For active exchange online trading today it is convenient and profitable to rent a VPS. For profitable trading, you need to be constantly connected to brokerage servers, and not experience problems with either the Internet connection, or electricity, or even the biological need to sleep. In the article, we will try to explain why an uninterrupted round-the-clock connection to a broker is important for a trader and tell you how a virtual dedicated server is generally convenient for making money on the stock exchange.
Why VPS is good for an online trader
Uninterrupted operation of the trading terminal is necessary for those who trade with the help of "advisors". Those who are used to manually preparing and issuing orders to the broker for the execution of trading operations (trading orders) need continuity, among other things, in order to minimize losses in time if the price of a financial instrument begins to move in a loss-making direction (for example, using an order Stop Loss in the most popular program for traders, which is described below - this risk insurance tool works only when the terminal is on). In addition, new trends that can be profitable are born at night, which means they need to be actively monitored at night.
Round-the-clock trading "tirelessly" is ensured, of course, by trading robots - programs that automate the process of online trading. But how will they work if you have "turned off the light for half a day"? And they will work perfectly fine on a remote server located in the data center of a cloud hosting provider, or at a broker, or even on the exchange itself.
In order for you to navigate the range of brokerage services, we will list well-known brokers with their server hosting options, their configurations and maintenance costs.
VPS from brokers
Well-known brokers themselves offer VPS rental services and related services for online trading on stock exchanges on different terms. Placing a virtual server with a broker allows you to reduce the delay in processing trade orders.
Offers services for providing a virtual machine based on MS Hyper-V technology ("parking"), allowing you to earn on the Russian stock market, on the foreign securities market, on the foreign exchange market and on the futures market (the derivatives market with the conclusion of futures contracts). Clients have access to the “Reduced Margin” service, which allows, during the main and evening trading sessions, to reduce the margin requirement up to two times from that required by the exchange. There is an "Advisor" service, in which you will receive investment ideas from the broker's analysts.
▍Options for equipment placement
For independent trading, you will need to install on a VPS . The virtual machine is constantly on and has constant Internet access (total speed - 1 Gb / s, guaranteed - 2 Mb / s). The client has permanent administrative access to the virtual machine.
Offers services of direct connection to financial markets (Direct Market Access [DMA], Sponsored Market Access) to traders who place high demands on the infrastructure for accessing these markets (failure tolerance and system security), as well as traders who need ultra low-latency solutions ( for a significant number of transactions per day).
▍Configuration and cost
All virtual machine options come with Windows Server 2008 R2 preinstalled.
Auto-follow
1 core, 1 GB RAM, 60 GB hard disk — suitable for auto-following programs (EasyMANi, etc.) or auto trading with TSLab, provided that no more than 2-3 containers are used simultaneously without charts enabled.
Automated Trading
1 core, 2 GB RAM, 60 GB hard disk — suitable for auto trading with TSLab, provided that no more than 5-6 containers are used simultaneously without charts enabled.
Multitrading
2 cores, 2 GB RAM, 60 GB hard drive — suitable for independent trading or auto trading with TSLab, including when charts are enabled. Other trading robots and HFT .
The company offers a wide range of tariff plans, which are better to look at her .
Offers services of direct connection to financial markets (Direct Market Access [DMA], Sponsored Market Access) to traders who place high demands on the infrastructure for accessing these markets (failure tolerance and system security), as well as traders who need ultra low-latency solutions ( for a significant number of transactions per day). They emphasize that the service is well suited for algorithmic traders using trading robots and traders implementing HFT strategies: high-frequency arbitrage, market making, etc. They promise the maximum speed of receiving data from the markets and placing orders; connection of the Client-Exchange type (orders and data do not go through the Broker's infrastructure).
▍Options for equipment placement
- You can rent a virtual server in the collocation zone with direct connection protocols. The service allows high-frequency trading (HFT).
- You can connect to the exchange with your own trading robot or terminal with minimal network delays by renting a virtual machine on a server (hosting) - a personal computer in the FINAM data center.
