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I have read through some older threads, but wanted to get some current views and insights regarding setting up a VPS for trading purposes.
My Situation: Currently I trade various options strategies through ThinkorSwim. I have moved from the US and currently live in Uganda, where the internet is obviously not the best, and is obviously not close to any broker servers...
I am not a tech guy, so this is a new world for me...but from the research I have done, I need to setup a VPS close to my broker's servers (ThinkorSwim; not sure where those are located), mainly to get the ping or latency number down...
Am I on the right track?
If so, what VPS companies would you recommend to look into?
Huge Thanks!
Can you help answer these questions from other members on NexusFi?
While TOS is running and connected do a "netstat" from a PowerShell console, or if you have a Windows machine to open the Resource Monitor, then select TOS processes and in the Network tab check the TCP connections: you'll see to which IP addresses TOS is using and then can find out where are they (with iplocation.net and/or a tracert to these addresses).
I think TOS servers are mainly in Chicago but I can't confirm it. The procedure describe above will give you accurate clues .
Are you trading automatically? If you're trading manually, the extra RDP hop between your local computer and the VPS is only further unnecessary delay and there's almost only disadvantages for using a VPS.
So I am a discretionary options trader...so speed is not my primary concern. BUT, living in Uganda, the internet is not stable and the latency is bad. Also, I have to pre-pay for data (and it's not cheap), and my ThinkorSwim platform as well as my options analysis software (Options Net Explorer) can chew through the data pretty quickly. So, from my understanding, by using your VPS, I could cut down the latency and also be chewing through data on my local PC. And then there is the reliability factor as well as being able to log in from any computer...
Am I missing something? Those are solid benefits right?
You definitely will add latency and reduce reliability on outgoing orders by taking an extra hop on manually placed orders.
You are right that you could be reducing bandwidth usage by funneling heavy traffic through a VPS and only accessing a part of that through RDP though and that's something you should probably evaluate - is it cheaper to spend the VPS money towards a better internet connection, and how much bandwidth does ToS or RDP consume in your typical use case?
So your saying it will be a positive and something to utilize?
I spoke with a friend in South Africa who trades through my same broker, and his latency from SA was over 500ms...and once he started using a VPS, that was cut down dramatically.
But I am getting different stories on whether the latency will be improved...?