In this article, we will take a look at the key factors that Forex Brokers need to consider when choosing their hosting provider. 

As the backbone of any forex trading business, choosing the right hosting provider is a decision that can essentially make or break the entire operation’s success. In order to maintain competitiveness, FX Brokers should thoroughly research hosting providers to guarantee optimal performance, reliability and support. 

In this article, we will take a look at the key factors that FX Brokers need to consider when choosing their hosting provider. 

6 Key Considerations

Latency 

In order for trades to be executed swiftly and with minimal slippage, low latency is crucial. With that being said, it’s important to choose a hosting provider with data centers strategically located within close proximity to major financial markets, like London for example, to minimize latency. 

Data centres positioned in key financial hubs ensure that trade orders are transmitted quickly, ultimately accelerating the responsiveness of the trading platform. By reducing the physical distance between servers and financial centers, Forex brokers can significantly mitigate delays, and gain a competitive edge in the market.

In a previous article, we explained why London is an optimal server hosting location for Forex brokers. London is home to some of the world’s biggest financial institutions like the London Stock Exchange as well as many of the world’s largest banking groups. It is, therefore, of high benefit for a forex broker to have the servers established in close proximity to liquidity and technology providers.

Use our Looking Glass tool to check the latency from our global data centers to any host/IP of your choice.

Latest Generation Hardware

Deploying trading software on new generation hardware is imperative. Well-established trading software provider, MetaQuotes, recommends that a server used for MetaTrader 5 (MT5) hosting should be running on new-gen CPU in order to guarantee stability and best performance.

Whilst it is common for hosting providers to offer old hardware at low cost, FX Brokers should make sure that the servers they receive are 100% in line with the hardware requirements of the software vendor.

What to be aware of when choosing the CPU of your server:

Whereas the requirement of a software vendor might be in terms of number of Cores (e.g. 4 Cores) and Speed (e.g. 3.5 GHz) , you also need to ask your hosting provider about the exact CPU model/family.

For example, the following CPU’s are both Quad core with high frequency, but only one is appropriate in a server hosting a trading platform:

• High frequency, 4 Cores: Intel Xeon E5-2637 v4 3.50 GHz // Launched Q1’2016
• High frequency, 4 Cores: Intel Xeon E-2244G Quad Core 3.80 GHz // Launched Q2’2019

Undoubtedly, the E-2244G is the preferred CPU choice for a trading server.

Reliability 

When researching potential hosting providers, it’s important to check their uptime guarantee and whether it is backed by a service level agreement (SLA). Since excessive downtime can result in a decline in profitability as well as a loss of credibility for FX Brokers, a reliable provider with consistent uptime is imperative.

In addition to a good uptime, hosting providers offering a monitoring & alerting solution is of vital importance so you can be alerted at any given day/time if the server, or a particular service, is down.

Tip: always ask your hosting provider about an uptime record and a status page where you can view the history of past incidents.

Check out our Premium SLA brochure and what benefits has to offer to your FX Brokerage.

FX experienced Support 

Another consideration that should not be overlooked is the level of support your chosen hosting provider offers. The trading industry is extremely fast-paced so it’s important that your hosting provider guarantees quick response times through multiple methods of communication. 

Some hosting providers may offer support services tailored to the trading industry and this is most definitely a huge bonus. At the very least, be sure that your chosen hosting provider has 24/7 support available, since the Forex market operates continuously. 

The best recommendation is to look for a hosting provider that focuses in FX industry as such a company will be able to support and provide resolution for incidents related to certain popular trading software, liquidity bridge, pricing data, etc.

Security 

The nature of Forex trading requires robust security precautions, and this should be amongst your top priorities when choosing your hosting provider. Make sure to check that regular security updates are carried out and that high level security is provided at your chosen data centre. 

Hosting providers that offer DDoS protection and other security features should be considered advantageous. Due to the nature of the industry, it’s also important to ensure that your chosen provider complies with regulations and standards.

Pricing 

Finally, if your criteria is met with all of the above, it’s important to consider a hosting provider’s costs, pricing structure and terms of service. It’s important to consider value for money and not just opt for the cheapest option, whilst also making sure the cost of your server aligns with your budget. 

As mentioned above, always pay attention to the exact hardware requirements of the server you are about to purchase. Cheap hosting providers are likely to offer old hardware, meaning decreased performance and a high chance of breaking in a short period of time!

Host your Trading Server with NetShop ISP 

NetShop ISP provides specialized hosting solutions tailored specifically for the needs and demands of the Forex industry. With data centres strategically located in the heart of financial markets, NetShop ISP guarantees enhanced performance, reliability and competitive pricing for traders and Forex brokers.

Check out all our Forex solutions or speak to one of our fintech sales specialists for a free consultation.

Email: sales@netshop-isp.com.cy
Skype: netshopisp
Telegram: @netshopisp
Whatsapp: +357 9911 3300

NetShop ISP introduces a new payment method that allows customers to securely add their credit cards and enable auto-charge for future renewal invoices.

