hosting side. If you think it will take too much of your time, please don\’t worry.
Thank you in advance.
Regards,
Mark
PS: Really good job on the VPS Guide. Really amazing!. I don\’t know what we all do without your guide especially for non-techie. We should really all buy you coffee, really, I think we owe you a lot for publishing the VPS guide for free. Without saying it or not I believe a lot of people benefit from your guide. Coffee break … anyone?
Jon said,
May 19, 2008 @ 8:28 am
There is one main problem with auto logon especially for security minded techies among us. There is a far better, secure, and cheap way to assure that the auto logons are secure at all times. This is not an affiliate link so feel free to visit. This is the secure auto logon solution.
http://www.logonexpert.com/
Daud said,
May 26, 2008 @ 2:16 am
Hi CK,
Thanks for useful guides, it helps a lot.
I notice ur not with SWVPS and VPSland anymore. Have you found other VPS service which are good? Mind sharing?
ckowyong said,
May 26, 2008 @ 7:24 am
nice sharing Jon :O) thanks!
hi Daud,
i’m still with SWVPS, but have dropped VPSLAND. i stayed with SWVPS purely because they are cheaper. it’s hard to recommend a VPS provider these days as they all seem to boast reliability figures, but have difficulty upholding them. there have been some complaints about SWVPS lately, but personally, i’ve not had any issues with them since Oct 2007.
ck
Daud said,
May 26, 2008 @ 4:36 pm
hi ck,
I’m also with SWVPS for almost 5 months now, had no issue with them. I found 2 companies customizing their VPS for online trader:
http://www.commercialnetworkservices.com/VPS/Windows/Traders/TradersPlans.html
ww
http://www.pandanaran.com/vpstrader.php (Indonesia language)
Unfortunately, we need to pay more for this customization VPS which a bit expensive at least for me. They said, with traditional server it may reboot at any off-peak time. For this reason they create and customize their VPS purely for online trading.
Any opinion?
Peter said,
May 28, 2008 @ 2:44 pm
Hi Ck,
could you describe the content of the regfile “reg_update.reg” that we are supposed to add to the VPS registry?
Thanks
Peter
ckowyong said,
May 28, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
hi Peter,
if you open the .reg file in NotePad, you will see the following lines :
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
“AutoAdminLogon”=”1″
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
“DefaultPassword”=”enter_administrator_password_here”
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
“DefaultUserName”=”Administrator”
what the 3 lines does are (in the order as they appear above) :
1) configures the system to allow automatic logon in by administrators
2) hard-code the administrator’s password into the registry for use in the auto-logon process
3) sets the default username to “Administrator” so that the auto-logon will use this account and the password in (2) in the auto-logon process.
ideally, i should have a script to LOCK the workstation after it launches all the MT4 instances as a security measure. will likely issue an appendum to the manual once i figure that one out. if anyone has any idea, please do contribute.
thanks!
ck
ckowyong said,
May 28, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
hehe… just Googled it and found this command line that works with Windows XP :
“rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation”
got to test it out later in a CMD file on my VPS to ensure it works. this should make the VPS a little more secure.
ck
ckowyong said,
May 28, 2008 @ 3:08 pm
the command should work for Vista too! :O)
more information here :
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/quick-tip-create-shutdown-restart-lock-icons-in-windows-vista
Peter said,
May 28, 2008 @ 4:26 pm
Thanks, CK. Just one further question:
after I am logged into my VPS, is there a way to determine if I am logged on in console mode or logged in normally?
Because the screens seem to look alike whether I log in through your described shortcut and logged in through the normal Remote Desktop login?
ckowyong said,
May 28, 2008 @ 4:31 pm
hi Peter,
there’s no easy way to tell when you are not in CONSOLE mode. and because this is very important, i have written an important appendum to the original guide that addresses this rather critical issue. please find the appendum here : http://ckowyong.com/blog/?page_id=20
ck
Peter said,
May 28, 2008 @ 9:27 pm
Could somebody please explain why it makes sense to protect your auto-logon password through an additional app like \”logon expert\” mentionned above? If someone were to hack the server, my Windows would be up, running and open anyway. Or is it because the Windows Administrator logon password is the same as the VPS server (Remote Desktop) login??
And if I d use \”logon expert\” would I still go through the process described by CK (apply registry patch etc), or would there be changes?
