In short. An EA works only while the terminal is open. A home computer sleeps, restarts after updates and loses the internet, so robots are kept on a VPS — a remote Windows machine that runs around the clock. There are two ways: MetaQuotes virtual hosting, rented right from the terminal, or your own VPS from a hosting provider. A VPS will not tell you it went down — someone outside has to: Davinchu sends «Account connection lost» after 10 minutes of outage.
Why an EA needs a VPS
- Round-the-clock operation. Terminal closed, computer asleep or offline — the EA neither trades nor manages open positions.
- Latency to the broker's server. A VPS in the same data center or city as the broker's server sends orders faster than home internet. It matters for scalping and hardly at all for an H4 strategy.
- Stability. Data-center power and network are more reliable than at home, and your own computer stays free.
MetaQuotes hosting or your own VPS
| MetaQuotes virtual hosting | Your own Windows VPS | |
|---|---|---|
| How to get it | in the terminal: «Navigator» → right-click the account → «Register a Virtual Server»; payment through an MQL5.community account | rent from a hosting provider, log in via Remote Desktop (RDP) |
| Where the server is | the terminal picks the one closest to the broker and compares latency from the hosting and from your computer | your choice — look at where the broker's server is |
| What runs | charts with EAs, their indicators, signal subscription and email settings are migrated; scripts and charts of non-standard symbols are not. There is no user interface: you cannot look at charts, and manual confirmations are impossible | regular Windows: any terminals, programs and as many charts as you like |
| Limits | DLL calls are forbidden; WebRequest addresses must be allowed in the terminal before migration | updates, restarts and autostart are on you |
MetaQuotes hosting is simpler: migration takes two clicks and there is nothing to administer. Your own VPS is more flexible: it runs EAs that use DLLs, several terminals from different brokers and any programs alongside.
How to choose your own VPS
- Location — close to the broker's server. The terminal shows the latency to it in the bottom right corner; compare it at home and on a trial VPS.
- Windows — MetaTrader 5 is built for it; a server edition with Remote Desktop is the most convenient.
- Memory and CPU — by the number of terminals and charts. After starting all EAs, check the load in Task Manager and leave headroom: running out of memory causes freezes that look from the outside like «the EA just doesn't trade».
- Provider reliability — disk snapshots and a clear maintenance policy.
Setup so the terminal survives a restart
- Install the terminal, log in, attach the EAs and turn on «AutoTrading».
- Close the Remote Desktop window with the cross, not with «Sign out» in Windows: signing out ends the session and closes the terminal.
- Add a terminal shortcut to Startup (
shell:startup) and set up automatic Windows sign-in — otherwise after a restart the terminal will not start until someone logs in. - Schedule restarts after updates outside trading hours. On start the terminal puts EAs back on the charts of the saved profile.
- Test it: restart the VPS and make sure the EAs are back on their charts and the «Experts» tab shows no errors.
How Davinchu tells you the VPS went down
A VPS does not report its own failure, and the terminal's notifications simply stop — silence is easy to mistake for a calm market. Someone outside has to tell you. Davinchu Trade Monitor on the same terminal sends data to the dashboard, and the Davinchu server watches its session:
| What happened | What arrives in Telegram, email or Discord |
|---|---|
| The VPS shut down, the terminal froze, the network dropped | «Account connection lost» after 10 minutes — critical, it arrives during quiet hours too; then «Account connection restored» with the outage length |
| The terminal was closed or the EA removed from the chart | «Monitor deactivated» with the reason |
| The terminal runs, but there are no trades | «The EA is silent» — after the number of hours you set |
The server watches the EA's session, not quotes, so there are no false connection alarms on weekends when the market is closed. The monitor does not trade and needs neither AutoTrading nor DLLs; setup is in «MT5 notifications in Telegram». Your own Windows VPS or a computer that stays on is a great fit for the monitor. The Free plan connects two accounts at no cost.
What a VPS will not fix
A VPS will not make a losing strategy profitable or protect against EA mistakes: if a robot opens no trades, the cause is usually in its settings — see «Why an EA is not trading in MT5». And to see how robots perform over time, there are account analytics and per-magic-number results number in the public statement — more on «Davinchu for algo traders».