NetShop ISP, a leading provider of web hosting and data center solutions, has announced an enhancement to its payment system, making it even more convenient for customers to renew their hosting services. The company has introduced a new payment method that allows customers to securely add their credit cards and enable auto-charge for future renewal invoices.

The introduction of credit card auto-charge for renewal invoices is a significant step forward, aiming to simplify the payment process for existing clients while ensuring no services are at risk of automatic suspension due to delayed payments.

Key Features of the New Payment Method:

1. Seamless Integration: Customers can easily add their credit card details through the secure myNetShop portal. Simply choose the option Credit / Debit Card (JCC auto-charge) while you are at the Invoice payment page.
   
2. Enhanced Security: Security is a top priority for NetShop ISP. The new payment method incorporates robust encryption and authentication measures to safeguard customer information. Credit card details are stored in our Credit Card processor’s database (JCC) and are handled with the utmost security.
   
3. Automatic Renewals: Once customers opt-in for auto-charge, they no longer need to manually process payments for service renewals. The system will automatically charge the designated credit card on file, ensuring that services remain active without interruption.

Customer Benefits:

The new payment method offers several benefits to NetShop ISP’s valued customers:

1. Time Savings: Eliminate the need for manual payment processing, allowing customers to focus on their core activities while NetShop ISP takes care of renewals automatically.
   
2. Reduced Downtime: With automatic renewals, customers can avoid service disruptions caused by missed payments, ensuring continuous online presence and business operations.
   
3. Peace of Mind: The enhanced security measures provide customers with peace of mind, knowing that their payment information is protected, and transactions are conducted with the highest standards of security.
   
4. Convenience: The user-friendly interface and customizable settings make it easy for customers to manage their payment preferences according to their unique requirements.

For more information about NetShop ISP and its new payment method, please contact our Customer Care team via e-mail (customercare at netshop-isp.com.cy) or by phone (+357-2425-0808).

In this article we will show the steps to install any version of NodeJS on Ubuntu 22.04 server via NodeSource repository.

In two previous articles we demonstrated how to install nodejs on Debian 11 and also the steps to install Nodejs on a cPanel server.

As the Ubuntu 22.04 is LTS (long-term support release) more and more developers and sysadmins use it for hosting NodeJS applications. In this article we will show the steps to install any version of NodeJS on Ubuntu 22.04 server.

NodeJS Release Versions

Node.js versions enter Current release status for six months, which gives library authors time to add support for them. Here is the release schedule as per Nodejs official website.

In the following table you can check the latest release of each version branch. This is useful in cases you wish to use a stable yet not latest release version of NodeJS on your server.

Steps to Install specific NodeJS version on Ubuntu 22.04 Server

The following steps are provided for installing NodeJS v18. You can use the same steps to install any other version, just by adjusting Step 3.

All commands below assume you are logged in to the server with root account. If you are using any other sudo privileged account, then prepend ‘sudo’ in all commands.

Step 1: Update & Upgrade System

Update your Ubuntu 22.04 system by running the following command:

root@netshopisp-nodejs:~$ apt update -y && apt upgrade -y

During the upgrade execution, you will be prompted with a window informing you about the kernel upgrade as shown below. Press “OK” to continue.

Then, you will be prompted to choose the daemon services to be restarted. You can stick to the default selected ones and press “OK” to continue.

Step 2: Reboot System

As the system’s kernel got updated, a reboot is necessary. Execute the following command to restart your server.

root@netshopisp-nodejs:~$ reboot

Step 3: Install specific NodeJS version from NodeSource

The NodeSource repository provides up-to-date releases of Node.js to ensure easy access to the latest features, bug fixes, and security updates related to Node.js.

The following command will pull the NodeSource repository for NodeJS v18 and NPM v10:

root@netshopisp-nodejs:~$ curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | -E bash -

Sample Output:

Step 4: Install NodeJS v18

Now you are ready run the following command to install NodeJS v18 on the server:

root@netshopisp-nodejs:~$ apt-get install nodejs -y

Sample Output:

You have successfully installed NodeJS v18 on Ubuntu 22.04 Server. You can verify the nodejs and npm versions using the following commands:

root@netshopisp-nodejs:~$ node -v && npm -v

You can now proceed with configuring your NodeJS application on the server!

NetShop ISP’s Year-in-Review report takes a look at the major events, product launches and other milestones achieved in 2023.

NetShop ISP’s Year-in-Review report takes a look at the major events, product launches and other milestones achieved in 2023.

Product Launches

• Forex Dedicated Servers: We have launched a range of optimized bare-metal and cloud servers for Forex brokers and Technology providers in the Fintech sector.
  
• Hong Kong VPS: Expanded our Cloud footprint in Asia Pacific with the addition of Cloud VPS offering through our newly established Hong Kong Data center infrastructure.

Hosting Awards & Nominations

• Awarded “Best Hosting Provider” at the SiGMA CIS/Balkans 2023 iGaming Awards. Read the Press release.
  
