Overview
Bare metal refers to a physical computer server that is used by only one consumer or tenant. Unlike virtualized environments where multiple VMs share the same hardware, a bare metal server provides the user with direct access to the underlying hardware resources.
Key Characteristics
- Single Tenancy: The entire server's resources are dedicated to one user.
- Performance: Eliminates the 'noisy neighbor' effect and the overhead of a hypervisor, providing maximum performance.
- Customization: Users have full control over the hardware configuration and operating system.
Use Cases
- High-performance computing (HPC) and big data analytics.
- Applications with strict security or compliance requirements.
- Latency-sensitive workloads like gaming or high-frequency trading.