To store and manage data, devices, systems and programs over a network, you need a server that’s powerful enough to handle these projects, whilst also remaining within your budget. Whether you need a server for website hosting, database management, app development, Forex trading, game server hosting, or anything in between, you need to find the right server hosting package and server hosting provider for you. But with so many different types of web hosting packages and servers available to you, where do you even begin?
Combining the powerful performance and robust security of a Dedicated Server with the flexible pay-as-you-use billing of cloud hosting, Bare Metal Servers are the premium hosting choice for businesses looking for first-class computing power and control. With no need to share computing resources on this single-tenant server, you get granular control over all resources and unparalleled performance. This makes bare metal hosting a popular choice for big data processing, AI model training, software development, large database management, hosting multiple websites, and much more.
In our series of ultimate guides, we hope to cut through the jargon and help you find the best server hosting package for your needs. Keep reading our ultimate guide to Bare Metal Servers to discover what a bare metal server is, its advantages and disadvantages, how it compares to other types of servers, and how to choose the best bare metal server provider and specifications for your project.
What is a bare metal server?
A bare metal server is a physical server with its own operating system (OS) that’s totally dedicated to one client. This is why it’s also referred to as a single-tenant server. However, just because it’s dedicated to one client, this doesn’t mean that it can only handle one project or one user. The client gets exclusive access to all resources on the server, giving them enough computing power to run multiple projects with many users working together.
Since the client gets access to the entire server’s computing resources, including RAM, processing power and storage, bare metal hosting is a very popular choice among large enterprises that need a lot of power to run complex, resource-intensive projects. Plus, with no other tenants on the server, the client gets full root access to fully configure and manage the server according to their needs. As such, bare metal server hosting offers total autonomy, granular resource control, exclusive and uninterrupted service, customisation freedom, robust security, data privacy, and much more.
How does bare metal hosting work?
Purchasing and maintaining your own server hardware – not to mention your own server room or data centre – is very expensive and time-consuming, which is why most organisations rent a server from a hosting provider like Fasthosts instead. When you rent a bare metal hosting plan from us, we’ll house and maintain the hardware in our own data centre, so all you need to do is connect to it remotely and manage its software and settings. Plus, our expert support team will be available 24/7 to handle any hardware issues, emergencies or queries.
Bare metal server provisioning only takes a few minutes on our end once you’ve purchased a bare metal plan, so you can get your projects up and running the very same day. We provide a wide range of bare metal server plans to choose from, allowing you to take your pick between Intel and AMD processors and HDD and SSD storage to suit your needs and budget.
Bare metal server vs dedicated server
If you’re already familiar with server hosting, you may be feeling a bit of déjà vu – especially if you’ve recently taken a look at our dedicated server deals or our Ultimate Guide to Dedicated Servers. You’ve probably noticed that bare metal and dedicated servers are described very similarly, and this isn’t helped by the fact that the terms “bare metal server” and “dedicated server” are often used interchangeably elsewhere on the internet.
So, what’s the difference between a bare metal server and a dedicated server?
Both types of hosting give you full root access to an entire physical server without any virtualisation layers, making them both single-tenant environments. However, our Bare Metal Servers are supported by our CloudNX infrastructure, giving you the power of dedicated resources with the flexibility of a virtual server.
Whilst dedicated hosting gives you a set amount of resources and a fixed monthly payment structure, bare metal hosting gives you the option to start, stop and pause your server whenever you need to. You’ll also get down-to-the-minute billing so that you only pay for the resources you use. This is especially useful for projects with fluctuating resource demands, such as hosting a website with seasonal traffic peaks.
Another key difference is that bare metal servers usually come with all of the latest server technologies as standard, whereas dedicated servers sometimes offer the same technologies as optional add-ons. Therefore, more technical knowledge is usually required to manage a bare metal server – which means your organisation will likely need dedicated IT staff to handle server management.