• Nominated for “Best Technology Provider” at UFAwards 2023 under the B2B category. The UF Awards serve as a recognition platform for outstanding brands in both B2B and B2C online trading as well as the fintech sector. Read the Press release.

Events & Exhibitions

•  Bronze Sponsor of the United Nations & European Union Club of the University of Cyprus, in their attendance at the Harvard World Model United Nations (WorldMUN) 2023. Read the Press release.
  
• Official Web Hosting Partner of Cyprus FIntech Summit 2023.
  
• Exhibited at SiGMA CIS/Balkans 2023 in Limassol, Cyprus. The event attracted operators, suppliers and affiliates from the iGaming and Forex industries. Read the Press release.
  
• Formed a strong partnership with FXGathering for creating a unique networking experience to connect C-level executives from the FX and Fintech sectors. Read the Press release.
  
• Attended the Forex Expo in Dubai on the 26th of September 2023.
  
• Attended the iFX EXPO International in Limassol, Cyprus – one of the most reputable Forex and Fintech event worldwide. Read the Press release.
  
• Stefano Sordini (CEO, NetShop ISP) participated in a discussion panel during the iFX EXPO International with subject “Forex Trading in the Digital Age Leveraging Technology for Success”. Watch the Video.

Important Milestones Achieved

• Expanded Operations and Network infrastructure to Equinix LD7 Data Center in London, UK.
  
• Signed Memorandum of Understanding with UCLan Cyprus. Read the Press release.
  
• Developed Recipes (currently launched as Beta release) for unattended software installation on Dedicated and Virtual Servers through myNetShop portal. Read the Press release.

Anticipating a fruitful journey ahead, we are excited about the prospect of closely engaging with all our current clients and partners throughout 2024. As always, we remain committed to our values and mission, which is to offer unparalleled hosting and infrastructure solutions backed by our superior customer service.

NetShop ISP, a prominent hosting company based in Cyprus, has earned a place on the esteemed list of finalists for the Ultimate Fintech Awards 2024 in the category of “Best Technology Provider – MEA.”

NetShop ISP, a prominent hosting company based in Cyprus, has earned a place on the esteemed list of finalists for the Ultimate Fintech Awards 2024 in the category of “Best Technology Provider – MEA.”

The UF Awards serve as a recognition platform for outstanding brands in both B2B and B2C online trading as well as the fintech sector. The primary goal is to establish a benchmark within the industry, aiding traders and businesses in identifying the top companies for trading and conducting business.

Established in 2004, NetShop ISP has been at the forefront, delivering unparalleled infrastructure hosting and global connectivity services across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas. With over 100 Forex brokers as clients and a substantial number of technology providers, NetShop ISP has solidified its reputation as one of the most reliable and well-known suppliers in the fintech industry.

Stefano Sordini, CEO of NetShop ISP, expressed delight at the company’s inclusion in the competitive arena alongside industry giants. The nomination for Best Technology Provider at the UF Awards is viewed as a testament to the company’s relentless commitment and dedication to providing top-notch hosting and server management and connectivity services to Forex brokers, Liquidity providers, and other technology firms within the fintech sphere.

The eagerly anticipated results of the Ultimate Fintech Awards 2024 are scheduled to be unveiled on January 17, 2024.

Support NetShop ISP by casting your vote for “Best Connectivity Provider – MEA” at the UF Awards 2024 from this link.

In this article, we will break down the key points that FX Brokers should consider when it comes to choosing the right server for their liquidity bridge to function optimally. 

Selecting the ideal server is a complex decision for Forex Brokers, and involves multiple crucial considerations. This holds especially true for FX Brokers who utilize a liquidity bridge, as they have even more reason to prioritize a resilient server infrastructure. 

In this article, we will break down the key points that FX Brokers should consider when it comes to choosing the right server for their liquidity bridge to function optimally. 

What is a Liquidity Bridge 

A liquidity bridge, or simply bridge, is a piece of software that connects trading platforms like cTrader, MT4 or MT5 to multiple liquidity providers. A bridge acts as the intermediary that facilitates the seamless execution of trades by allowing access to a wide range of liquidity sources. Put simply, the bridge works by amassing liquidity from multiple sources, thus providing traders with better access to competitive pricing and deeper liquidity pools. 

3 Key Points to Consider when Choosing a Liquidity Bridge Server 

For many brokers who wish to expand their business and offer their services to high-volume traders, a liquidity bridge serves as a key component within their trading infrastructure. In order to implement a bridge successfully, the following points need to be considered. 

Location and Latency 

In order for trades to be executed flawlessly, the consistent reliability of a liquidity bridge is fundamental, and your server location plays a huge role in achieving this. By opting for a server housed in a data centre in a strategic financial location, you are able to maintain the optimal connectivity and low latency required for your liquidity bridge to run efficiently.

For the rapid execution of trades without slippage, there needs to be minimal delay in transmitting data, which is why choosing the ideal environment for your server is paramount. 

