A Selenium server on Windows for your browser tests
A Windows machine dedicated to your browser tests: Edge and Chrome driven by Selenium or Playwright, and an RDP session when something breaks.
Starting at €13/mo
Introduction
A Selenium server on Windows is a machine that stays powered on so your end-to-end tests run without tying up somebody's workstation. At By-Hoster the configuration we recommend for this is Windows - Plus at €13/month incl. VAT: 8 vCores, 16 GB of RAM, 200 GB of SSD and 500 Mbps. The server is delivered in 10 minutes with its dedicated IPv4 address, the Administrator account and RDP access.
Why a real Windows? Because Microsoft Edge behaves there the way it behaves for your users, because a headful browser needs an open graphical session, and because some checks — printing, a file download, a system dialog — only make sense on a full desktop. Selenium and Playwright both drive Edge and Chrome from that machine, and you open an RDP session to watch the browser work when a scenario fails.
What we deliver is the machine: the operating system, the network, RDP access and human 24/7 support. Nothing is preinstalled beyond the operating system — no WebDriver, no Selenium Grid, no Node or Java runtime, no test framework. The Microsoft licence remains yours to buy. This page is about automating your own tests and your own applications; By-Hoster's terms of use apply. The server runs in our single DC-FR_NA(01) datacenter in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
What the machine gives you, and what it does not
16 GB of RAM on the Plus plan
Windows - Plus at €13/month: 8 vCores, 16 GB of RAM, 200 GB of SSD, 500 Mbps. That is our starting recommendation for a test machine, because a headful browser is genuinely hungry and several instances running in parallel are hungrier still. Our published rule of thumb already puts 8 GB as soon as business software is added: a browser test suite deserves the tier above. Higher up sit Windows - Max (16 vCores, 32 GB) and Windows - Titan (24 vCores, 64 GB).
An RDP session to watch the test fail
RDP access is tuned up to 60 FPS: when a scenario breaks for no obvious reason, you open the desktop, replay the test by hand and watch the browser click. That is often faster than reading a screenshot dropped by the pipeline. A fallback VNC console stays available from the client area if the machine stops answering on the network.
A dedicated machine, not a shared queue
The server does only what you ask of it: no other customer runs a suite on it, nothing else grabs the CPU in the middle of a scenario. A dedicated IPv4 address, NVMe storage, Anti-DDoS protection and full administrator access are included on all four configurations, with no commitment and a 48-hour money-back guarantee.
A bare system: everything else is on you
No software is preinstalled beyond the operating system. The browser, its matching WebDriver, the Selenium Grid hub and nodes, Playwright, the runtime and your test framework are all installed by you, over RDP. Our 24/7 support covers the machine — system, network, RDP, snapshots, reinstallation — not the configuration of your test toolchain.
What a dedicated Windows test machine is for
End-to-end tests on Edge and Chrome
Your critical journeys replayed on a browser installed in a real Windows, with the same rendering engine your users have. Selenium, Playwright or whatever you prefer: the machine is agnostic, you are the one who equips it.
Scheduled runs overnight
The Windows Task Scheduler fires your campaign at 3 a.m. and you read the report over coffee. The machine stays powered on permanently, so nothing depends on a laptop left open somewhere in an office.
A Selenium Grid hub of your own
Install the hub and its nodes on the machine, or spread the nodes across several VPS. The dedicated IPv4 gives your pipelines a stable entry point; the Windows firewall and the ports you open remain your configuration.
Taking over when things break
A red test with no explanation is the moment to open the RDP session, replay the scenario by hand and see where the selector stops finding anything. Two concurrent administrative RDP sessions are available.
Automating your own applications
An old intranet with no API, a homegrown back office, a weekly export that only happens with a mouse: a browser script on a dedicated machine does the job on schedule, against your own applications.
Parallelising without buying hardware
Start on Windows - Plus at €13/month and move to Max (32 GB) or Titan (64 GB, 1000 Mbps) the day the campaign gets too long. No commitment, and annual billing takes 10% off.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. You get a complete Windows machine with administrator access: you install the browser, the WebDriver, the runtime and the test framework exactly as you would on a physical workstation, then launch your campaigns from the command line or from your pipeline. The difference with a desk machine is that this one is always on, reachable through a dedicated IPv4 and delivered in 10 minutes. Installing and configuring the test chain stays on your side.
We recommend at least Windows - Plus at €13/month: 8 vCores, 16 GB of RAM, 200 GB of SSD, 500 Mbps. A headful browser eats memory, and several instances in parallel eat more. Our published sizing rule already puts 8 GB as soon as business software is added, so a test suite deserves the tier above. If you parallelise heavily, aim at Windows - Max (16 vCores, 32 GB, €26/month) or Titan (24 vCores, 64 GB, €49.99/month).
Four configurations, monthly prices incl. VAT: Core at €8 (4 vCores, 8 GB, 50 GB SSD), Plus at €13 (8 vCores, 16 GB, 200 GB), Max at €26 (16 vCores, 32 GB, 500 GB) and Titan at €49.99 (24 vCores, 64 GB, 800 GB, 1000 Mbps). Annual billing takes 10% off. The price covers the machine, the network and the support; it includes neither the Microsoft licence nor any testing software. No commitment, with a 48-hour money-back guarantee.
No. We deliver the operating system and nothing else: assume that the browser, the WebDriver matching its version, the Selenium Grid hub and nodes, Playwright and its browser downloads, the Node or Java runtime and your test framework are all yours to install over RDP. That is also what lets you pin the exact versions your suite expects. Our support works on the machine, not on your tooling.
With the Task Scheduler built into Windows: declare your launch script, set the time, and the campaign starts with nobody in front of the screen. Since the machine is always on, nothing depends on a laptop left open. One method tip: trigger a snapshot from the client area before changing browser or driver version, so you can roll back in minutes if the campaign turns red overnight.
You open an RDP session on the machine and replay the scenario by hand: access is tuned up to 60 FPS, so you follow the browser live instead of interpreting a screenshot. A purely technical caveat: a headful browser needs an open interactive session, which shapes how you launch your tests — worth validating on your own setup. A fallback VNC console is there if the network stops responding.
Windows Server allows 2 concurrent administrative RDP sessions. That is enough for one developer to watch a test while a colleague prepares the next campaign. To open application RDP access to more people, Microsoft requires RDS CAL licences that you buy yourself: we neither supply nor resell them. Budget the matching RAM too, since every open session takes its share — one more argument for 16 GB.
Three systems are offered at checkout, at no extra cost: Windows Server 2025 (mainstream support until 13 November 2029, security until 14 November 2034), Windows Server 2022 (security until 14 October 2031) and Windows 11, which remains a client operating system, not designed to host a multi-user service. Windows Server 2019 is no longer installable. The choice can be changed later through a reinstall from the client area, and the Microsoft licence stays on you.
This page describes two uses: testing your applications and automating your own tools. It does not describe bypassing anti-bot protections, creating accounts in bulk or harvesting third-party sites without permission: By-Hoster's terms of use apply, and our support does not assist with that kind of setup. Getting permission from the owner of the site you automate is your responsibility. We give no legal advice on the matter.
In our single DC-FR_NA(01) datacenter in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, operated directly by the association's technical team. Virtualisation runs on KVM with Proxmox. Your data stays under French jurisdiction, within the GDPR framework, with no transfer outside the European Union. By-Hoster is a French non-profit association founded in 2023 (RNA W162005815, SIRET 92395660100010). Human 24/7 support answers by ticket, Discord and phone. We claim no sector certification, and we would rather say so.