In addition, bare metal servers can be more challenging to manage because of the potential to virtualise all or part of the server with a bare metal hypervisor – which we’ll discuss in more detail later in this guide. This means you can use your bare metal server to create a private cloud network for your organisation. Creating a private cloud can offer performance, control, customisation and scalability benefits, but the initial set-up process can be time-consuming and challenging.
Advantages of bare metal servers
With so many server hosting options on the table, including VPS hosting, dedicated hosting and shared hosting, what makes bare metal hosting stand out from the crowd? Here are the main benefits you can expect from a bare metal server:
1. Physical server isolation
Bare metal hosting gives you access to a single-tenant server environment, with no need to share server space or resources with anyone else. With a shared server, you run the risk of being on the same physical server as another tenant that uses more than their fair share of resources, which can cause performance issues for your projects – this is known as the “noisy neighbour effect”. Whilst virtual servers have some protection against this due to their virtual isolation with hypervisor technology, the only way to fully eliminate the risk of “noisy neighbours” is to choose a bare metal dedicated server.
2. Superior performance
With no need to share resources, you can choose to use all of the resources at your disposal to get unparalleled performance for your projects, no matter how resource-intensive or complex they are. If you need a server for hosting high-traffic websites or developing machine learning algorithms, you should choose the superior processing power and storage capacity of a bare metal server.
3. Full root access
Another benefit of not sharing server space is that you get full root access to your server’s settings to configure this environment however you wish. Choose your preferred software, OS, hardware and server settings to create the ideal environment for your projects. Plus, you and your team can manage everything yourself, including software installation, updates, and security measures, so you don’t need to relinquish control to any third parties. Get total freedom to work your way, according to your own schedule.
4. Improved security
Thanks to the physical isolation of your bare metal server, you won’t face the same security vulnerabilities as shared hosting customers. On a shared server, hackers can potentially access other clients on the same server if they’ve managed to infiltrate this environment due to one tenant’s poor security measures. This isn’t an issue on a dedicated bare metal server, and since you have full admin control over server configuration and settings, you have complete freedom to install your preferred security software too.
5. Flexible down-to-the-minute billing
Dedicated servers usually require you to pay a fixed sum every month, even if you don’t need or use all of your resources in that period. If you have fluctuating resource needs, it may make more sense financially to choose a bare metal server with down-to-the-minute billing. Start, stop and pause your server whenever you want, and only pay for the resources you actually use.
Disadvantages of bare metal servers
Of course, nothing is without its faults. Despite its many incredible benefits, including unparalleled processing power, full root access, and robust security, bare metal hosting isn’t the right choice for every customer. In fact, some of these benefits are precisely why these servers aren’t universally suitable. Let us explain:
1. Expensive
The many amazing benefits of bare metal server hosting come at a cost – often a very high cost. Whilst it’s true that the flexible billing of bare metal servers can make them more cost-effective for those with fluctuating resource needs, they still come with a high price tag because there are no other tenants to split costs with. And if you choose a bare metal server with increased storage capacity or processing power, your costs will continue to increase. This is why bare metal servers tend to only be used by larger organisations with an IT budget and projected earnings that justify the cost.
2. Technical knowledge required
As mentioned earlier, bare metal servers can be even harder to manage than dedicated servers because they often come with all of the latest server technology. This is great for your projects, but it means you’ll need an experienced IT team to handle server configuration, updates, data management, security, resource management and more. Full root access is a fantastic benefit if you know what you’re doing, but if you don’t, then too much freedom can actually be a burden – especially if you leave yourself open to security risks through poor configuration and management.
3. Time-consuming setup and management
As you can imagine, full root access to customise your server however you wish also means more time spent on server setup and management. You’ll have to provision each aspect of your bare metal server, meaning more time to get everything set up how you want.
4. Poor scalability
A bare metal server is a physical server with a set hardware configuration, so it can’t provide the granular scalability of cloud servers and virtual servers. With a VPS hosting plan, you can easily add more virtual resources to your control panel whenever you wish, but if you outgrow your bare metal server, you would need to modify the server hardware to change your resource levels. Plus, if you plan on migrating a bare metal server to another (or even onto a virtual server), you’ll experience a period of downtime before the migration is complete. This could be problematic if you run a fast-paced business or service, such as a popular ecommerce website.