For decades London has been recognized as the world’s leading financial centre, with over 40% of all forex transactions taking place in the city. Read why London is considered to be the best hosting location for forex brokers >>

Security and Compliance 

When choosing the right server for your liquidity bridge, security considerations should not be taken lightly. Opt for a location that minimizes exposure to natural disasters, and that your chosen data centre holds full certifications and adheres to regulatory standards. 

In addition to that, it’s important that your server is equipped with the necessary security measures to minimise the risk of data breaches, as well as protection from DDoS attacks which are rife within the financial industry. 

Reliability and Uptime 

A reliable server is crucial for uninterrupted trading activities, so checking your hosting provider’s uptime guarantee is essential. An uptime of 99.9% is considered a standard benchmark in the industry, ensuring minimal disruptions to your trading operations.

It’s also important to check the level of customer support you can expect to receive from your provider. Make sure to verify their methods of communication, 24/7 availability and swift response times, especially during critical trading hours. 

Deploy a Liquidity Bridge Server with NetShop ISP

With over 15 years’ experience in the Forex industry, our expertise in delivering hosting solutions tailored for brokers and traders is unparalleled. Through our hosting solutions and cutting-edge technology, we proudly provide the foundation for success for thousands of our clients within the financial sectors. 

The most popular location for hosting liquidity bridge servers is in London through our Equinix LD7 infrastructure where you get 99.99% uptime SLA backed by ultra-low latency to the majority of liquidity providers within the Equinix IBX ecosystem.

Contact one of our representatives for a quick quote or simply request a free trial service.

In this article we will provide a step-by-step guide to installing WordPress with LEMP (Nginx, MySQL, PHP) on a Debian 12 server.

WordPress has become an extremely popular CMS due to its ease-of-use, extensive customization options and huge community support. Installing WordPress with LEMP Stack on a Debian 12 server provides a robust and efficient web hosting solution.

What is LEMP Stack

LEMP stands for Linux, Nginx, MySQL/MariaDB and PHP. The “E” simply stands for the way Nginx is pronounced which is “Engine-X”.

Nginx is an alternative HTTP/HTTPS web server which is known to be lighter and better performing than the Apache webserver. For this reason, web developers and system admins tend to prefer using the LEMP stack over LAMP.

In this article we will provide a step-by-step guide to installing WordPress with LEMP on a Debian 12 server.

Prerequisites

• Server with Debian 12 OS installed
• SSH Access with root or sudo-privileged user

Steps to Install LEMP on Debian 12 Server

Step 1. Switch to Root User

First, switch to the root user using the following command. Unless stated otherwise, all subsequent commands must be executed as the root user.

john@debian-server:~$ sudo –i

Step 2. Update Repositories

WordPress requires that a PHP MySQL Extension is installed so that it can connect to a MySQL database. Run the following command to ensure that the extension is present.

root@localhost:~$ apt update -y && apt upgrade -y

Step 3. Install PHP

root@localhost:~$ apt install php-fpm php-mysql php-gd php-cli php-curl php-mbstring php-zip php-opcache php-xml php-mysqli -y

Step 4. Install Nginx

root@localhost:~$ apt install nginx -y

Upon successful installation, nginx will start on your server. To verify it is running okay, open a browser and type your server’s IP address. If all went successful, you should see Nginx’s default welcome page as shown below.

Step 5. Install MariaDB

We choose to install MariaDB as it offers improved performance, faster replication speed, better security measures and additional storage engines compared to MySQL.

Let’s proceed with install MariaDB on our server:

root@localhost:~$ apt install mariadb-server -y

Sample Output:

Then lets proceed with securing our MariaDB installation using the mysql_secure_installation script.

root@localhost:~$ mysql_secure_installation

When prompted press ‘Y’ to continue and at some point you will be asked to enter a new MariaDB root password. Enter it and continue with pressing ‘Y’.

At this point you have successfully installed Nginx, PHP and MariaDB on your Debian 12 server. Let’s continue with installing WordPress on our LEMP stack.

Step 6. Create WordPress Database

Next you will need to create a WordPress Database and User. Run the following command to get an SQL shell on the MariaDB server.

root@localhost:~$ mysql -uroot -p

Enter the mysql root password and hit enter to access the mysql shell console.

As soon as you are in the mysql shell console, execute the following command to create your first database along with granting access to a new database user.

Make sure you replace the database name, user and password with anything you like.

CREATE DATABASE wordpress_db;
CREATE USER wordpress_user@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'my-password';
GRANT ALL ON wordpress_db.* TO wordpress_user@localhost;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Step 7. Configure Nginx

Next step is to configure nginx. At this point you need to choose a domain name where your WordPress website will be reachable at. For the purposes of this tutorial, we use mywpsite.com as the domain name. Make sure to replace any instances of mywpsite.com in the below with your own domain name.

