Definition of bare metal server –
A bare metal server is a physical server housed within a data center or rack. It is sometimes called a single-tenant server since it serves only one client.
There are two main advantages to using a bare metalserver:
- The user has exclusive access to the serverresource, meaning they benefit from better performance, control and security
- The user can configure the server according to their specific requirements. This includes choosing the processor, RAM, networking setup, and storage options. For instance, clients can opt for NVMe solid-state drives (SSDs) that provide faster loading speeds than standard SATA SSDs and hard disks.
Unlike virtual servers, the operating system (OS) is installed directly on the bare metal server. Its purpose is to give customers standardized access to the server’s computing resources.
Advantages of a bare metal server –
- Exclusivity: Tenants have sole access to server resources.
- Customizability: Components like RAM, storage, and networking, as well as the operating system, can be specified.
- Enhanced security: Physical separation from other tenants provides additional protection.
- Predictable costs: Monthly costs remain consistent without unexpected additions to the invoice.
When to choose bare metal vs cloud
The popularity of cloud computing has grown significantly among businesses. It offers unparalleled scalability, flexibility, and ease of setup, making it an attractive option, especially for startups without IT teams. The major cloud providers even offer free credits, eliminating initial startup infrastructure costs.
With just a credit card and a few clicks, businesses can purchase cloud servers and get up and running quickly. The beauty of cloud servers is that they can be rapidly provisioned without needing physical configuration.
Cloud servers are an excellent choice for new businesses, or companies with unpredictable scaling requirements (think Netflix and Amazon Prime) to handle high-traffic peaks.
However, it’s essential to be aware of some limitations when using cloud servers, particularly for resource-intensive applications or services.
- Unforeseen costs: Some aspects of the computing environment, such as bandwidth, may not be included in the standard packages from leading cloud providers. Which means that customers who experience significant usage peaks could face substantial expenses.
- Resource contention: Cloud hosting providers cannot guarantee customers full access to server resources because they are shared amongst all users of that server, which can impact performance.
- Noisy neighbors: Cloud providers may oversell the resources of physical machines housing virtual machines, leading to congestion during peak periods.
Cloud server providers intentionally adopt this approach to optimize costs, as virtual machines typically remain idle at around 30% usage. Therefore, cloud servers might not be the most suitable choice if you require predictable performance, as server oversubscription can occur unexpectedly.
Bare metal servers are better for consistent performance requirements. Unlike public cloud providers – who keep server configurations on standby – most bare metal hosting providers configure servers upon customer onboarding. This allows them to offer infrastructure at a lower cost since they don’t need to hold configurations in stock. Some providers do keepstock for quick provisioning times, but they are still able to keep prices more competitive than hyperscale cloud providers.
Additionally, bare metal servers are ideal for customers requiring consistently high performance. For instance, in the tradingindustry, even the slightest delay in routing an order message to a broker’s server could result in the broker being unable to fill the order due to changes in the trading price. Access to the complete resources of a bare metal server ensures consistently high performance.
However, it’s important to note that you don’t have to choose between bare metal and cloud. You can actually use both together. By combining a baseline of bare metal servers with cloud auto-scaling, you can create a highly cost-effective, scalable, flexible, secure, and high-performing infrastructure. While scaling takes place within the cloud, any consistent peaks can be backfilled by bare metal.
This hybrid approach allows customers to benefit from the scalability of the cloud while maintaining consistent bare-metal performance.