Uses for bare metal servers
Bare metal servers are typically used for more resource-intensive purposes due to their abundant resources, processing power and large storage capacity. For less demanding applications like hosting a blog, shared hosting or VPS hosting would be more appropriate.
So, what would you use a bare metal server for? Here are several common examples of bare metal server use cases:
1. Big data processing
For big data processing, you need the superior processing and storage capacity of an entire physical server, which is why bare metal dedicated servers are commonly used by larger organisations for data collection and processing. For example, if you’re collecting lots of data from Internet of Things (IoT) devices, a bare metal server has the power needed to process this data without performance issues, and it can also store this data more securely because of its physical isolation and the fact that you have full control over its security measures.
But why would you choose a bare metal server over a dedicated server? Bare metal servers are the better choice when these big data processing tasks are only carried out once or a few times per year, because you have the flexibility to pause and spin up your server whenever you need. And since you only pay for the resources you use, you can save money overall compared to a dedicated server that has a fixed monthly price.
2. Machine learning and AI
Similar to big data processing, the development of AI and machine learning algorithms requires the superior processing capabilities of bare metal servers. These physical servers give you the resources you need to perform complex calculations without performance issues.
To improve machine learning algorithm development even further, you can use bare metal servers with GPUs (graphical processing units) rather than CPUs (central processing units). These bare metal GPU servers are specialised for improved graphics rendering, parallel processing and intense computational workloads. Because GPUs process tasks in parallel rather than serially (like a CPU), they can run more calculations at the same time to improve overall efficiency.
3. Regulatory compliance
Bare metal dedicated servers help organisations achieve regulatory compliance requirements thanks to their total physical isolation. If your organisation handles sensitive information, such as medical, legal or financial data, having an entire physical server reduces the risk of infiltration or unauthorised access compared to shared servers, where you could potentially be at risk of breaches if another tenant is compromised. Plus, you’ll have full root access to install enhanced security software and maintain complete control over security settings and updates.
4. Real-time communications
For real-time communications including video conferencing and live streaming, you need lightning-fast speeds and minimal latency. With their huge resource reserves, bare metal servers give you the power needed to transmit video and audio instantaneously, making it easy for you to maintain efficient communications around the world.
5. Gaming servers
Similarly, minimal latency is crucial for online gaming, where even the smallest amount of lag can make a huge difference to your gameplay. Smaller servers like VPSs are commonly used to create private gaming servers for groups of friends, but for those who want to potentially monetise their gaming server by inviting large numbers of people to a unique, heavily modded gaming environment, a bare metal server or dedicated server is a better choice due to the abundance of resources and far superior processing power. With a bare metal gaming server, you could host hundreds of players whilst maintaining minimal lag for a smooth gaming experience.
6. Database hosting and management
If your organisation needs to host and manage large databases, bare metal servers are an obvious choice due to their huge storage capacity. Plus, thanks to their impressive processing power and robust security, these servers are excellent at handling a high volume of data requests whilst also ensuring the security of your data and customers’ data against cybercriminals.
7. High-traffic ecommerce websites
Poor loading speeds can be extremely detrimental to any website, but for popular ecommerce websites that need to support large numbers of visitors 24/7, it’s even more crucial that your website remains available and can handle traffic spikes without performance issues. Otherwise, visitors could easily become frustrated and leave your site.
One option is to rent a dedicated server, which will have the power you need to support a high-traffic ecommerce website, or even multiple websites. However, many ecommerce sites have significant seasonal traffic fluctuations, which means you need different resource levels throughout the year. Therefore, if you opt for a bare metal server instead, you can scale it up when needed and pause it during quiet periods, allowing you to save money whilst continuing to meet demand.
Plus, bare metal servers can be integrated into a network of virtual machines, so you can use scalable VPSs to handle the resource-intensive seasonal traffic, and have an integrated bare metal server to store the back-end data. This hybrid infrastructure gives you the scalability of virtual servers combined with the security and power of a physical dedicated server.