Run the following command to create a directory for storing any WordPress-related files to be served by Nginx.

root@localhost:~$ mkdir -p /var/www/html/mywpsite.com/public_html

Now, let’s create an Nginx configuration file for the WordPress domain. Run the following command to open a file for editing.

root@localhost:~$ vi /etc/nginx/sites-available/mywpsite.com.conf

Add the following to the file, then save the file and exit.

server {
  listen 80;
  server_name mywpsite.com www.mywpsite.com;
  root /var/www/html/mywpsite.com/public_html;
  index index.html;

  location / {
    index index.php index.html index.htm;
    try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
  }

  location ~* \.php$ {
    fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
include fastcgi_params;
    fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    fastcgi_param SCRIPT_NAME $fastcgi_script_name;
    include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
  }
}

Finally, create a symlink in sites-enabled/ folder to the configuration file we just created.

root@localhost:~$ ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/mywpsite.com.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Disable the default Nginx site by removing the symbolic link for the default site from sites-enabled.

root@localhost:~$ rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

Step 7. Validate nginx configuration & Restart nginx

Run nginx -t to make sure your configuration is valid.

root@localhost:~$ nginx -t

The output should resemble the below:

nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful

If any errors are reported, you need to go back to the previous step and correct them by editing the Nginx configuration file.

Now, restart Nginx using the following command:

systemctl restart nginx

Step 8. Install WordPress latest version

Proceed as follows to download, install and configure WordPress on your Debian 12 server.

root@localhost:~$ curl -L -O http://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz

Then extract the compressed file using this command:

root@localhost:~$ tar xf latest.tar.gz

At this point, we need to move the extracted files/folders into the directory Nginx is configured to serve files from.

root@localhost:~$ mv wordpress/* /var/www/html/mywpsite.com/public_html

Step 9. Create wp-config.php file

WordPress comes with a sample configuration file that you can use as a template for inserting your own configuration.

Copy the sample configuration file to the location WordPress expects to read the actual configuration file from.

root@localhost:~$ cp /var/www/html/mywpsite.com/public_html/wp-config-sample.php /var/www/html/mywpsite.com/public_html/wp-config.php

Then, edit the newly created file wp-config.php and set the appropriate values for DB_NAME, DB_USER and DB_PASSWORD.

root@localhost:~$ vi /var/www/html/mywpsite.com/public_html/wp-config.php

/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define( 'DB_NAME', 'wordpress_db' );

 /** Database username */
define( 'DB_USER', 'wordpress_user' );

/** Database password */
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'my-password' );

Remember: The above values are the ones we used when creating our new database in Step 6.

Save the file wp-config.php and exit.

Step 10. Fix WordPress directory Ownership

Final step we need to do is to update the ownership of all WordPress-related files so that Nginx can serve them correctly.

root@localhost:~$ chown -R nginx:nginx /var/www/html/mywpsite.com/public_html

Now, use your browser to navigate to http://YOUR_SERVER_IP (make sure you replace with the IP of your server), and follow the instructions to complete your WordPress installation!

Congratulations! You have successfully installed the latest WordPress with LAMP on a Debian 12 server! Deploy a Linux Cloud Server in 60 seconds and get started!

In this article we will show the simple steps of installing and configuring the NFS server on Ubuntu 22.04 and Debian 22.

NFS stands for Network File Share and it’s a common protocol used for sharing files and directories over a local or public network. In simple terms, it is a shared directory where other clients (computers, servers) can easily access them.

In this article we will show the simple steps of installing and configuring the NFS server on Ubuntu 22.04 and Debian 22 servers; the commands are identical for both environments.

Steps to Install NFS Server on Debian 12 & Ubuntu 22.04

While writing this tutorial we used the root account on a Debian 12 server. If you are using a non-root account please prepend “sudo” in all of the following commands, e.g. sudo apt update.

Step 1: Update Packages

First step is to update our system’s packages by running this command:

root@localhost:~$ apt update -y

Step 2: Install NFS Server

You are now ready to install NFS Server on your Ubuntu or Debian server through apt, as follows:

root@localhost:~$ apt install nfs-kernel-server -y

Sample Output:

At this point NFS has been successfully installed on your system. We are not done yet though. Let’s proceed to configure our NFS server so remote NFS clients can start connecting to it.

Steps to Configure NFS Server on Debian 12 & Ubuntu 22.04

Step 1: Create the directory to be shared

In our example we are creating the directory named “share_me” under /home.

root@localhost:~$ mkdir /home/share_me

Step 2: Set directory & file permissions

It is important to set the right permissions on your newly created directory, so that all client machines can access it:

root@localhost:~$ chown -R nobody:nogroup /home/share_me

In similar way, we set the permissions for the files. In our example we are giving permissions to read, write and execute to all files under /home/share_me:

root@localhost:~$ chmod 777 /home/share_me/

Step 3: Grant NFS Access

This is the most important step in configuring an NFS server. The right access must be given depending on who you want to be able to access your shared directory.

Edit the file /etc/exports using the nano editor:

root@localhost:~$ nano /etc/exports

Add the following line(s) in the end of the file:

/home/share_me 192.168.10.3/32 (rw,sync,subtree_check)
/home/share_me 172.16.1.230/32 (rw,sync,subtree_check)

In our example, we have granted access to two individual IPs (192.168.10.3 , 172.16.1.230) to access our NFS Shared directory. Feel free to adjust as needed.

