Why Choose Bare Metal Servers? Uncover Their Cloud Benefits

In a previous article about cloud computing I mentioned the term “bare metal server.” Due to strong reader interest, this article explains exactly what a bare metal server is.

Despite the name sounding confusing—servers are already made of metal—the word “bare” is used to distinguish these physical machines from virtualized cloud instances.

In cloud computing, most rented compute resources are virtual rather than physical. Bare metal servers represent the notable exception: they are dedicated physical servers offered as a cloud service.

Why provide physical servers when the industry is moving toward full cloudification? Because virtualization has two unavoidable drawbacks.

Performance loss

Virtualization introduces a “third party” layer, so operating systems and applications cannot access hardware directly, leading to latency and reduced performance, especially for high‑intensity I/O or compute‑heavy workloads.

Another issue is the noisy‑neighbor effect. In a multi‑tenant virtualized environment, one tenant’s heavy usage can affect others, making it unsuitable for applications that require consistent performance and stability.

Other limitations include hardware that cannot be virtualized and new CPU features that are unavailable under a hypervisor.

For VIP users who need guaranteed performance, bare metal servers become the ideal solution.

What is a bare metal server?

A bare metal server is essentially a physical server that has been upgraded and is rented exclusively to a single tenant. The provider supplies the hardware (CPU and memory) but leaves the operating system and software choices to the customer.

Most providers recommend using cloud disks for storage, enabling rapid provisioning and easy image‑based deployment, rather than traditional local disks that require longer setup times.

These servers seamlessly integrate with other cloud services such as VPC networks and cloud databases, allowing easy coordination with existing virtualized workloads.

Although they are physical, many bare metal offerings remain compatible with hypervisor platforms like VMware, KVM, Xen, and VirtualBox, so they can still support virtualization when needed.

Some providers even offer “elastic” bare metal servers with self‑developed virtualization technology that eliminates most performance overhead, delivering near‑bare‑metal CPU characteristics.

Typical users include:

Financial institutions that require strict security isolation.

High‑performance computing, aerospace, scientific research, and other workloads demanding extreme performance and stability.

Game developers who need low latency and reliable server performance.

Since its emergence in 2014, the bare metal server market has grown rapidly. According to Grandview Research, the market was valued at about US$1.3 billion in 2016 and is projected to reach US$26.21 billion by 2025.

In summary, bare metal servers combine the control and performance of dedicated hardware with the flexibility and integration capabilities of cloud services, making them a compelling choice for demanding and security‑sensitive applications.

Source: Article originally published by the “Fresh Zao Classroom” public account.