What are Equinix and NY4/LD4/TY3?

Equinix is a global data center operator, and NY4/LD4/TY3 are common names for its specific buildings. If your broker and VPS are in the same building, you can achieve ultra-low latency of 0-2ms.

How much latency is sufficient?

Aim for the same city (2-7ms) for scalping, and the same building (0-2ms) is ideal for ultra-short-term trading. For mid-to-long-term strategies, even 15-40ms is practical.

Why are stop-order centered EAs less dependent on location?

Because stop orders and SL/TP are stored on the broker's server, and their triggering/execution is handled server-side, making them less reliant on instant communication.

Why is a VPS better than a home PC?

A VPS can be placed in a city/building close to your broker's server, reducing physical distance. The distance between VPS and broker is more crucial than your home internet speed.

What if it's slow even in the same city?

Differences can arise due to routing or congestion. Try changing VPS providers/plans, test different locations in the same city, and check line quality (packet loss or jitter).

Do stop-losses work during a power outage or if my PC crashes?

Yes, SL/TP orders already registered with the broker's server will trigger even if your VPS/PC is down. However, unsent orders or modifications won't be reflected, so perform important updates promptly.

Choosing a VPS Location to Reduce Latency | Equinix & NY4/LD4/TY3 Basics & Impact on Stop Order EAs

Start with the Big Picture (Read This First)

- - For scalping that competes for milliseconds with market orders, location is super important. Differences in trade speed can significantly alter results.
  - The “speed” of your trades is affected by the network “distance” (latency) between your PC/VPS running the EA and the broker’s trade server.
  - The basic rule: closer to the broker’s server (same building/city) is faster, while being on a different continent is slower.
  - Using a VPS instead of a home PC allows you to trade from a location near your broker’s server. Related article: EA Operation: ‘VPS’ or ‘Home PC’? A Thorough Comparison
  - On the other hand, EAs centered on stop orders (entering with limit/stop orders, exiting with SL/TP) have their orders “stored” on the broker’s server, making them less susceptible to latency = you don’t need to be overly sensitive about location.
  - Our site’s EAs are primarily stop-order based and non-scalping, making them less affected by latency.

What is Equinix? What are NY4/LD4/TY3?

Equinix is a company that operates massive data centers (DCs) worldwide. Its strength lies in enabling financial institutions, brokers, and LPs to colocate their servers in the same building, connecting via ultra-short, direct lines.

NY4/NY5/LD4/LD5/TY3 are the common names for specific buildings operated by Equinix.

NY = New York area, LD = London area, TY = Tokyo area.
The numbers are akin to building identifiers.
So, a “VPS in NY4” means it’s inside the Equinix “NY4” building in New York.

If both your broker’s trade server and your VPS are inside the same NY4, you can achieve speeds like 0-2ms, essentially being “next door.” Even within the same city (e.g., NY4 and NY5), it often remains around 2-10ms.

How Fast is Fast Enough? (A Practical Guide)

0-2ms: Same building level. Ideal even for ultra-short-term scalping/HFT.
2-7ms: Same city level. Very advantageous for scalping and automated trading.
7-15ms: Proximate cities. Plenty fast for most EAs.
15-40ms: Same region/continent. Acceptable for mid-to-long-term timeframe strategies.
40ms+: Cross-continent. Can be disadvantageous for scalping.

EAs Centered on Stop Orders Are Less Dependent on Location

Why Are They Less Dependent?

Because stop orders (limit/stop orders) and SL/TP are “stored” on the broker’s server, their triggering (hitting) and stop-loss/take-profit execution are handled automatically by the server.
This means that at the moment of entry or exit, there’s no need to send a signal from your VPS to the server (the server already holds the order), thus latency has less impact.

When Does Location Matter?

Of course, the initial order placement moment (setting stop orders or SL/TP) and moments when updating order information like price or lot size changes are faster when closer.
However, the impact is not as critical as for types that continuously fire market orders.

Conclusion: Choosing an EA centered on stop orders significantly reduces dependency on location. They work well with swing-to-day trading, event-based strategies, and range breakout stop orders.

Simple 3-Step Guide: How to Choose Your Optimal Location

Know Your Trading Server Name
- Click near the response speed (ms) display at the bottom right of MT4/MT5 to open the server list and check the server name (e.g., …-LiveNY, …-RealLD, …-LiveTY).
- Server names often contain hints like NY/LD/TY/SG/FR/AMS.
Choose a VPS in the Same Building or City
- If possible, prioritize VPS providers that advertise being in the same Equinix (NY4/LD4/TY3, etc.) facility.
- If unavailable or unsure, select the same city (New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Frankfurt, Amsterdam).
Finalize by Actual Measurement
- Simply select the server with the lowest ms reading in MT4/MT5 on your VPS.

Location-Critical EAs vs. Location-Tolerant EAs

Location-Critical (Strongly consider same building ~ same city)

Scalping that competes for milliseconds with market orders
Instant-entry types right after news
Strategies requiring frequent position flipping/following

Location-Tolerant (Same city ~ same region is sufficient)

Centered on stop orders (using stop orders to wait for breakouts, limit orders to wait for pullbacks, SL/TP for auto-exit)
→ If your EA primarily uses stop orders, you don’t need to worry much about location.
Mid-to-long-term timeframe focused (not ultra-fast scalping on 1min or 5min charts)
→ Can perform adequately even in the same city or region. VPS costs are also easier to manage.

Our Site’s EA Location Selection

Most of our site’s EAs are centered on stop orders and operate on 30M to 1H timeframes (they are not scalpers), making them completely insensitive to location. This is to ensure high reproducibility and robustness.

Summary (Your Checklist)

Gather regional hints from the server name (NY/LD/TY/SG/FR/AMS…).
Aim for proximity in this order: same building (Equinix NY4/LD4/TY3 etc.) > same city > same region.
Using a stop-order centered EA reduces location dependency.
Finally, actually measure the “ms” on your VPS’s MT platform and choose the smallest one.

FAQ

Q. What are Equinix and NY4/LD4/TY3?: A. Equinix is a global data center operator, and NY4/LD4/TY3 are common names for its specific buildings. If your broker and VPS are in the same building, you can achieve ultra-low latency of 0-2ms.
Q. How much latency is sufficient?: A. Aim for the same city (2-7ms) for scalping, and the same building (0-2ms) is ideal for ultra-short-term trading. For mid-to-long-term strategies, even 15-40ms is practical.
Q. Why are stop-order centered EAs less dependent on location?: A. Because stop orders and SL/TP are stored on the broker’s server, and their triggering/execution is handled server-side, making them less reliant on instant communication.
Q. Why is a VPS better than a home PC?: A. A VPS can be placed in a city/building close to your broker’s server, reducing physical distance. The distance between VPS and broker is more crucial than your home internet speed.
Q. What if it’s slow even in the same city?: A. Differences can arise due to routing or congestion. Try changing VPS providers/plans, test different locations in the same city, and check line quality (packet loss/jitter).
Q. Do stop-losses work during a power outage or if my PC crashes?: A. Yes, SL/TP orders already registered with the broker’s server will trigger even if your VPS/PC is down. However, unsent orders or modifications won’t be reflected, so perform important updates promptly.