Your expert advisor can only trade while MetaTrader 5 is running and connected. Run it on your home computer and every Windows update, power flicker, or closed laptop lid becomes a missed trade or, worse, an unmanaged open position. A VPS (Virtual Private Server) solves this for a few dollars a month. Here is the practical setup.
What a VPS actually is
A small Windows machine running in a data center, on 24/7, that you control through Remote Desktop. You install MT5 on it, attach your EA, and disconnect. The terminal keeps running whether your own computer is on or not.
The specs that matter (and the ones that do not)
- RAM: 2 GB minimum, 4 GB comfortable. One MT5 terminal with a few charts uses about 500 MB to 1 GB.
- Location: near your broker's servers. For IC Markets, that is New York (NY4) or London (LD5). This cuts execution latency from 100+ ms to under 5 ms. For our systems, which are not high-frequency, latency is not critical, but there is no reason to accept a slow route.
- CPU: almost irrelevant for one or two terminals. Any modern VPS tier works.
- Uptime guarantee: 99.9%+. This is the entire point of the exercise.
The free option most traders miss
Many brokers, including IC Markets, offer a free VPS once your account meets a volume or balance threshold. MetaQuotes also offers a built-in VPS inside MT5 itself (right-click your account, Register a Virtual Server) for a low monthly fee, with the advantage of being one click and automatically located near your broker.
Setup checklist
- Order the VPS, choose Windows Server, pick the datacenter near your broker
- Connect via Remote Desktop, install MT5 from your broker's website
- Log into your trading account, verify the connection indicator bottom right
- Install your EA files, attach to the correct charts and timeframes
- Enable AutoTrading (the button must be green)
- Set MT5 to start automatically on reboot (place a shortcut in the Windows Startup folder)
- Disconnect Remote Desktop. Do not shut down, just close the connection
- Check the terminal once a day for the first week, then weekly
Total setup time: under an hour. Every FixedTrader purchase includes a video walkthrough of this exact process.
The five failure points and their monitoring
A VPS removes your laptop from the chain but introduces its own failure surface, so know the five points where automated trading actually breaks. One: the VPS itself reboots (Windows updates are the usual culprit). Defense: MT5 in the Startup folder, as covered, plus a monthly manual reboot on your schedule so forced ones are rare. Two: MT5 loses broker connection while running (server maintenance, network blips). It normally reconnects alone; the risk is silent failure, so the Monday check looks specifically at the connection indicator. Three: the EA is running but AutoTrading got toggled off, often after an update or crash recovery. The button must be green; this is the most common silent killer. Four: the broker changes a symbol specification (margin requirements, contract size, symbol suffix) and orders start rejecting. Rare, but it is why the weekly check includes glancing at the Experts and Journal tabs for error messages. Five: the EA file itself needs an update from the vendor. Reputable sellers email; a quarterly check-in does not hurt.
Cost-benefit, honestly computed
A suitable VPS runs $5 to $15 monthly, or free via broker programs at moderate volume. Against that cost, price the alternative: a home connection with 99% uptime is down roughly 7 hours a month, and Murphy's law of trading says the outage lands while a position is open with a stop that needs trailing. A single mismanaged trade from a disconnection can cost more than a decade of VPS fees. For any account above a couple of thousand dollars, the VPS is not an optional accessory. It is the cheapest insurance in the entire setup, and the only component whose total failure cost is capped at the price of a coffee subscription.