Regarding the parameters that follow the IP address, please take a look at this guide.

Now, save and exit the file.

Step 4: Export the NFS directory

The following command will export your newly created NFS directory:

root@localhost:~$ exportfs -a

Step 5: Restart NFS Server & Auto-start on Boot

Changes will be applied by restarting NFS server as follows:

root@localhost:~$ systemctl restart nfs-kernel-server

Then, ensure that the service auto-starts on server boot:

root@localhost:~$ systemctl enable nfs-kernel-server

Finally, firewall plays an important role whether remote clients will be able to access your NFS share or not.

Port 2049 is the one responsible for NFS protocol, so allow it on your firewall (firewalld, iptables or ufw).

That’s all! Congratulations on setting up your NFS Server on Debian 12 or Ubuntu 22.04 server!

Get 60% OFF Cloud VPS Hosting during this Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023

NetShop ISP, a leading provider of cloud and server hosting solutions, announces its highly anticipated Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) promotion, offering exclusive discounts on Cloud VPS Hosting plans.

Starting today, November 21st and running through November 27th, 2023, until 22:00 UTC, new and existing clients can enjoy an impressive 60% discount on all Cloud VPS Hosting plans. What’s more, NetShop ISP is introducing a groundbreaking offer with a recurring 20% discount on renewals, ensuring clients benefit from substantial savings for the lifetime of their hosting services.

Key features of the Black Friday Cyber Monday Promo:

• 60% Off Cloud VPS Hosting Plans: Clients can take advantage of a significant discount on all Cloud VPS Hosting plans, tailored to meet the diverse needs of businesses and individuals alike.
  
• Recurring 20% Discount on Renewals: NetShop ISP is setting a new standard by offering a 20% discount on renewals, ensuring long-term affordability and value for clients.

To take advantage of the BFCM promo, visit the Virtual Servers page, choose your desired VPS plan and use the coupon code SAVE60 during checkout.

Promo ends on November 27th, 2023, at 22:59 CET. Terms and conditions apply; read Special Offer Terms & Conditions.

For more information, questions or guidance how to use the promo code please contact our Sales team via email (sales at netshop-isp.com.cy) or Skype (netshopisp).

While cloud hosting has gained popularity for its scalability and flexibility, this article aims to anatomize the compelling reasons why FX brokers should consider choosing dedicated servers for hosting the MetaTrader 5 (MT5) trading platform.

In the fast-paced world of forex trading, where split-second decisions can define success, the choice of hosting infrastructure plays a crucial role in a forex broker’s ability to deliver an exceptional trading experience.

While cloud hosting has gained popularity for its scalability and flexibility, this article aims to anatomize the compelling reasons why FX brokers should consider choosing dedicated servers for hosting the MetaTrader 5 (MT5) trading platform.

7 Reasons Why Brokers Should Choose Dedicated Server for MT5 Platform hosting

1. Precision Performance: The Need for Speed

In the industry of online forex trading, speed is everything. Dedicated servers offer unparalleled performance compared to virtual servers. With a single-tenant environment, dedicated servers ensure low latency and high-speed connectivity, critical for executing trades with precision. This is particularly crucial for high-frequency traders who rely on split-second decisions to capitalize on market movements.

The consistent and reliable performance of dedicated servers provides traders with the edge they need in this fiercely competitive landscape.

2. Reliability: The Key for Achieving Traders’ Trust

Reliability is a cornerstone of success in forex trading. Dedicated servers, being single-tenant environments, eliminate the risks associated with shared resources that are inherent in cloud hosting. The result is enhanced stability and reduced downtime, ensuring that the MT5 platform remains operational during critical market hours. This reliability not only fosters trust among traders but also solidifies the broker’s reputation as a reliable partner in the volatile world of forex trading.

3. Total Control Over Resources: Tailoring to Your Needs

Dedicated servers provide brokers with complete control over resource allocation. In contrast to cloud hosting, where resources are distributed among multiple server instances on the same hardware, dedicated servers allow for the customization of hardware configurations and the optimization of software settings.

This granular control ensures that the MT5 platform operates at peak efficiency, adapting to the specific requirements of the broker’s trading environment.

4. Predictable Costs and Budgeting: Financial Peace of Mind

The financial aspect is a critical consideration for any forex broker. Dedicated servers offer predictable costs with fixed monthly fees, providing forex brokers with greater financial peace of mind.

This predictability allows for effective budgeting, eliminating the uncertainty associated with variable cloud pricing models. Brokers can allocate resources strategically, ensuring that the hosting environment aligns seamlessly with the demands of the MT5 platform without the risk of unexpected expenses.

In contrary, whilst cloud servers may seem as the cheapest hosting type to begin with, organizations realize within the first 3-4 months that the costs increase significantly; either because the free cloud credits period has ended, or due to the automatic scalability of cloud instances to cope with the increased traffic and compute requirements.

5. Enhanced Security Measures: Safeguarding Trader Assets

Security is paramount in the forex industry, where sensitive financial transactions occur in real-time. While cloud hosting providers implement robust security measures, dedicated servers offer an additional layer of control and security customization.