- You can install your trading server in the FINAM trading desk in the Moscow Exchange zone (DSP) - Co-location service. The broker only helps to properly configure network connections, provides an Internet connection channel and dedicated channels to trading platforms from the client's server. When placing a DMA robot in the co-location zone of the Moscow Exchange, the maximum speed of access to the markets is achieved, since the servers are connected directly to the exchange trading system (from the free zone, the connection goes through the intermediate servers MICEX Gate and Plaza II). The round-trip time (RTT) to the exchange's trading and clearing system (TCS) is less than 50 microseconds.
▍Configuration and cost
Virtual personal computer
- 2×2.2GHz Intel Xeon, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 50GB HDD — 1000 rubles/month;
- 1×2.2GHz Intel Xeon: +100 rubles;
- 1GB DDR3 RAM: +150 rubles;
- 10GB HDD: +50 rub.
Virtual Personal Computer Premium
- 2×2.6GHz Intel Xeon, 4GB DDR4 RAM, 30GB SSD — 1300 rubles/month;
- 1x2.6GHz Intel Xeon: +150 rubles/month;
- 1GB DDR4 RAM: +200 rub/month;
- 10GB SSD: + 100 rub/month.
Virtual server in the collocation zone of the Moscow Exchange
- 2 × 2.2 GHz Intel Xeon, 2 GB DDR3 RAM, 40 GB SSD - 5500 rubles;
- 1×2.2GHz Intel Xeon: +400 rubles;
- 1GB RAM DDR3: +500 rubles;
- 10GB SSD: +300 rub.
Stock market for shares, stock market for bonds, derivatives market, foreign exchange market, commodity market, federal loan bonds (OFZ), Eurobonds, oil, American stocks. Offers a wide range of brokerage services - a range of products and services. It is also access to the stock exchange, Internet trading technologies, consulting support for clients at every stage of working with securities, derivatives and foreign exchange market instruments. Special offers for corporate clients and wealthy individuals: structured products with capital protection, trust management, high-speed access and trading robots.
▍Options for equipment placement
It offers its virtual servers and VPS in the Moscow Exchange collocation area with the ability to install its own software. You can use the basic auto-follow settings or run and test any other trading strategies. There is a simple by connection.
▍Configuration and cost
VPS from CERICH
- Minimum configuration: one Intel Xeon 2.6GHz core; 2GB DDR3; 30GB HDD; 1 IP address.
- Maximum configuration: Four Intel Xeon 2.6GHz cores; 8GB RAM; 40GB SSD; 1 IP address.
- The cost of the service: 500 - 2350 rubles / month.
VPS in the Moscow Exchange colocation area
- Minimum configuration: 1 Intel Xeon core; 1 GB DDR3; 20 GB HDD + 1 IP address + Windows server license + Windows RDS license.
- Maximum configuration: 6 Intel Xeon cores; 8 GB DDR3; 40 GB HDD + 1 IP address + Windows server license + Windows RDS license.
- Service cost: 3700 — 9500 rubles/month (+ VAT).
It offers the DMA service - a direct connection to the trading and clearing system of the exchange for trading on the stock, currency and derivatives markets of Russia through a single brokerage account that allows you to bypass the broker's infrastructure. DMA connection is beneficial for high-frequency trading, as it significantly reduces the time of execution of trade orders.
▍Options for equipment placement
The ability to rent dedicated servers and VPS in the data centers of exchanges, as well as use the infrastructure of a broker. The broker installs client servers both in the Otkritie Broker trading racks and in the exchange racks in the Moscow Exchange colocation zone. Connection to the VPS and to the "iron" server can be organized both via VPN and by real IP address (negotiated with the client). Exchange protocols are available from virtual machines: FIX, ASTS, Plaza CGate, TWIME, FAST.
