Key takeaways
- An MT5 installation is split into roles: trade server, access servers, history and backup.
- Place the trade server near liquidity and access servers near clients.
- Failover must be designed and tested, not assumed.
- Document everything: roles, locations, credentials policy and procedures.
The server roles
- Trade server: the core that holds accounts and processes orders.
- Access servers: entry points that clients connect to; they can be spread across regions.
- History server: stores and distributes price history.
- Backup server: keeps a copy of data and supports recovery.
Where to place them
Put the trade server close to your liquidity providers and bridge to minimise execution latency. Put access servers close to where your clients are, for example Europe, the Middle East and Asia, so connections stay fast and stable.
Failover and backups
Decide what happens when a server fails: which node takes over, how data is synchronised and who performs the switch. Test the procedure before you need it, and test backup restores regularly.
Configuration that matters from day one
- Groups aligned with account types and routing.
- Symbols with correct contract sizes, sessions and swaps.
- Manager permissions based on least privilege.
- Monitoring and alerting before the first real client.
Getting it right
Architecture mistakes are expensive to fix after launch. See our server setup service.