Daud said,
May 28, 2008 @ 11:17 pm
hi Peter,
I use Process Explorer to check if there are any other MetaTrader active in other session. Check below picture, there are Red & Blue box which identify there are 2 session active.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ydaudw/HappinessIsVoyage/photo?authkey=U5pzo2zIYyI#5205446157928662130
terminal.exe is our MetaTrader. If you found there are 2 terminal.exe process active then you can terminate 1 of them.
You can download ProcessExplorer free from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx
Peter said,
May 29, 2008 @ 5:53 pm
Hi Daud,
excellent idea using ProcessExplorer. I have been running it on my computer without problems, but when trying to run it on my vps I get: Dbghelp.dll doesn´t support WIN Symbol Server. Install MS Debugging tools for WIN.
So far so good but I have to know which processor the vps is using to download the correct version. Which version did you take?
Daud said,
May 29, 2008 @ 7:35 pm
Hi Peter,
Am using the latest version 11.20. According to website it support on Windows 9x/Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Server 2003, and 64-bit versions of Windows for x64 and IA64 processors, and Windows Vista.
Direct download from here http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/ProcessExplorer.zip
Peter said,
May 31, 2008 @ 7:15 pm
There is a small problem I have with one of the autostart MT4 platforms: one of them doesn´t login automatically although SAVE ACCOUNT INFO is checked. The others do, but not this one, strange. Anybody know how to correct this?
Thanks.
Peter said,
June 1, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
hmm, seems to work now after logging on normally instead of with Royal TS…
Mark said,
June 10, 2008 @ 6:21 am
What about running MT4 as a service ? I’ve set it up, and it works when I restart the service manually, but I can’t see the program running when I log in after startup, although it says Started in the Services tool.
ckowyong said,
June 14, 2008 @ 11:51 pm
hi Mark,
if you are running it as a service, you might wanna enable this option in the service property setting : “Allow service to interact with desktop”.
have not tried it, but thought it’s worth a try.
ck
ckowyong said,
June 17, 2008 @ 10:41 am
Daud’s got a good writeup on his blog regarding how to detect duplicate MT4 instances in a VPS : http://ydaudw.blogspot.com/search/label/VPS
if you are seeing trades happening even though you have disabled or removed your EA, it’s likely that you have another MT4 instance running in the background. read Daud’s blog to find out how to check if this is the case.
ck
ckowyong said,
June 17, 2008 @ 12:36 pm
regarding how to get MT4 to upload the detailed statement to your website :
http://www.metaquotes.net/forum/3203
ck
Peter said,
June 20, 2008 @ 1:01 am
After a reported DDOS attack on my VPS I decided to install and use LogonExpert, just in case (so the logon password is no longer stored openly in the registry). For anybody that is going to use this: you have to set a logon delay (within LogonExpert) of 60 sec.
EliMarc said,
June 22, 2008 @ 9:27 pm
Hello CK
In order to avoid any hackers / intruders…
What’s the best protection (anti-virus , firewall…) to install on the vps?
Rgds
EliMarc
Chaunci said,
June 27, 2008 @ 4:39 am
Does anyone know the SMTP Server address for SWVPS?
ckowyong said,
June 27, 2008 @ 5:52 am
hi Peter,
thanks for sharing the tip. i am surprised that your VPS got attacked. i may need to look into this issue and see how best to protect the VPS….
hi EliMarc,
i do not have the answer to that question now. but one thing for sure… do not use the web browser in your VPS if you can avoid it.
if you are considering any anti-virus or firewall, make sure that you have the RAM and CPU capacity to run it.
hi Chuanci,
SWVPS does not provide any SMTP server. if you are trying to configure the email feature in the EA, you will need to have an email account with an ISP or email provider that supports this. contact your email provider for assistance.
ck
YOUNGSU LEE said,
June 30, 2008 @ 2:05 am
Dear ckowyong
Cencerning the window Operation System of vps, I have a question.
I’ve used a window XP on computer. but I saw that the swvps site recommend a window 2003 version of computer OS.
I wonder if I can use a window XP version.
Thanks in advance.
