In the context of cloud services, what does 'bare metal' refer to?

The term 'bare metal' in the context of cloud services refers specifically to physical hardware. This indicates that the server or computing resource is not virtualized and is dedicated entirely to one customer or workload. Bare metal servers provide direct access to the hardware without the layers of virtualization that can introduce overhead and potentially impact performance. This setup is favored in scenarios where maximum performance and control are required, such as for high-performance computing tasks or applications requiring specific hardware customization.

By focusing solely on physical hardware, bare metal services offer advantages like enhanced performance, lower latency, and the ability to fine-tune the server environment to meet specific operational needs. This contrasts with virtualized servers, which run multiple virtual machines on a single physical server and share resources, and cloud-based applications or open-source platforms that are generally concerned with other aspects of cloud computing rather than the physical underpinnings. Thus, recognizing 'bare metal' as physical hardware is crucial for understanding resource deployment in cloud settings.