Combine the power of bare metal with cloud automation
Metal Instances are perfect for workloads that require direct access to compute, storage and network resources. They can also be used to meet requirements for performance, licensing, or customising low-level software layers. With Metal Instances, all of the available resources are allocated to you, and they are billed by the hour or month. They are also compatible with the Public Cloud ecosystem — you can automate their deployment using Infrastructure-as-Code tools.
Harness all the advantages of a dedicated server
Metal Instances provide performance and reliability, with direct access to all resources available on the server. With their dedicated resources, you can run your workloads that do not require a virtualised environment for licensing or performance reasons. Otherwise, if you require a controlled allocation of computing or storage power, you can install your own hypervisor.
Combine it with cloud automation
Metal Instances are compatible with the Public Cloud ecosystem, available on demand, and ready in 3 minutes. They can be deployed via API and Infrastructure-as-Code tools. This way, you can industrialise the use of powerful instances, just like virtualised instances, and enhance your deployments with the entire Public Cloud catalogue.
Control your budget
Deploy your Metal Instances for an hour, a few days or the full month, depending on your needs. With an excellent price-performance ratio, these instances are available in several templates, so you can target the optimal hardware for your processing workload. And as usual at OVHcloud, traffic is included in the price.
ISO/IEC 27001, 27701 and healthcare data hosting compliance
Our cloud infrastructures and services are ISO/IEC 27001, 27017, 27018 and 27701 certified, ensuring the presence of an Information Security Management System (ISMS) to manage risks, vulnerabilities and set up business continuity, as well as a Privacy Information Management System (PIMS). Our HDS certification secures healthcare data hosting.
Our range
|
Small |
Medium |
Large |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Description | The first type of Metal Instances, offering total isolation at an affordable price. Perfect for applications that require high computing frequencies. | The bestseller of physical servers, due to its versatility. With the number of cores and RAM available, it can be used for most use cases, starting with distributed applications. | The hardware offered on this server is designed to provide the best price/performance ratio for resource-intensive use cases. |
| Name | bm-s1 | bm-m1 | bm-l1 |
| Processor |
Intel Xeon-E 2274G - 4 c/8 t - 4GHz/4.9GHz |
Intel Xeon-E 2288G - 8 c/16 t - 3.7GHz/5GHz |
AMD EPYC 7371 - 16 c/32 t - 3.1GHz/3.8GHz
|
| Memory | 32GB | 64GB | 128GB |
| Storage | 2 x 960GB NVMe softRAID SSD | 2 x 960GB NVMe softRAID SSD | 2 x 960GB NVMe softRAID SSD |
| Network | Public: 1Gbit/s and Private: 2Gbit/s | ||
Use cases
Compatibility with specific licensing policies
Depending on the terms of use, some types of software cannot be run on virtualised environments. With our Metal Instances provisioned with no virtualisation layer, you get a server that is fully dedicated to you. In addition to the raw power you get, you can ensure total compliance with licensing policies that require a specific hardware configuration.
Infrastructure automation
Powered by OpenStack, Metal Instances can be provisioned via API or CLI to industrialise your infrastructure deployment. You can also use Infrastructure-as-Code tools such as Terraform or Ansible. Metal Instances are integrated into the entire Public Cloud ecosystem, and can be provisioned like all Public Cloud services in an automated manner. This way, you can give your teams environments with a standardised configuration.
Scalability for your workloads
Metal Instances are provisioned in just a few minutes, depending on the operating system you install on them. You can then add resources when you need them. This is particularly useful for applications like video rendering or grid computing, where temporary workloads require high computing power.
Useful commands
Boot an instanceopenstack server create --flavor bm-s1 --image "Baremetal - Debian 11" --network=Ext-Net-Baremetal --property soft_raid=0 srv01
Take an instance imageopenstack server image create srv01 --name image_srv01
Documentation and guides
Features
OpenStack API
Metal Instances are used the same way as virtual instances. With the OpenStack API, you can use your preferred tools, such as CLI and Terraform.
Standard features available
A Metal Instance can be backed up (a snapshot requires a reboot). They can be rebuilt, or simply rebooted.
Customisation via cloud-init
Metal Instances can be configured automatically using cloud-init. A “config-drive” will then be available on the instance to apply all the settings once the instance is booted. This means your industrialisation remains intact.
Configurable software RAID
When you launch an instance, you choose the settings you want for your disks. By default, both disks are available without a RAID configuration. You can use RAID 0 or RAID 1 via a single setting.
Quick deployment
A Metal Instance is available in about three minutes (the deployment time will vary depending on the image you choose). This is record time for getting a physical machine.
Secure data cleaning
When you release an instance, the disks are completely and securely deleted, via a process that has been tried and tested at OVHcloud for many years.
Back to factory settings
Before being released, each server is reset with the factory settings, and each firmware is checked by signature, ensuring both hardware and data security.
Private network
The vRack private network is available on Metal Instances, to ensure secure communications on your network. You can also link other OVHcloud products, such as dedicated servers, or a Hosted Private Cloud infrastructure.
Pricing for Metal Instances
Metal Instances are billed like all of our other instances, on a pay-as-you-go basis at the end of each month. The price depends on the size of the instance you have booted, and the duration of its use.
Other products
Your questions answered
What is a Metal Instance?
A Metal Instance is a physical server. It is generally operated via APIs, and harnesses the automation aspect of cloud environments.
What are the main differences between a Metal Instance and a dedicated server?
The two services are quite similar. However, Metal Instances are part of the Public Cloud ecosystem. This means they offer additional features, such as automatic deployment using Infrastructure-as-Code tools, and hourly billing.
What is the difference between a Metal Instance and the other instances available in the range?
Metal Instances are physical servers. All other instances in the Public Cloud range are virtual servers created from the KVM hypervisor. What this means is that there is no virtualisation layer on Metal Instances.
What is the Service Level Agreement (SLA) for a Metal Instance?
The SLA is 99,9% monthly availability on Metal Instances. For further information, please refer to the Terms & Conditions.
Can I resize a Metal Instance?
You cannot directly resize a Metal Instance. However, you can take a snapshot of the instance, then reboot the image on a Metal Instance of a different size.
Can I be certain that the data is cleaned when I release a Metal Instance?
Yes. OVHcloud has used server cleaning tools for many years, and these processes are widely-tested. The servers are restored to their original state, with particular attention paid to deleting data between two users.
Can I add block storage to a Metal Instance?
This feature is currently unavailable. However, we will offer it soon by providing high-performance storage solutions.
What features are in development?
Several features of virtual instances are not available for Metal Instances. Some are in development, and will be added in future:
- Use of the VNC console
- Addition of Block Storage
- Use of temporary disks
- Instance resizing
- And much more
Can I move a Metal Instance from one datacentre to another?
As is the case with virtual instances, you can migrate an instance by using a snapshot that will be exported to a neighbouring datacentre. This operation is manual.
Can an IPv6 address be used on these instances?
Yes, each Metal Instance comes with an IPv4 address and an IPv6 address.
Do Metal Instances have anti-DDoS protection?
Yes. Like all OVHcloud products, Metal Instances are protected by our anti-DDoS protection mechanism. This service is included with your instance, at no additional cost.
What vRack details should be noted?
vRack, the OVHcloud private network, is available on Metal Instances. This is the second interface connected on this network. The VLAN ID used is 0. The password cannot be changed at this time.