A trade copier VPS hosts the Windows software that must stay open to copy orders between your accounts. It is useful for a desktop copier or a desktop strategy that generates the leader’s orders. A copier running entirely in a provider’s cloud does not need your own VPS just to keep its copying service running.
Identify where copying actually happens#
| Copier design | What must stay available |
|---|---|
| Add-on in a desktop platform | The platform, copier window and required account connections on that computer |
| Copier linking several computers | Every required sender/receiver installation and the connection between them |
| Hosted cloud copier | The provider’s copying service and authorized broker connections; any separate desktop strategy remains its own dependency |
Replikanto is a NinjaTrader desktop add-on. FlowBots requires NinjaTrader and Replikanto running on each participating machine, with licensing for each machine. Its remote mode therefore still has desktop hosts to maintain. Moving the leader to a VPS does not move another computer’s follower installation.
By contrast, Tradesyncer documents cloud execution: its copying service does not require a desktop copier app or a powered-on local computer. If your leader’s orders originate in a Windows strategy, that strategy still needs its Windows host. These are deployment examples, not claims that either product supports every account or workflow.
For platform-specific installation, use the NinjaTrader copier guide or MetaTrader EA and copier guide.
Map accounts to connections and computers#
Before choosing capacity, make one row for each leader and follower. Record:
- Account and environment: the actual identifier, provider, and live versus simulation environment.
- Connection: which login, broker session or bridge exposes that account.
- Execution location: the Windows host/platform instance, remote receiver, or cloud service responsible for copying.
- Copier settings: leader/follower role, symbol mapping, quantity rule and whether copying is enabled.
For example, three follower accounts visible in one NinjaTrader instance are a different workload from three separate Windows receiver installations. Account count alone does not describe the computers you need.
A connector makes accounts available; a copier sends orders to selected followers. If separate prop-firm logins are involved, the multi-account NinjaTrader guide covers that connection step. Confirm each provider permits the intended copying arrangement; hosting does not establish account eligibility.
Measure the complete workload#
Load the intended platform instances, charts, history, indicators, connections and copier together in a supported simulation environment. Inspect CPU and memory in Windows Task Manager after loading and during representative activity. Record the busiest processes, memory use and any repeated stalls.
Use those observations with the NinjaTrader VPS sizing guide. There is no fixed account-per-gigabyte rule. A single missing follower can be a connection or copier-setting problem even when the server has spare resources.
Remote-screen lag is also separate from copier execution. Your device-to-VPS connection carries the screen; the copier and broker connections have their own paths. Use the latency testing guide to distinguish them.
Test every follower in simulation#
FlowBots recommends simulation testing across remote nodes before live use. Use the simulation or demo accounts supported by your software; a prop firm’s evaluation label alone does not identify the platform’s simulation mode.
- Start with a small test configuration. Match the account identifiers, instruments and quantity rules to your map. Confirm only the intended copier controls those accounts.
- Check the order lifecycle. Test submissions, modifications, cancellations and exits. Inspect each follower’s orders, positions and rejection logs, not only the leader’s result.
- Exercise reconnection. In the test environment, disconnect a follower and observe its status. Reconnect it and check whether the copier requires rearming before another test.
- Repeat with the full intended workload. Check that all selected followers participate and that normal chart activity does not introduce repeated stalls.
These are checks to perform on your configuration, not a benchmark or a guarantee of matching fills. Avoid overlapping copiers on the same accounts; Tradesyncer’s documentation identifies this as a source of conflicting orders.
Recover the connection, then inspect copier state#
Replikanto’s Follower Guard documentation says disconnected or disarmed followers receive no copies. A yellow out-of-sync state does not itself stop copying, and a remote follower must be rearmed from its own Replikanto window. A restored connection is therefore not proof that every follower is ready or synchronized.
For disconnected NinjaTrader broker/data feeds, we recommend Ninja Watchdog. It automatically reconnects supported accounts, including Rithmic and Tradovate, waits for live data, and can restore interrupted strategies. Check the copier’s enabled state, mapping, working orders and actual positions afterward. Do not assume missed orders should be replayed.
Cloud copying has connection dependencies too. Tradesyncer’s connection troubleshooting guide describes maintenance and authorization problems that can require reconnecting. Adding RAM to a VPS does not repair those broker sessions.
For desktop copiers, disconnecting your viewing session can leave the software running, while Windows sign-out, restarts or session limits can stop it. The Windows VPS setup guide explains that distinction.