Servers play a key role in the seamless functioning of organizations, as organizations these days rely heavily on technology to run their businesses. Now, what is a server? Any software or hardware device that accepts requests generated by client devices over a network, and accordingly responds to those requests is known as a server. Servers use the client-server model to provide functionality (service) to client devices and/or programs. Servers can be of many types, such as database servers, print servers, mail servers, game servers, application servers, proxy servers, file servers, web servers etc.
In the context of web servers, these are used by web hosting companies for providing the service of web hosting. Web hosting is the service that makes it possible to access websites online. In web hosting, the files of websites that are stored on the servers of web hosting companies are delivered from there over the Internet to makes websites accessible. The web server, on which these files are stored accepts and fulfills the requests of clients for website content (HTML pages, images, videos etc.). It is usually a browser or a mobile application that is a web server’s client. The request for website content is received by the server in the form of HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) message and the server’s response is also in the form of HTTP message. The “Best Website Hosting Company”, the “Best Cloud Hosting Company”, the “Best Windows Hosting Company” are some of the terms that are used to refer to the most popular web hosting companies.
Returning to our topic, “Bare Metal vs. Cloud Server”, let us touch upon each of these types of servers to understand the difference between them. Both, bare metal and cloud, are servers that accomplish the same functions but there are certain key features that are specifically associated with each of these types. For example, in the cloud model, multiple users utilize the resources of a single server, whereas a bare metal server is meant for the use of only one user. Let us know in-depth about each of these types of servers.
Bare Metal Servers
A bare metal server refers to a physical server, which is dedicated to a single tenant and hosts one tenant/customer. It is essentially a dedicated server. Hence, the tenant of the server can optimize it based on the requirements with regard to performance and security. Such servers are also referred to as single-tenant physical servers, and are used by a single customer and are not shared among multiple customers.
The OS (Operating System) is directly installed on the server, in a bare metal server. This does away with layers and aids in delivering better performance. A business can run such servers in either its own data center or in a collocation facility or rent these from a service provider. Since a bare metal server is a physical server, each server is a distinct physical hardware, which works as a fully functional server on its own. These are unlike virtual servers that run on shared hardware. A bare metal server, which is also referred to as a dedicated server or as a physical server, exists physically in a very secure and controlled environment within a data center
Single tenancy, which is one of the key features of a bare metal server, ensures that there isn’t any noisy neighbor effect, wherein a user impacts the performance as well as the stability of the other users in a shared environment. Since a bare metal server hosts a single user, the noisy neighbor effect is ruled out totally. Moreover, bare metal servers support many types of operating systems as well as hypervisors, which are operating systems that aid in the creation of VMs (Virtual Machines) within a bare metal server. As mentioned earlier, in a bare metal server, the OS is installed directly on the server and the applications run natively in the OS. Now, a bare metal server in which a hypervisor is installed enables the user to create virtual machines on the server by providing a management suite.
Dedicated hardware resources, such as RAM, storage, CPU etc., are present in a bare metal server. Hence, many businesses opt for this type of server, especially when such applications are being run, which are sensitive to performance.
Advantages of Bare Metal Servers
When performance is a priority, bare metal servers become an ideal choice, as these are capable of ensuring efficient performance for demanding applications. Such servers can handle very easily and effectively heavy workloads. Using bare metal servers proves to be especially beneficial for any application whose performance has been affected, as well as such processes that consume a significant amount of resources, along with big data processing.
One of the main advantages of a bare metal server has to do with all the hardware resources being dedicated to a single tenant, which makes experiencing performance degradation and variation highly unlikely. Additionally, a bare metal server gets the benefit of enhanced security as it has single tenancy. It doesn’t experience the security risks that are associated with shared server environments. Hence, organizations that have security as their top priority, will most likely opt for a bare metal server than a multi-tenant environment.
The major benefits of bare metal servers are augmented processing power, elimination of noisy neighbor effect, enhanced performance, more consistent I/O and disk performance.
Cloud Servers
The main difference between a cloud server and a bare metal server is that the former is a virtual machine and the latter is a physical machine. A cloud server refers to a powerful virtual server that runs in a cloud computing environment. It can be accessed remotely. A cloud computing platform is used via the Internet for creating, hosting and delivering a cloud server. A cloud server is well-equipped with all the required software and it functions as an independent unit.
The “Cloud” is a term which refers to a collection of servers that are connected to the Internet and which could be leased as service. Some of the cloud-based services include web hosting, data sharing, use of software and applications. The cloud ensures that multiple servers are always connected to share the load. Hence, it makes it possible to distribute complex processes. The distribution of data renders the cloud fault-tolerant. Cloud usage helps to reduce the creation of multiple versions of files as it enables shared access to data.
Advantages of Cloud Servers
When the aim is to accomplish various tasks efficiently, cloud servers need to be availed. The use of cloud servers makes it very easy and fast to not only create a new server but also add new resources to these individual virtual machines. Cloud servers deliver the benefits of scalability and application flexibility. Hence, a cloud server is capable of dynamically scaling performance in an environment that has variable workloads. In this way, it offers the advantage of being a cost-efficient solution.
It is ideal for such situations, which require a quick and cost-efficient solution for accessing applications and data, using them, and subsequently turning them off, depending on one’s workflow. Additionally, one gets a server environment that is highly customizable, and which is built on an infrastructure that has high availability for ensuring a reliable system.
Conclusion
Both, bare metal servers and cloud servers, offer their share of benefits. Opting for either of these solutions as the most effective solution for one’s business depends on one’s requirements and on the type of workload one needs to run. If one’s business needs to run heavy workloads and performance-sensitive applications, then one should opt for the bare metal servers. When one needs a highly customizable environment that is cost-efficient with high availability infrastructure, then cloud servers are an ideal choice.
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