Tips to optimise and speed up MetaTrader 4

Author: Ivan Egorov

With the MetaTrader 5 (MT5) rollout, the usage and popularity of MetaTrader 4 (MT4) have naturally started to gradually decline.

And while MT5 offers a more robust technology and a much more comprehensive selection of options, many brokers have chosen to stay with the MT4 platform for the time being due to the existing infrastructure around the previous-generation platform.

At TFB, we recognise that not everyone is ready to upgrade just yet, and it's important to make the most of the existing MT4 storage space. To help with that, we have compiled a list of tips and recommendations to help our partners organise their current environments more efficiently and be able to use them longer.

Optimising the MetaTrader 4 storage space

If you've received a notification about storage space running out and are concerned that the overload will cause the server to freeze, here is what you can do to optimise the database and minimise the risk of downtime.

At TFB, we are often approached by large brokers who require urgent MT4 server optimisation. They have so many clients trading actively that their database grows to several million orders, creating issues with MT4 latency, causing server freezes, and even crashing sometimes.

Once brokers start seeing those worrying symptoms regularly, it is a sign that they need to optimise their MT4 servers as soon as possible.

Start with the logs. Identify the time period after which the logs can be safely archived without negatively impacting the work process. Please ensure you perform archiving during the server's low activity period, such as during nights or weekends, to prevent any issues with performance. Archiving adds load to the server, so it can potentially slow down the trading process.

Tip: If you have large volumes of data that require archiving, you can automate the process to speed it up. Reach out to the TFB support team for details, and they will guide you through the process.

TFB solutions that help optimise MT4 space

We'd like to talk about three solutions from our portfolio that help manage the MT4 storage space and keep it functional for longer.

#1 Account Archiver

This solution allows brokers to automatically archive certain accounts based on predefined parameters, such as status, login, or group. In addition to that, the Account Archiver deletes the trading history, allowing to further optimise the MT4 database. Accounts can be both archived and restored from the archive if necessary.

The Account Archiver works well paired with the Account Marker application that can detect and mark the accounts to be archived if they weren't active for a selected time period.

#2 Archivator plugin

The Archivator plugin archives old orders in the history and frees up extra space on the MT4 server.

The plugin is resource-intensive, so it should only be used on weekends when the market is closed, and there are no active transactions. Otherwise, brokers might experience inconveniences, such as delays.

#3 Daily.dat decreaser

The Daily.dat decreaser application helps brokers optimise the MT4 database by archiving the transaction history for a specific time period and, subsequently, decreases the MT4 database size. If needed, the data can be easily restored.

That's all for this week's article. If you'd like to get more useful and detailed information on server best practices, how-tos on TFB products, and other technical articles, please visit our customer portal. Please note that it is only available to TFB clients .