Table of contents

What is a bare metal operating system?Bare metal OS vs virtualized OSWho needs a bare metal OS?Available operating systemsBare metal OS alternativesFAQsNext stepsAdditional resources

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Choose your bare metal operating system

Looking for the fastest, most secure foundation for your hosting environment? A bare metal operating system runs directly on your hardware—no hypervisor, no shared resources, and no compromise. Choose the best OS for your workload and we’ll install it on your dedicated server.

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What is a bare metal operating system?

A bare metal operating system is installed directly on the physical server, without virtualization layers like hypervisors or containers. It interacts with the server’s hardware at a low level, which allows for maximum performance, tighter security controls, and complete server resource allocation.

This setup is ideal for users who want direct control over their server environment, such as system administrators, developers, or enterprises with compliance needs. Unlike virtualized OS instances running on cloud platforms, a bare metal OS gives you full hardware access—no noisy neighbors, no overhead.

Bare metal OS vs virtualized OS

Bare metal and virtualized operating systems can both run Linux or Windows—but they operate very differently under the hood. Here’s how they compare:

Feature	Bare Metal OS	Virtualized OS
Installed on	Physical hardware	Virtual machine or cloud instance
Performance	Full hardware access, no hypervisor lag	Slight overhead from virtualization
Customization	Full kernel and system control	Limited to hypervisor configurations
Ideal for	Databases, ML, compliance, custom stacks	Scalability, multi-tenant apps
OS Examples	AlmaLinux, CentOS, Windows Server	Ubuntu Cloud, Amazon Linux, etc.

Who needs a bare metal operating system?

Bare metal is perfect for high-demand, low-latency, or security-focused applications. Some of the most common use cases include:

Database servers: SQL and NoSQL databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB run faster and more reliably when they have exclusive access to hardware.
Gaming servers: Hosting game worlds like Minecraft, ARK, or Rust benefits from bare metal performance—especially when dealing with large maps and lots of concurrent users.
Streaming platforms: Live video encoding and content delivery require high throughput and real-time performance that virtualized platforms often can’t deliver.
AI/ML workloads: Training machine learning models and running large inference jobs can consume every bit of GPU, CPU, and RAM—bare metal ensures nothing gets throttled.
High-performance computing (HPC): Scientific simulations, weather modeling, and physics computations demand low-latency interconnects and raw compute power that only bare metal can provide.
Compliance-heavy environments: Industries like finance and healthcare often require full control of the hardware for auditability, encryption, and regulatory compliance.

Available operating systems for bare metal servers

Choose from the latest versions of Linux and Windows operating systems, all optimized for dedicated server performance. Need help deciding? Our team can guide you based on your application, control panel, and security requirements.

Linux Distributions

AlmaLinux
A modern, open-source replacement for CentOS with long-term support and enterprise stability. Backed by the AlmaLinux OS Foundation and ideal for cPanel and web hosting stacks.

RHEL-compatible and cloud-ready
Stable 1:1 downstream fork of Red Hat
Great for cPanel, DirectAdmin, and custom Linux stacks

CentOS 7
Legacy support for older applications and hosting stacks are still reliant on CentOS.

Still supported through EOL for legacy deployments
Compatible with WHM/cPanel
Works with many traditional LAMP stacks

Rocky Linux
Another RHEL-based successor, community-driven and gaining enterprise traction.

1:1 binary-compatible with RHEL
Regular updates and long-term support
Ideal for server stability and predictable release cycles

Ubuntu
Popular among developers and sysadmins for its ease of use and package ecosystem.

Ideal for application development and devops workflows
Supports Snap, LXD, and other Canonical tools
Pairs well with Node.js, Ruby on Rails, and Docker

Debian
Known for rock-solid stability and security, Debian is a favorite for minimal server environments.

Lightweight and stable
Ideal for advanced Linux users
Highly customizable for specific application stacks

Microsoft Windows Server

Windows Server 2019 / 2022
Perfect for Microsoft-based applications and SQL Server hosting.

Supports Remote Desktop Services (RDS)
Compatible with ASP.NET, IIS, and Microsoft SQL
Easy Active Directory and Windows Authentication integration

Bare metal OS alternatives

Bare metal isn’t your only option. Depending on your use case, cloud metal or VPS hosting might make more sense.

Bare metal vs cloud metal

Cloud metal (sometimes called “metal as a service”) gives you physical hardware through a cloud provider, but often with a virtualization layer in place—usually for provisioning or resource pooling. It’s still single-tenant, and you usually get full resource allocation, but it’s not quite as low-level as a traditional bare metal install.

Cloud metal is great when you want the flexibility of the cloud (on-demand provisioning, API control, managed networking) but still need most of the performance and isolation of bare metal. It’s a good fit for dev/test environments, CI/CD pipelines, or workloads that spike unpredictably.

Bare metal vs VPS

A VPS (Virtual Private Server) runs on shared hardware using a hypervisor to allocate virtualized resources to multiple users. It’s like a middle ground between shared hosting and bare metal—cheaper, easier to scale, but not nearly as powerful or customizable.

VPS hosting is a solid choice for small to medium websites, ecommerce stores, staging environments, and workloads where cost efficiency matters more than raw performance. You won’t get hardware-level access, but you will get your own virtual environment with root control and decent isolation.

FAQs about bare metal operating systems

A bare metal OS is installed directly on the server’s hardware without a virtualization layer. This gives it full access to CPU, RAM, storage, and I/O—ideal for performance-critical workloads.

Linux is often preferred for flexibility and resource efficiency, while Windows is better for Microsoft stack apps or AD integration. The best choice depends on your use case.

Yes. You can install a hypervisor like KVM or Hyper-V on your bare metal OS to run VMs underneath it—but the OS itself still runs directly on the hardware.

Yes, with our fully managed servers we handle OS installation, patching, updates, and monitoring. Or, choose a self-managed tier for full root control.

Absolutely. You can reimage your server with a new OS through the customer portal or with help from our support team.

Getting started with a bare metal operating system

If you need uncompromising performance, full control of your stack, and hardware-level tuning, bare metal is the way to go. Whether you’re running a high-traffic application, building an AI pipeline, or securing data in a regulated industry, it gives you a no-compromise platform to build on.

When it’s time for a professional bare metal server solution, Liquid Web can help. Our bare metal servers are fast, secure, and backed by a 99.99% uptime guarantee.

Click below to explore bare metal options or start a chat with one of our experts to learn more.