Bare metal vs cloud hosting, this question is rather frequent and important if you are searching for the most suitable server. The choice mainly depends on the business requirements so you should understand the major weaknesses and benefits of both options in order to make an informed decision.

Let’s discuss what type of server will be better for you and why; because just selecting a random dedicated servers uk is not the ideal choice for most companies.

The basics about the bare metal server

As clear from the name, a bare metal is a physical server that is in the data center. The location of the data center can be chosen by every user independently depending on their target audience and their geography.

The major benefit of the dedicated bare metal server is that the client can select the needed configuration and resources. For instance, you may choose such characteristics as RAM, storage, and processor. The OS is installed directly on the specific physical server.

So, the environment of the bare metal server is the following: server – OS – applications.

The Basics of the Cloud Server

The cloud server functions due to the special hypervisor, that can divide one server into a couple of virtual machines. Because of the hypervisor, it is possible to divide the available resources between several VMs. Then the process is the following – every VM or cloud server gets its OS, and only then application.

There are 2 types of access to the cloud server:

– Public. The choice of the public cloud means that you will have access to the virtual machine. So, you are getting your own virtual server, but it is located in a shared environment. The minus of this variant is that your environment has a contention ratio, that is controlled by the provider. This means when the traffic volume gets higher, the performance of your server may be worse.

– Private. This type is also a virtualized environment, but you are getting a virtualized server, but not just access to the VM. All resources on such server are yours and only you control the contention ratio.

The private cloud server gives more options for customization so users have more freedom to configure everything according to their needs.

Benefits and drawbacks of both solutions

Benefits of Bare metal server:

– Exclusivity of access – one physical server by one user.

– Predictable pricing.

– This server is more secure than other variants because there are no neighbors and no one can influence your activity.

– The client can select the needed components such as networking, RAM, and storage.

Drawbacks of Bare metal server:

– Slow in the scalability.

– Pricy.

Benefits of Cloud Server:

– Quicker setup. Just a couple of seconds are needed for the setup of everything.

– Scalability. With the changing volumes of traffic, you can easily scale the solutions.

– Simple in the following curve.

Drawbacks of Cloud Server:

– Difficult in management.

– Challenging to switch to another web provider.

How do you select the best server for your needs?

Probably, the most convenient variant for startups and companies that don’t have professional IT teams is the cloud server. There are lots of explanations for such a choice, cloud is better in terms of flexibility, scalability, and easiness of management/setup. That’s why individual users and small firms prefer this type of server.

The process of purchasing a cloud server is also very quick, you are just ordering the needed plan and in a couple of minutes, the chosen solution is functioning. Virtual machines are so easy that immediately after the ordering you will get the connection details on your email address.

Other businesses that can benefit from the cloud server are those with various traffic volumes. In case, you have regular high ups and downs of your traffic, it can be challenging to scale other types of servers.

As for the bare metal servers, this variant can be ideal for businesses with heavy traffic or apps that require higher performance characteristics. The price will definitely be higher when compared with the cloud server. However, except for performance clients also get the best possible customization and exceptional security.

If you want exclusive configuration and control of everything without the interference of others, probably the bare metal server is the only available choice. This is possible due to the single-tenant usage and that directly influences the higher security standards.

Summing up

The discussion about what is a better variant – a cloud server of bare metal can go on and on, but to be honest – this is an individual choice of every business. The right investment in a suitable server will definitely influence the business growth. That’s why try to evaluate your current status and plan what scalability, security, performance, and stability you require right now. The choice of the required server is crucial!