Free VPS server — myth or reality?

A decade ago, most forex traders knew practically nothing about remote servers, and automatic trading systems were only gaining popularity. Now, you can find thousands of different forex robots online, moreover, now anyone can create their own advisers - you do not need to have programming skills, just use special tools.

However, in order the adviser to work correctly, always give signals and open transactions on time (with full automation of trade) - you need an uninterrupted Internet connection and round-the-clock connection. Not everyone has the opportunity to keep the computer working 24 hours a day, and Internet providers can let you down by breaking the connection. In such situations, the VPS server will be an excellent solution.

Renting a VPS server costs $10 per month on average, it’s more than $ 100 per year. For professional traders, such expenses are not a problem, but Forex beginners have quite understandable desire to start with minimal investments. That’s why in this article we will try to figure out if there is an opportunity to get a VPS server for free, and if so, how?

Is it possible to get a VPS server for free?

VPS server has become a popular service for forex traders, and there are already many companies on the market that provide such a service. To surpass competitors and attract new customers, such companies conduct various actions and offer the most favorable conditions, so that traders can rent a VPS server at a big discount, or even completely free of charge.

In particular, there are two proven ways to get a VPS server for free:

1. As a bonus from a Forex broker;
2. From Amazon (for a year).

Let’s analyze each of them in more detail.

Free VPS server from forex brokers

VPS server from a Forex broker is not uncommon, almost every second forex-company is ready to provide this service to its customers without additional payment. However, it would be wrong to call such a VPS server truly free - brokers give access only if certain conditions are met (usually a certain amount of money must be deposited on the trader‘s account).

Let‘s review the conditions for providing a VPS server from several popular brokerage companies.

Instaforex

To get free access to a dedicated server from this broker you need to have at least $ 5,000 on your account. In this case, the client receives a minimum package of VPS 256, with a hard drive of 3 Gb, 256 Mb of RAM and a processor frequency of 400 MHz. To get to a more powerful server, you will have to pay.

Customers who have a deposit of less than $ 5,000 can receive a discount on the service, but they will have to pay for using the server.

Exness

This broker offers access to the VPS server without an additional fee, provided that the trader has opened an account with the company for at least $ 500. There is only one server type, and its detailed characteristics are not presented on the site, it is specified only that the data transfer rate is high, and the ping value of the trading terminal is minimal and is 0.4-1.25 ms.

RoboForex

RoboForex provides a VPS server with an Intel (r) Xeon (r) E5 processor, 1 Gb of RAM and 30 Gb of hard disk space. At the same time, it is enough for the client to have at least $ 300 in the balance on the trading account. However, in addition, the trader must meet additional conditions:

• Verification is mandatory;
• Trade turnover of at least 3 lots per month.

Thus, in addition to having a certain amount on the account, to gain access to the VPS every month the client must conduct an active trade.

Free annual subscription to VPS from Amazon

This VPS server is not directly related to Forex but is a promotion of Amazon itself. Nevertheless, it is quite suitable for use in Forex trading and it is an excellent opportunity for traders to get a remote server for a year for free.

In order to get free VPS from Amazon for a year, you must first of all register for aws.amazon.com. For this, you need to go through several stages.

Creating an account begins with an e-mail address, you also need to come up with a password.

The next step is to fill out the contact data form. It is better to indicate the real information, although if you are only planning to take advantage of the free VPS lease for a year, any plausible data will work out.

Next, you need to confirm the payment information (connect the card to the account).

There are several features:

• You need a MasterCard;
• The account must have an amount equivalent to at least $ 1. The amount will be debited from the account for verification, then returned;
• The card must support payments on the Internet without the use of CCV-code.

After confirming your payment information, you need to verify it via the phone number. After specifying the number, you need to wait for the call from Amazon and enter the pin code in the corresponding field. After that, the check and registration as a whole will be completed, and you can start configuring the VPS.

Before starting the account, select the free base plan. You will be asked to indicate the purpose of using the service - there you can specify any information.

Having entered into the account, you need to select “Launch virtual machine” directly on the main page.

Sometimes the service will ask you to wait a while - access to the VPS setup opens within 24 hours from the time of registration.

When access is received, you can start configuring the VPS. The first item is the choice of the operating system. An optimum option will be quite easy, Windows Server 2008. Its capacity is quite enough to work with the terminal, while the load on the server will be minimal.

Next, select the VPS type. Since there is only one free one - we leave by default.

All other steps can also be taken on the machine, changing nothing in the settings, and go directly to the start.

Before running, you need to create a key pair. To do this, select the appropriate command in the window that pops up. The service will generate the key pair in a separate file that will be downloaded to your computer. With it, you can access the virtual machine from your computer.

Now an important point! Create key pairs. Choose “Create a new Key Pair”. In the “Key pair name” line, enter any name with English letters, click the “Download key pair” button and save the file. The downloaded file will then allow us to access the virtual PC through a remote desktop. The downloaded file will have a .PEM extension, store the file in a safe place!

After downloading the file, you will receive a message stating that the server was successfully created and you can see its data in the account.

So, VPS is created, it remains to learn how to connect to it.

First, right-click on the line with the server, and select the “Connect” command.

The connection setup window opens. For work, we need a username and password. The user name is already created (by default it is always “Administrator”, then it can be changed), and you should generate the password.

Clicking “Get Password”, in the next window you need to fix the previously generated file to generate the password. After that, a pair of keys will be inserted into the field and you can create a password.

 

Login and password are received, now click “Download Remote Desktop File” to download a shortcut to start the virtual machine from your computer.

A file will be uploaded to the computer, running it, you get to your virtual server. It remains only to enter your login and password!

After the server is configured, you can safely use it in trading for a year, without worrying about paying.

But the expiration of the free period is not the end! The fact is that Amazon checks users only by e-mail. This means that you can open new accounts year after year, connecting them to old payment data, and continue to use the service for free (at least until the end of promotion). Decide on your own if you want to use this trick or not, but once a year to register a new email and account on Amazon is much easier and cheaper than paying $ 100 for the server.

Conclusion

As practice shows, there are ways to get a free VPS. Even beginners who are not ready to open an account with a $ 500 broker have the opportunity to take advantage of the action from Amazon.

However, for professional traders, the best solution is to rent a paid server on a dedicated hosting. Paying 10-20 dollars a month, a trader can be sure that he receives a powerful and reliable VPS for remote trading. When working with high-quality robots, such expenses are a trivial matter, compared to the importance of providing a fast and uninterrupted connection to the terminal.

Regards, Michael

ForexTraderPortal.com