▍Configuration and cost
Virtual server in the collocation zone of the Moscow Exchange
- 2×3.5GHz Intel Xeon, 2GB DDR3 RAM, 50GB HDD — 5000 rubles/month;
- 1×3.5GHz Intel Xeon: +500 rub/month;
- 1GB DDR3 RAM: +500 rub/month;
- 10GB HDD: +500 rub/month.
- Service cost:
Offers high-speed and reliable DMA connection to exchanges (stock market, currency market, futures market). The work is carried out through the broker's own trading system or through the "gateway" - a terminal for direct access to the exchange. Trading with different strategies: high-frequency trading, algorithmic trading. It is possible to use your own software.
▍Options for equipment placement
- Internet using Cisco VPN Client
- Rent a virtual server + Cisco VPN
- Rent a virtual server in the Co-location zone of the Moscow Exchange
- Server placement in the data center of BCS Broker
- Server placement in the Co-location zone of the Moscow Exchange
▍Configuration and cost
VPS from BCS Broker
- 1 × 2.2 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB HDD - 440 rubles / month;
- 1 × 2.2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 40 GB HDD - 549 rubles / month.
VPS in the Moscow Exchange colocation area
Standard configuration: 2×3.4 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 40 GB HDD, 1 transaction address towards the Exchange, VPN access to the server — 4500 rubles/month.
What is the convenience of renting a virtual dedicated server from a cloud hoster
- Flexibility. When you purchase , you set its parameters according to your needs. At any time, the parameters can be changed: increase (for example, when trading activity increases) or decrease. There is a test period.
VPS configuration selection in RUVDS - The quality of connection with the server. You get redundant Internet channels and unlimited traffic, as well as power backup at the data center level, so you are not dependent on possible communication outages. At the same time, the speed of interaction between the server and the trading system will be unchanged when logging in from any device, which is important.
- Comfort at work. It is convenient to interact with the service through a single control panel. Plus, it is possible to install the very automated systems that will process fresh market data around the clock at high speed, make a trading decision based on them and give orders to buy and sell to the broker's server or exchange. Such a trading robot is trained to trade according to a certain strategy (algorithm) and does it on its own - just turn it on on your terminal. There is no need to keep the computer on all the time. Another plus for comfort is mobility: access to the server is possible from a PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone at any time from anywhere in the World (if there is an Internet connection at this point).
- Technical support from the hosting provider, which applies to the entire period and situations of your interaction with him as a client, and not only in cases where problems may occur. So, you can deploy a virtual server with a pre-installed program for exchange trading (the most common: QUIK, MetaTrader, Transaq) in just a few minutes without installing and configuring software, thanks to a template created by the hoster. It will be enough just to specify the data for access to the broker's server and place the required certificates and keys on it. For example, in RUVDS appeared with a ready-made image of the most popular platform in its segment . This is a full-cycle information and trading platform for organizing dealing services in the Forex, Futures and CFD markets (margin trading). The server part works only on the platform of the Windows family. The client part is available in versions for Windows, iOS and Android.
MetaTrader 5 - Low cost. Rent a VPS with a ready-made image in RUVDS it costs 848 rubles / month (and if paid for a year, even 678 rubles / month). For comparison: turning your computer into a trading tool will cost 50-70 thousand rubles, taking into account the purchase and configuration of a professional router with redundant wired Internet channels, the purchase and maintenance of a UPS and the correct configuration of the machine; plus a monthly fee for the Internet and a trading terminal.
Conclusions
The use of modern virtualization technologies by an online trader today is becoming its noticeable competitive advantage, which maximizes profits and reduces costs and losses when trading on exchanges. Deploying a trading terminal on a VPS is very easy! It is also easy to set up a virtual server “for yourself” (especially with the support of a cloud provider) and choose a profitable configuration (without downtime of unused paid capacities), which can be changed at any time in seconds.
We hope that with this post we managed to once again benefit the interested readers of Habr. If you have something to add to the article - welcome to the comments! We will also be glad if you share your experience of online trading on exchanges.
Source: habr.com