What type of server does 'bare metal' refer to in IT infrastructure?

Bare metal refers to a dedicated physical server in IT infrastructure. This term is used to describe hardware that does not run any virtualization layers, meaning that the operating system and applications run directly on the server's hardware. This setup provides users with complete control over the server, its configurations, and the resources available, offering high performance and reliability.

In a bare metal environment, since there are no virtual machines sharing the hardware resources, users can benefit from full access to the server's CPU, memory, storage, and network capabilities. This contrasts with virtual servers, which operate on shared physical hardware and may have resource limitations due to the presence of multiple virtual instances. Similarly, shared hosting servers involve multiple users and websites utilizing the same server resources, which can lead to resource contention. On the other hand, cloud-based servers often use the same principles as virtual servers, where resources are dynamically allocated across various users and applications.

By fully dedicating the physical server to a single client, bare metal servers offer enhanced security, performance, and customization options, empowering organizations that need high processing power or have specific regulatory requirements.