Colin said,
June 30, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
Can anyone recommend an independent monitor that will sit in the VPS and record up & down times?
ckowyong said,
June 30, 2008 @ 5:57 pm
hi Colin,
i have been looking for one too. it would be a really useful tool indeed.
hi Lee,
your computer can be XP or VIsta or even Windows 2000…. it does not matter.
what SWVPS mean is that the VPS that they offer is using Windows 2003… that’s all. no issues whatsoever.
ck
Peter said,
June 30, 2008 @ 6:33 pm
re: up and down times
Don´t know about other VPS providers, but the ones running VIRTUOZZO (like VPSLand) have an item called STATUS CHANGES on the left side bar of the management console. There you have a complete log of all the up & down times.
You have to ask your provider for the URL of the management console which is a different one from the subscription management page.
Colin said,
June 30, 2008 @ 7:58 pm
Thanks Peter,
I was prompted to ask the question because when I logged on this morning to SWVPS (approx 0700GMT) I was greeted with the ’startup’ screen, which was timed to execute at approx 0116 GMT. The 0116 startup was recorded in Status Changes, but not the 0700 one. That’s why I wondered whether there was a independent program (not run by the VPS) which would monitor up and down times.
Gudbjorg said,
July 7, 2008 @ 4:57 am
Hello ckowyong,
This is window that opens when I have clicked on the shortcut to myVPS Console, what can be the problem? If you could kindly advice, thanks
——————————————–
Remote Desktop Disconnected
The client could not connect to the remote computer.
Remote connections might not be enabled or the computer might be too busy to accept new connections.
It is also possible that network problems are preventing your connections.
Please try connecting again later, If the problem continues to occur, contact your administrator.
——————————————————————————————————————————-
ckowyong said,
July 7, 2008 @ 7:26 am
hi Gudbjorg,
i assume that this has been working before (please correct me if i’m wrong).
seems like your VPS is down. please contact your VPS provider for assistance.
ck
YOUNGSU LEE said,
July 10, 2008 @ 10:59 am
Hello ckowyong
I will just click on the X button on the top-right hand corner of the VPS window.
I know that my MT4 software will continue to run on the VPS.
When I want to turn my computer off ,I will turn off VPS window and my computer.
Will my MT 4 software still run?
Should I NEVER turn my computer off to run my MT 4 software
Rgds
YOUNGSU LEE
ckowyong said,
July 10, 2008 @ 11:28 am
hi Lee,
after clicking on the [X] for your VPS, you would have essentially DISCONNECTED your computer from your VPS (your VPS continues to run at the service provider’s computer center)
from that point onwards (after you are disconnected), everything you do to your computer will not affect the VPS. you can shut down, reboot, send it in for repair, or run it over with a car …. your VPS and MT4 will remain running as you have left it.
just remember to keep your IP address and password somewhere so that when you need to, you can always configure another PC with the necessary “CONSOLE” shortcut to access your VPS.
hope this helps.
ck :O)
Abdallah said,
July 20, 2008 @ 9:57 pm
Hello ck,
should I use your VPS guide for MT4 to install my vps or using the Appendum_A is quite enough for installation ?
Thanks
Peter said,
July 24, 2008 @ 12:13 am
a word of warning and call for programming help
A German VPS operator told me that VPS do get hacked from time to time, by script kiddies who use these VPS as relay stations for file sharing. There is no really effective countermeasure against this, other than scanning for unusual high volume traffic patterns which they routinely do. Also, you cannot install an alternative firewall because of the VPS architecture. One customer logged and reported a brute force attack of 48 logon efforts PER SECOND.
If somebody knows a programmer who could program something like an “intrusion trap”, this could really be helpful. Like a small utility that starts recording file alterations unless deactivated by a keyboard shortcut upon entering from outside. That could also backtrack and record the intruders IP address, and maybe even send an email.
ckowyong said,
August 6, 2008 @ 12:06 am
hi Abdallah,
you need to do the “VPS Guide” first AND THEN “Appendum A” to get a proper setup.
hi Peter,
most VPS service providers will have their own intrusion detection systems. i think the best thing to do is to be really careful about visiting websites from within your VPS. once a trojan or spyware gets into your VPS, that’s when it becomes vulnerable to attacks. otherwise, attackers should not know how to get to your VPS in the first place.
ckowyong said,
August 6, 2008 @ 12:27 am
** How to auto-publish a DETAILED REPORT to a website? **
by default, MT4 will only auto-publish the simple statement instead of the detailed statement. to fool MT4 into auto-publishing the detailed statement, you just need to do the following :
(assuming you use IBFX)
1. go to the C:\Program Files\Interbank FX Trader 4\templates directory
2. look for a file called “statement.htm” and rename to “statement_original.htm”
3. next, find the file called “StatementDetailed.htm” and make a copy of it, naming it “statement.htm”
there you have it! :O) the default report generated by MT4 will now be a Detailed Statement with the balance chart and detailed account information.
ck
Tamia said,
August 12, 2008 @ 2:16 am
There is a problem logging onto getforexsoftware.com.It won’t let me login to look at information on Glen Bacon’s new EA.It says authorization code 401 everytime I try to go to the website.
