Bare metal

Bare metal may refer to any of the following:

1. The phrase bare metal server describes a server, usually a web server that runs directly on the computer's main operating system. Other types of servers, such as a VPS (Virtual Private Server), operate in a virtualized operating system. Whereas virtualization offers greater control over many servers on a single machine, bare metal servers do not compete for system resources, making them more performant.

2. A bare metal computer, also called a bare machine, is a computer that can be programmed to execute instructions directly on its hardware, without an operating system. This was common for computers in the 1960s and 1970s, such as PDP (Programmed Data Processor) and VAX (Virtual Address eXtension) systems. Today, bare metal computers are usually found in embedded systems, where a small, dedicated piece of computer hardware runs inside of a larger machine.

Hardware terms, Infrastructure, Metal, Operating System terms, Virtual