When infrastructure-as-a-service is referenced, we are generally discussing virtual server offerings. Bare metal challenges that assumption, having become a major part of how hybrid clouds blend public, dedicated, and private virtual infrastructure.

Gathering Clouds’ contributor and cloud computing expert David Linthicum notes: “…virtualization and cloud computing are not mandatory partners.”

Indeed, Linthicum’s point should not be ignored. Too often, virtualization is confused for cloud, leading to the wide spread “cloud washing” ideology that has occurred over the last few years. Many companies suffer as a result; gaining the agility that virtualization delivers for infrastructure management but gaining none of the cost and performance benefits that true clouds can deliver. Linthicum continues to mention:

“It’s a fact that virtualization is not a requirement when creating cloud computing services, but it is helpful to those who manage the service. “

So when considering leveraging bare metal as part of a cloud …