Bare metal or virtualized environments relies on physical hardware for its performance i.e. they possess physical hardware underneath.
However, it is the shared hosting deployment model that is the feature in virtual environments that differentiates it. In this case, the end-user that works with virtual resources, will not have access to the bare metal level.
While some run almost 100% virtually others runs better on the physical hardware.
Read Here: 12 Types Of Cloud Computing
What is Bare Metal Server?
A bare metal server is a physical computer specially created to run dedicated services without it being interrupted for extended periods. It is highly stable, durable, and reliable.
They can also be said to be a single-tenant environment, in the sense that a single server’s physical resources is likely not to be shared between two or more tenants. Due to this physical separation, bare metal servers are free of that “noisy neighbor” effect that is accustomed to virtual environments. One significant benefit of this isolation is that you can predict the server performance. Thanks to this, this server feature the most stable environment, making it perfect for the processing large volumes of data.
Small to medium businesses go for Bare Metal dedicated servers due to its cost effective hosting solution which can automate quickly and scale their resources performances. It is perfect for critical high-intensity workloads, such as business intelligence or database apps
Industries like banking and financial industry, health care, and government which have the highest needs for data collation, data security, world-class performance, and precise data operations are the ones who use bare metal systems the most. As the demand for storage grows spontaneously with big data, this market will continue to grow with it. Large enterprises within these sectors are to be the big guns in Bare Metal Server usage. Up until 2016, the SMB market was a more significant consumer of the bare metal infrastructure.
Setting up Bare Metal Servers
1. What are your Requirements?
First, as an organization, you need to be conscious of how you plan on using bare metal. You can consider any of the following case; will it be a database server, a network device, application server web server or do you intend to use it for dev/QA or production? Every unique use case needs a different configuration, and if you don’t do your research, you certainly won’t find the right solution.
When you define your requirements, you have to start thinking about the configuration.
2. Off the Shelf Configurations and Non-Configured Setups
There are some specific workloads that off the shelf configurations needs to be created for. Most managed service providers offer servers pre-configured for data crunching, heavy graphical processing, and for other types of specialized workloads. For every particular configuration that an organization needs, most sales teams can help you procure the right bare metal server.
3. OS, Control Panels, and Database Software Options
This is one of the great benefit of Bare Metal Servers. The entire concept of ‘bare’ means a clean slate, meaning that you can use the server to its full potential. You pick the underlying relational database software (e.g., MySQL), the operating system you want (e.g., CentOS, Microsoft Server 2016, Ubuntu, etc.), the control panel and control panel add-ons, you have root access, and you are in full control. You have the option of doing a custom install or setting up your own hypervisor to create a virtualized environment. All these options can be modified after your initial deployment but be aware that such modifications will require data deletion.
4. Other Considerations
Bare Metal takes more time and know-how to implement than cloud hosting. It can also be less flexible when expanding. Since you are tied to the hardware, any problems can have a huge impact. Cloud-based solutions circumvent this by not linking the server instance to a single physical machine.
Compared to cloud hosting, dedicated servers are most cost-effective when you are using its resources to their fullest. However, the benefits are often beyond the needs of businesses. Therefore, it is typically best to opt for a cloud server.
Advantages of Bare Metal Server
- When using bare metal, you are in no competition with other users on the same system for resources.
- All users can get high performance from this type of server; one user usage doesn’t affect the performance or usage of another user.
- A Bare Metal Server is the best for users that need top level performance because it can deal with a more significant workload unlike a virtual server with similar specifications.
- Unlike other types of dedicated servers, bare metal is often very easy to manage due to being in a data center. Customization of setup according to customers need can be provided by most Bare Metal Server Providers. Managing a server can be very challenging and time-consuming. So, often time having a third-party manage your server for you can be a benefit for many companies.
- Managed servers are also more cost-effective than on-site servers. Data centers are more streamlined than in-house setups. So, they can offer more at a lower cost. They also come with other benefits such as a higher bandwidth connection.
- Most data centers also offer services that are very valuable to IT teams. Examples include guaranteed uptime, 24/7 support, and regular security audits. Better yet, getting these services from a third-party means not having to hire in-house staff to perform them thus reducing cost most time.
- Another advantage is that it includes the ability to hybridize your infrastructure i.e. uniting your bare metal and virtual assets to create the best performance.