8. App development
The combined flexibility and power of bare metal servers also makes them ideal for any kind of web project development. You get abundant resources and top-of-the-line security for the design, production and testing processes of app development, plus the ability to scale down your resource usage (and therefore spending) during quieter periods.
9. Non-standard server configurations
Ultimately, any resource-intensive and non-standard application is ideal for a bare metal server. Full root access means you get total control over server configuration, allowing you to customise your server environment to match your exact needs. And if you have fluctuating resource requirements, you can start, stop and pause your bare metal server at any time to suit your projects and budget.
Bare metal server virtualisation
As mentioned earlier, another thing that sets bare metal servers apart from dedicated servers – and can potentially make them more difficult to manage – is the fact that you can deploy your own hypervisors on a bare metal server to virtualise either all or part of it. By doing this, you can use virtual machines (VMs) on your bare metal server for enhanced flexibility and scalability, as you’ll be able to allocate resources however you wish. Plus, these flexible VMs will be backed up by your powerful physical server, which carries benefits such as enhanced security and storage capacity for tasks such as database management and data backups.
What is a bare metal hypervisor?
A hypervisor, also known as a virtual machine monitor (VMM), is a type of software that creates and runs VMs. A hypervisor creates a ‘layer’ between the server’s hardware and each VM, which means each VM can operate independently and run its own OS. The hypervisor will also allocate server resources to each VM as part of their independent operation.
Bare metal hypervisors are slightly different because they run directly on the host’s hardware, unlike hosted hypervisors (explained above) that run within an operating system. With a bare metal hypervisor, the hypervisor replaces the host operating system, allowing it to create VMs and allocate resources. Because the bare metal hypervisor interfaces directly with the underlying hardware, there’s no OS managing resources between the hypervisor and hardware. By removing the OS, bare metal hypervisors can improve overall performance and efficiency, and you also get direct access to the hardware and improved isolation between VMs.
Advantages of bare metal hypervisors
Here are some of the main benefits you can expect from bare metal hypervisors and the process of virtualising your bare metal server:
1. Improved performance
As mentioned above, the replacement of the operating system can improve performance and efficiency. This is because bare metal hypervisors don't have to share resources with any other operating systems, which means you won’t suffer from the “noisy neighbour” effect you get with hosted hypervisors.
2. Efficient hardware use
Because bare metal hypervisors give direct access to the underlying physical hardware’s CPU, memory, storage, network and other resources, you get the most efficient use of server hardware. With a hosted hypervisor, you end up using some of these physical resources to run the hypervisor on the OS, and the hypervisor has to schedule and manage VM access to hardware. This adds CPU and memory overhead and therefore reduces the total resource capacity available to the VMs.
3. Enhanced security
A server’s OS is often targeted by hackers, making it a potential route of infiltration. But when you use a bare metal hypervisor, the OS no longer exists, which means you’ve eliminated a potential security vulnerability. This won’t make your server completely invulnerable, but it’s a fantastic additional security measure – especially if you house a lot of sensitive data on your server.
4. Improved reliability
In addition to improving security, the lack of an OS can make bare metal hypervisors more reliable than hosted hypervisors. If an OS crashes or fails, so does the hypervisor – which can be catastrophic if you’re in the middle of critical business operations and workloads. Therefore, without an OS, you’re removing one more potential area of vulnerability.
5. Scalable private cloud
Using our Fasthosts CloudNX platform, you can use a bare metal hypervisor to run multiple VMs alongside your bare metal server. In doing so, you can create a private cloud setup for your organisation, utilising the superior storage and power of a physical server alongside the scalability and flexibility of VMs to handle varying workloads. And by using load balancers too, you can spread out traffic among your servers to prevent server overload. This is particularly useful for industries that have regular peaks and troughs in traffic, like ecommerce websites with clear seasonal traffic spikes. Your online shop can be scaled up with VMs when traffic increases, and when it decreases it can be scaled down again.
