Which of the following is not a characteristic of a bare metal server?

A bare metal server is defined by its physical hardware resources being dedicated to a single tenant. This means that each bare metal server provides a single user with complete control over the server environment, including the ability to install any operating system and software they desire.

The characteristic of being scalable on-demand is generally not associated with bare metal servers, as scaling usually requires provisioning new hardware and may involve more lead time compared to virtualized environments where resources can be dynamically allocated as needed.

However, the key distinguishing feature of bare metal servers is that they operate in a strictly non-virtualized environment. This means all resources—such as CPU, RAM, and storage—are dedicated exclusively to the customer without the overhead of a hypervisor, as seen in virtualized environments. This non-virtualized nature allows for optimal performance, which is particularly crucial for applications requiring high levels of processing power and consistent latency.

Thus, the option indicating a strictly virtualized environment does not align with the fundamental characteristics of bare metal servers, clarifying why this is the correct answer.