Forex brokers can implement better security protocols, including firewalls, encryption, and dedicated IP addresses, safeguarding the MT5 platform against potential cyber threats. This increased security is essential for protecting trader assets and maintaining the integrity of the trading platform.

6. Data Sovereignty and Compliance: A Global Perspective

For forex brokers operating on a global scale, data sovereignty is a critical consideration. Dedicated servers provide the flexibility to choose the physical location of servers, ensuring compliance with regional data protection regulations. This level of control over data residency is particularly beneficial in the forex industry, where adherence to international and local compliance standards is vital for building trust among traders and meeting regulatory requirements.

7. Scalability: Growing with Confidence

While scalability is often touted as a strength of cloud hosting, dedicated servers also offer the capability to scale infrastructure seamlessly. With the right provider, dedicated servers can be scaled up to accommodate increased loads, ensuring a seamless trading experience even during peak market hours.

Flexibility allows brokers to grow their client base and expand the capabilities of the MT5 platform without compromising on performance.

Summary: Elevating Forex Trading with High-performance Dedicated Servers

In the fiercely competitive landscape of Forex trading, the choice between dedicated and cloud servers for the MT5 platform is not merely a technical decision; it’s a strategic one. While cloud hosting offers scalability and flexibility, dedicated servers provide enhanced performance, great reliability, resource control, predictable costs, security, compliance advantages, and scalability without compromise.

By opting for dedicated servers, forex brokers can establish a robust foundation for their MT5 platform, offering traders the speed, stability, and security they demand.

In this article we help you understand the concept of a Hybrid Backup Solution, its benefits to organizations of any size and we compare key factors of local and cloud backup strategies.

Like most small- or medium-sized businesses, you probably already have a backup solution in place. That said, even though you may no longer be relying on manual backups, your existing backup solution may not have kept up with the times.

It’s been a few years now since businesses started switching from traditional backup policies to cloud-based backup. As the technology evolves, moving to cloud backup solutions seems the right thing to do. It’s not though.

In this article we will explain the concept of hybrid backup and its benefits to organizations of any size.

What is Hybrid Backup

Hybrid Backup is when combining both local and cloud solutions in your backup strategy.

One would think local backup is dead, however it does offer competitive advantages such as:

• Lightning-fast, simplified backup and restore
  
• Cost-effective in terms of bandwidth utilization
  
• Predictable cost vs. cloud backup cost spikes when inefficient backup policies are configured

However, businesses nowadays do not have all digital assets in one place. Some may be on-premise (accounting, payroll software, file server) whilst ERP systems, Google Drive or Microsoft 365 data are on cloud.

Additionally, organizations under regulatory compliance (banks, forex brokers, health institutions, etc) may be required to have sensitive data hosted in accredited, multi-certified data centers. In this case the cloud backup option seems like the right fit versus a local backup policy.

Let’s take a closer look and compare Local and Cloud Backup features based on several factors.

6 Things to Consider When Choosing Between Local vs. Cloud Backup

Consideration	Cloud Backup	Local Backup
Cost	Whilst it can be cheap to start, costs can significantly grow over short time as the data volumes grow.	Purchasing hardware for on-premise backup can be expensive, especially on disk-based products. The cheapest local backup option is, still, the tape products.
Scalability	Storage is, essentially, unlimited or at least the company does not need to worry about capacity to accommodate future data growth.	Organizations need to forecast needs in order to accommodate sufficient storage.
Accessibility	Most cloud backup solutions offer an easy-to-use panel to manage and access the data. Depending on the size of backup and the source server’s connectivity, the backup process time can vary.	Unless there is a disaster on the site where the backup hardware reside, its relatively easy to access backup data on-premise. Speed of data transfer depends on the disks and RAID configuration. Tape backups are usually the slowest.
Security	Most reputable cloud backup providers claim to be safe, however end-to-end security is still a concern for all cloud providers to achieve in the future.	Local backup is considered secure, however if we are talking about hardware connected on the public internet, local backup method is still exposed to cyber attacks and other threats.
Management	Usually, cloud backup solutions come as Managed, meaning the provider takes care of the on-going management, maintenance, etc.	Organizations may choose to handle local backups administration through its own IT staff or outsource it.
Recovery	Whilst failover to a disaster recovery platform is relatively easy, dealing large volume data can make the recovery process very slow.	Recovering in a local backup scenario is considered to be fast as the infrastructure is connected on the same network. However, in case there is a disaster on site, local backup may also be affected making it impossible to recovery anything.

Why Choosing a Hybrid Backup Solution

We live in an era where organizations invest a lot of human and financial capital to cope with the complex topic of data management and security.

Maintaining two parallel solutions (local and cloud) for data backup is definitely not an option, so here is where Hybrid Backup solutions come in play.

Hybrid Backup platforms merge the best features of cloud and local backup. In many ways, this offers the best of both worlds:

• Simple, fast recovery from local backup when original hardware is available
  
• Maintaining a copy in the cloud can be proven a great decision in case there is a catastrophic event on-site.
  
