In a bare-metal environment, the web hosting provider makes the server’s resources exclusively available to a particular client. Hence, the client’s applications would run at maximum speed with low overhead.
Virtualized servers use a hypervisor to create an isolated bubble or container for each client, but each bubble is on the same physical server. Virtual machines thus come with all of the limitations of shared hosting:
- High overhead
- Performance limitations
- Latency issue
CPU Output
Statistics show that dedicated hosting providers had a global market share of about 28% as of 2024, a significant increase from previous years.
This growing popularity also lends itself to the fact that in a bare-metal hosting environment, the CPU is dedicated entirely to the hosted applications or processes, leading to optimal execution of heavy-load tasks.
Conversely, valuable CPU cycles are wasted in virtual environments, even if CPU pinning is employed.
RAM management
Bare-metal hosting is the perfect environment for memory-consuming processes like in-memory databases and real-time analytics.
Conversely, virtual machines could be more efficient at managing memory consumption, as some are always reserved for the hypervisor.
Many virtual environments can coexist on a physical server, necessitating dynamic memory adjustment or ballooning, which degrades performance.
Storage allocation
As a rule, bare-metal hosting provides high storage performance because all apps directly access the HDD or SSD. The optimal physical storage allocation provides efficient IOPS and data throughput.
When a virtual machine accesses storage through a VMDK or QCOW, the performance of the server’s apps slows down. The more VMs connected to the same disk, the lower their productivity.
Network utilization
Bare-metal hosting environments directly map network interfaces to a particular app, and the total network throughput is high.
By contrast, virtual server environments generate overhead by virtualizing the network stack. This results in slower data transfers or streaming interruptions. Network bottlenecks can occur when too many VMs send requests to the same network interface card.
Scalability options
Bare-metal hosting is more flexible than virtual hosting and offers fewer scalability options.
Vertical scaling involves purchasing more memory or a next-generation CPU in bare-metal hosting environments.
Horizontal scaling can be expensive, as it involves buying more physical servers and synchronizing their operation.
VMs offer endless scalability and flexibility options while eliminating the need for expensive hardware. Depending on each container’s workload, resources can be dynamically allocated across the virtual server network.
Upfront costs
Bare-metal hosting has higher upfront costs than a virtualized hosting environment. However, these expenses are justified if the equipment is used to implement bulky projects over an extended period.
As of 2024, more than 200,000 businesses worldwide use virtualization tools. Companies with less resource-intensive projects prefer this environment.
Server response times
Generally, bare-metal hosting solutions show lower latency than virtual hosting environments.
The disadvantage of the latter systems is that they constantly have to spend valuable CPU power and memory on the virtualization process itself.
Maintenance & monitoring
Maintaining and monitoring a virtual server is far easier than a bare-metal one. The latter requires manual setup and regular on-site tests to ensure smooth operation.
Virtualized environments, by contrast, offer native maintenance tools whose use is mainly intuitive.
Should the user ever need more help, the support team can access a VM and fine-tune it in minutes.
Conclusion
Bare-metal hosting is suitable for high-performance businesses that can afford its expensive maintenance and scalability.
Virtual hosting environments appeal to companies whose projects are not resource-intensive and prioritize flexibility and scalability over performance.
