Which scenario would typically require a bare metal server?

A bare metal server is often required for scenarios demanding high performance, dedicated resources, and consistent low latency, particularly in computationally intensive environments. Processing high-volume transactions in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is a prime example. These systems frequently handle large data sets and require significant processing power to ensure rapid processing and real-time data availability. The dedicated nature of a bare metal server means that users can fully harness the CPU, memory, and storage resources without concerns over performance degradation that might arise from virtualization overhead.

In contrast, other scenarios like running a simple web application, hosting a dynamic content website, or managing small-scale virtual machines do not typically demand the same level of hardware performance and dedicated resources that bare metal servers provide. For those use cases, cloud solutions like virtual machines or instances can effectively address the requirements, offering more flexibility and cost efficiency without the need for dedicated hardware.