• Ability to backup everything on cloud whilst requesting backup data to be physically shipped to you, on-premise.
  
• Ensures compliance with regulatory guidelines even if the on-premise infrastructure does not meet the necessary requirements – choose a cloud backup provider who possess compliance certifications such as GDPR, PCI, HIPAA.

To summarize, the biggest benefit of hybrid backup solutions is the enhanced redundancy. Data stored somewhere are trash unless you can recover them. The hybrid backup solution ensures that if the on-premise backup hardware fail, recovery can start from the cloud storage. Additionally, in the case of having to recover Terrabytes of data over a slow network connection, recovery from local backup would be your preferred option.

Secure your Business and Digital Assets with a Leading Managed Hosting Provider

NetShop ISP’s managed infrastructure and security specialists have helped hundreds of organizations in fast-paced, heavily regulated industries such as online gambling, forex, crypto exchange platforms and more.

Starting with an audit of your current backup policies, we will design the most appropriate business continuity and disaster recovery strategy based on your business’ needs and budget.

For businesses without the necessary facilities or capital needed to create or maintain local backup systems, NetShop ISP offers a Hybrid Backup solution via a private colocation space in multi-certified Data centers along with Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud; an award-winning cloud backup provider.

Contact an Infrastructure Specialist today or chat with us via Live chat or Skype (netshopisp).

In this article we will provide a step-by-step guide to installing cPanel and WHM on your AlmaLinux 8 Server.

Often paired together, cPanel control panel is amongst the most popular web-based platforms for website and hosting management, whilst WHM is a server management tool used to manage multiple cPanel accounts.

In this article we will provide a step-by-step guide to installing cPanel and WHM on your AlmaLinux 8 Server.

Prerequisites

In order to follow this guide, you will need the following:

1. AlmaLinux 8 freshly installed on your server
2. Minimum 1 GB RAM and minimum 20 GB disk space (read official hardware requirements by cPanel)
3. Shell access to your AlmaLinux 8 machine with a root-privileged user
4. cPanel/ WHM license (15-day trial period if this is a new installation of cPanel & WHM)

Steps to Install cPanel on AlmaLinux 8

For all following commands we assume you are logged in with root user. If not, switch to root account using command sudo -i

Step 1: Disable Firewall

It is advised that you disable the firewall on your AlmaLinux server. Run the following command to save the current firewall rules to file, and then disable firewall.

root@localhost:~$ iptables-save > ~/firewall.rules
root@localhost:~$ systemctl stop firewalld.service && systemctl disable firewalld.service

Step 2: Disable SELinux

Since SELinux is incompatible with cPanel & WHM, you must disable it before you can proceed.

Update the contents of the /etc/selinux/config file to set the SELINUX parameter to disabled.

Use the command nano /etc/selinux/config to edit the file.

The expected contents of the file are as follows:

# This file controls the state of SELinux on the system.
# SELINUX= can take one of these three values:
# enforcing - SELinux security policy is enforced.
# permissive - SELinux prints warnings instead of enforcing.
# disabled - No SELinux policy is loaded.
SELINUX=disabled
# SELINUXTYPE= can take one of these two values:
# targeted - Only targeted network daemons are protected.
# strict - Full SELinux protection.
SELINUXTYPE=targeted

Save and close the file.

Now execute the following command to disable SELinux on your environment without requiring immediate server restart:

root@localhost:~$ setenforce 0

Step 3: Set FQDN Hostname

It is important that you have set a Fully Qualified Domain Name as your server’s hostname. This will be your cPanel’s server hostname, the one you will be using to access WHM and cPanel panels from your browser.

Run the following command:

root@localhost:~$ hostnamectl set-hostname mycpanel.mydomain.com

To ensure your hostname is persistent after server restarts, edit the following file and enter your desired hostname. Then save & close the file.

root@localhost:~$ nano /etc/hostname

IMPORTANT: Your server’s hostname must be resolving to the IP address of your server. You can do so by creating a DNS “A” record from within your Domain/DNS registrar portal.

Step 4: Install necessary packages

In order for the installation script for cPanel & WHM to run successfully, Perl must be installed. Run the following command to install Perl.

root@localhost:~$ yum install perl curl wget -y

Step 5: Download & Run cPanel Installer

Run the following command to fetch and run the cPanel & WHM installation script.

root@localhost:~$ cd /home && curl -o latest -L https://securedownloads.cpanel.net/latest && sh latest

This should take a while to complete. Once it does, cPanel & WHM have been successfully installed!

You can now access WHM GUI from your browser using the server hostname or server IP address in order to finish the necessary setup and fine tuning. The following hostnames and IPs are given as an example.

Step 6: Access WHM GUI to Finish Setup

Open your browser and enter any of the following addresses. If you have followed all above steps, all should work.

https://mycpanel.mydomain.com/whm

https://mycpanel.mydomain.com:2087

You can also replace the hostname part with your server’s IP address, for example https://192.168.1.100/whm