Automated betting

VPS

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I’ve floated the idea of moving to a VPS before but haven’t progressed far as I’ve been a little unsure. Anyway, Mike commented on the site and gave some detail about His choice of VPS and I’m going to have a go.

Here’s the chat we had.

Mike

Hi. Just discovered your blog. As someone who currently runs automated trading exclusively (i.e. no live manual trading) and manages to make a “reasonable” return off it, I’m intrigued to follow your progress. Not many blogs out there dealing solely in automation. A couple of things I’ve found in the journey so far that may be of interest.
Firstly the cost of moving to a VPS has been far outweighed by the reliability/stability. I moved over a year ago and have no regrets. No server downtime or dropouts from my end since then. Secondly, I too trade the Aussie markets overnight. I’ve found however, that there is a big difference between Metro/Prov tracks and all the rest. Not just in matched volume but the way the volume enters the market. My returns on the former are 3x my returns on the latter. It might be something you should think about if you haven’t already. Good luck, will follow with interest.
trader247
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the comment.
The VPS is definitely something I want to do. Do you run third-party software, eg Gruss/Bet Angel, or do you have your own program?
I’m currently using Gruss but this would require a Windows VPS with MSOffice installed.
Also, could you tell me who you went with for VPS as I’ve looked and am unsure about what to go for, various prices/location/spec to choose from.
Thanks
Mike
I’m a Gruss user. Self programming is obviously the next goal but at the moment Gruss handles what I need so in no hurry on that front. Rather do it right than rush it. A few people on the forum over there suggested Tagadab and that’s what I went for. I’ve gone for a SSD VPS with 1GB RAM and 35 GB storage. Basically there lowest spec. Yes you will need to install a copy of MSOffice but if you have a licence on your own machine that’s usually good for 3 PC’s I think. At least that’s what I used.
I’m currently using it close to its capacity with what I run but that can be up to 6 tabs & excel sheets refreshing at the max 0.2 secs leading up to the start of any particular race market. Costs me 22.19 a month which I think is good value for the stability and it frees up the home connection for development work. It’s also a month to month cost, no lock in subscription, so you can always dip your toe in and leave if it doesn’t suit.
Good luck

trader247

Thanks Mike, this is really useful stuff. I’ve had a look at Tagadab and I’m going to give it a go, might be Easter when I get to it though. I’m not sure about my MSOffice license but I can give it a go. I’ll roll this info into a post, thanks again

7 thoughts on “VPS”

  1. Are there any security concerns with VPSs? Is there anything to stop the VPS provider from stealing your strategies or gaining access to your Betfair account?

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    1. Hi Martin

      I am concerned about security but this provider, Tagadab, has been used by others and is an established business. I haven’t heard of any reports of bot theft. Also, I guess these VPS providers are used by businesses with more valuable data than mine and if security was a concern, it would be more widely reported. I will look into security more before setting up, to see if there are any protections I can put in place.

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  2. Hi BPT,

    Fair point. If someone wants it bad enough, they’ll try hard to get it.

    I’m looking at how to get some protection against someone ‘having a look’. Excel’s security appears poor but there are some third party apps available to protect code.

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    1. Someone needs to build his own purpose-built bot quick.

      I couldn’t imagine running a piece of Microsoft Office software remotely and expecting high performance.

      A small self-written bot with no user interface would be fast running, easily maintained and easily interrogated. You could even code an email sender within it to update you throughout the day or alert you to something untoward; such as limits being broken or even tampering.

      BPT – http://www.betfairprotrader.co.uk/

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  3. I know, the vb bot is the way forward.

    However, it would be interesting for me and others to see any effects moving from a home based to VPS based service. Then when the vb bot is implemented any more improvement can be seen.

    From what I’ve read, I’m not put off by security concerns. I did email Tagadab and they replied that their staff are able to access the VPS but wouldn’t unless asked to (“asked by who?” I hear you. I don’t know). I can only fall back on the thought that I’m not aware of any reported bot theft from a VPS. I welcome any information on this.

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