Disadvantages of bare metal hypervisors
The question of ‘bare metal hypervisor vs hosted hypervisor’ isn’t always so simple. Whilst there are many fantastic benefits to virtualising your bare metal server with a bare metal hypervisor, there are also some drawbacks you need to consider too:
1. Complicated and costly setup
Bare metal hypervisors require direct access to server hardware, which can make the initial setup more complex than hosted virtualisation. Your IT team will need to have an understanding of the underlying hardware and its compatibility with the hypervisor, and they’ll also need to consider factors like load balancing and resource allocation.
If you intend to create a private cloud network by virtualising all or part of your bare metal server, be prepared for a more technically demanding and time-consuming server setup. The end results can be worth your while, but you should have an experienced IT team to set up and maintain the network. The hardware and network management involved in this ongoing process can be costly, so make sure this is factored into your budget and weighed against the benefits you expect to gain from virtualisation.
2. Hardware dependence
There are definite advantages to not being reliant on an OS, which can come with security and reliability issues, but the problem with bare metal hypervisors is that they depend entirely on the server’s hardware instead. This means that if the physical server fails, all of your VMs will go down too unless a failover cluster is pre-configured. On the other hand, VMs created and managed by a hosted hypervisor can be migrated to new hardware easily if issues emerge.
3. Vendor lock-in
Depending on your server hardware, you may run the risk of vendor lock-in. Bare metal hypervisors run directly on the server hardware, so they may require specific driver and firmware support. Always research these hardware details before choosing a bare metal hosting provider and hosting package.
How to choose a bare metal server
Interested in a bare metal server? This is a significant investment, so make sure you take time to thoroughly research different hosting providers and plans before jumping in. Create a list of your main requirements to help you evaluate each bare metal hosting plan, and compare the different features and specifications you get for different price points with different providers.
Overall, we would recommend paying special attention to the following three areas:
1. Bare metal server pricing
Naturally, the price of each bare metal hosting plan is going to have a huge impact on how appealing it is to you. We would always recommend setting a rough budget before starting your search in earnest, using a preliminary investigation of different hosting providers to inform you of the general price ranges available. Sticking to the lower end of the range will obviously give you a less powerful server but might be a good way to get started as a medium-sized organisation, whereas you’ll need to look at the top end of the scale if you’re representing a large organisation that needs significant resources.
Beware of offers that seem too good to be true – they usually are! Bare metal servers are expensive for a reason; they give you unparalleled processing power, storage capacity, and control over resources and server configuration. Use other providers as a guide to figure out if a hosting company’s pricing, features, specifications and service-level agreements (SLAs) make sense.
2. Bare metal server provider
Speaking of bare metal hosting providers, how do you pick the right one? We may be a little biased here, but we wholeheartedly recommend picking a hosting company with fantastic reviews, clear SLAs (including a 99.999% uptime guarantee), competitive pricing (with hefty discounts for new customers), amazing server specifications, and sustainable data centres – like Fasthosts! Always do your research to ensure you’re choosing a reputable, trustworthy hosting company like us, and add the following points to your list of what to check during your search for the best bare metal server provider:
- Customer reviews and testimonials
- Hardware specifications (e.g., choice of Intel vs AMD CPUs and HDD vs SSD storage)
- Range of hosting plans available
- 24/7 customer support
- SLAs and uptime guarantees
- Data centre locations
- Security measures
- Scope to scale up or down
3. Server hardware
Once you have a better idea of your price range and the server provider you’re interested in, you need to customise your bare metal server package to get the features you’re looking for within your budget.
As standard, our bare metal servers here at Fasthosts feature industry-leading hardware, including the latest generation of AMD and Intel CPUs as well as DDR4 RAM. We also offer both large HDDs and SSD/NVMe storage to suit your needs and preferences, along with virtualisation with the Hyper-V hypervisor if you choose. Need even more storage? No problem! Get up to an incredible 96TB of raw storage with our Storage Server packages.
Looking for another type of server?
Bare metal servers aren’t right for everyone, which is why we offer a wide range of other server hosting packages to suit all customers – from solo entrepreneurs to large enterprises.