EliMarc said,
September 26, 2008 @ 1:39 am
Hi ck,
Please can you advise how to setup the email function in MT4?
I need to setup a gmail smtp, but I am not succeding
Secondly, once the email is set, HOW can I receive the Alerts to my email?
Thanks a lot
EliMarc
Weber Martins said,
October 17, 2008 @ 10:47 am
Hello, everybody!
I wonder if the administrators of vps service can copy and distribute our files without our consent. Which guarantees of confidentiality have we got?
Thanks in advance…
Weber
Ashok from india said,
October 27, 2008 @ 2:52 am
I am ashok from India, I am newbie in forex trade, so I am search in online, lot of automated software is available, but I con’t understand which one is the best, then go to more search, I read your block, What a great technical advantages going on in the world, so I was deside to bought one auto pilot software, and vps servise and setup a automatice trading, so please give clear idea, which EA is best and mimimum rate, which VPS service is cheap, then I follow your guide, I will set up the auto run trading, Please give clear idea….
realy your block very help full for more advanced technology is how to use, I am not know these king of technology, when I read full block I got some idea for how to set automatic trading setup with out any PC, realy very great….
Please give cleare idea and advanced technology guidence, and best EA, cheapest VPS
God Bless you every one participate in this knowledgeble effort and your family
Any one who is try try trying… in the correct way must reach the summit
Ashok
Chennai
India
email:ajentha@yahoo.com
cell:91 9840458015
Gary said,
October 31, 2008 @ 5:47 am
I just wanted to say thank you for the guide, i got everything up and running in a matter of mins because of it. However i thought you should of mentioned that you can also Edit the reg config file and change the password before merging it, doing this avoids having to figure your way though regedit.
Mark said,
November 28, 2008 @ 9:21 am
Thanks you to everyone for all for comments and suggestions, Also a massive thank you to ck who without I would not have been able to set all this up.
It seems as ive the new sofware update for xp now uses the /admin command instead of the /console command for connecting in console mode.
I have speen about a week bing confused but didn’t want to download extra apps to connect in console mode. I change /console to /admin and everthing is working great.
Thanks again
Mark
Paul said,
November 29, 2008 @ 7:42 pm
Hi there ckowyong,
Thank you for the very informative blog that you have here and all the good work you have put in.
Could you please let me know :
1. Do you still use SouthWest Technologies VPS ?
2. What is the percentage of downtime in a year ?
3. What is the current subscription rate ?
4. Is there an alternative VPS which you would rate as better than SWVPS ?
5. What is the rate for that ?
Thank you very much for taking the time to reply to these questions. I would like to make use of the services of a VPS. Please let me know if I should mention you as the Introducer. Thank you.
Aaron said,
December 1, 2008 @ 2:15 pm
I am using swvps. I followed your instructions exactly yet when the server is rebooted via scheduled tasks the start.cmd file does not run until I log on. I am in console mode and when I click on the start.cmd file manually it does execute properly. How do I fix this? Thanks.
stijn said,
December 1, 2008 @ 10:33 pm
Hi CK,
Thank you so much for your great tutorial. This was a REAL help!
I am faced with just one issue: I am now on a VPS with SWVPS.COM. Working great. But the auto-log on is not working properly.
- I did merge the reg_update.reg file into the VPS-registry
- I did change the administrator password into the registry to its correct setting. I checked it after a restart (to make sure it is saved correctly).
However, when restarting the VPS, the VPS stops at the LOGON screen. So NO automatic logon. What to do? May this have to do with new security settings from swvps.com ?
Thanks!
( By the way: after logging on by hand, the start.cmd file runs ok: pinging for 30 secs, then MT4 starts up as it should.)