1. Shared hosting
Host a website for your small business or personal projects from just 49p/month for the first 6 months. Being on a shared server means that costs can be split between customers and kept super low, and you’ll still have access to amazing features like unlimited bandwidth, free domain names, unlimited subdomains, and much more!
2. VPS hosting
Another affordable hosting option for small-to-medium-sized businesses, VPS hosting gives you a dedicated server environment and allocated resources at the price of shared hosting thanks to server virtualisation. Your VPS is virtually isolated from other customers and therefore boasts superior security and no “noisy neighbours”.
3. Dedicated hosting
Get amazing performance and masses of storage with a server that’s dedicated solely to you. Dedicated servers are perfect for medium-to-large businesses looking to upgrade from a VPS to get better performance, security, and control.
4. WordPress hosting
Prefer to work with WordPress? Get optimised performance, pre-installed plugins, and a new AI
website creation feature for your WordPress sites with Fasthosts WordPress Hosting!
Frequently asked questions about bare metal servers
What is a virtual server vs a physical server?
A virtual server is a software-based server that emulates the functionality of a physical computer. It sits in a virtually partitioned space within a physical server based in a data centre, or it can exist within a cloud environment.
A physical server, such as a bare metal server or a dedicated server, is a machine that consists of components like a motherboard, CPU, memory, and the like – and it uses different operating systems like Linux or Windows.
Is a bare metal server physical or virtual?
A bare metal server is a physical machine, which you can either purchase and house in your own data centre/server room or rent from a server provider, who will house the physical machine in their data centre for you. However, a bare metal server can be fully or partly virtualised through the use of a hypervisor. The hypervisor will create and allocate resources to multiple VMs that are virtually isolated from each other but are hosted on the same physical bare metal server.
Learn more about bare metal servers vs virtual servers in our helpful guide.
Why is it called a bare metal server?
The term ‘bare metal’ refers to the physical server without a virtualisation layer. A bare metal server is a non-virtualised physical server that contains the tenant’s chosen configuration of server hardware.
How does bare metal server virtualisation work?
Virtualisation can be done with a hypervisor/VMM on any Fasthosts Bare Metal Server with an Intel Xeon Silver, Intel Xeon Gold, or AMD EPYC CPU. These servers come with the technical features required to create and manage VMs using a hypervisor.
By using a hypervisor, you can set up several completely isolated VMs with different operating systems, and you can operate them in parallel on a single host system (in this case, your server). VMs share their hardware resources (processing power, RAM, disk space, network components), but cannot access files from another VM running in parallel. This ensures that only individual VMs are affected by any potential program errors or contamination during software testing, so that other VMs or test environments managed by the hypervisor will remain isolated and continue to work as normal.
Which bare metal server should I choose?
For more resource-intensive applications, choose a bare metal server with higher levels of RAM and a more powerful processor. For short-term power, choose a pay-as-you-use bare metal server with hourly billing.
How much does a bare metal server cost?
Bare metal hosting can get very pricey due to its amazing benefits, including full root access, dedicated resources, robust security and down-to-the-minute billing. As a result, bare metal servers tend to be used by larger enterprises for hosting multiple high-traffic websites or storing large amounts of important data, as these high prices are offset by the greater profitability, performance and efficiency gained.
Bare metal servers with huge amounts of storage, CPU and RAM can set you back a few hundred pounds a month, or even up to around £700 per month for the most advanced packages. On the other hand, you can get started with one of our smaller packages for only £40 per month, so we cater to a wide range of resource needs and budgets.
What is a bare metal GPU server?
A bare metal GPU server is a physical server with a dedicated graphics processing unit (GPU), which can be used for parallel processing and computationally intensive tasks – like machine learning algorithm development. Bare metal GPU servers also give the user full access to hardware configuration, which means they can offer improved performance and control for more advanced users.
Ready to get started with your own Bare Metal Server from Fasthosts? Get in touch today for expert advice on choosing the perfect hosting plan for your project!