TechKnowSurge
CompTIA Cloud+ 1.1 Cisco CCNA 1.12 Cisco CCST Networking 1.4
InteractiveNetworkFree

Bare Metal, VMs, Containers or Serverless?

Straight on the hardware, a guest OS each, one shared OS, or just your code: how is the service deployed?

⚑ Complete this interactive to capture a CTF flag worth 5 points.

About this interactive

The lesson's four ways to deliver a service: - **Bare metal:** the services are installed on an operating system installed on the hardware. All on one server, they can interfere with each other; one server per service is stable but costly, slow to buy and hard to scale. - **Virtualization:** a hypervisor runs several virtual machines on one host, each with its own operating system, so services stay separate without more hardware. - **Containerization:** isolation without duplicating the operating system. The containers share the host's one OS, so they are lighter than virtual machines. - **Serverless:** you just run your code or scripts. There are still servers, but the provider runs them and you never manage them. Ask: how many operating systems, and whose servers?

What you'll learn

Aligned to

CompTIA Cloud+
1.1 Analyze the different cloud models to design the best solution to support business requirements.
Cisco CCNA
1.12 Explain virtualization fundamentals
Cisco CCST Networking
1.4 Compare and contrast cloud and on-premises applications and services.

Key terms

Bare Metal
A deployment model in which an operating system or application runs directly on physical hardware without any virtualization layer, providing maximum performance by eliminating hypervisor overhead.
Virtual Machine
VM
A software emulation of a physical computer that runs an operating system and applications.
Hypervisor
Software that creates and manages virtual machines by abstracting hardware resources.
Containerization
A deployment model that isolates applications and their dependencies inside lightweight containers that share the host operating system kernel, enabling consistent execution across different environments without duplicating a full OS.
Serverless
A cloud deployment model that allows developers to run code or scripts without managing underlying server infrastructure.
Scalability
The ability of a system to handle increased load by adding resources without degrading performance.

Topics

Bare Metal Virtualization Containerization Serverless Deployment Models Interactive Categorize

About TechKnowSurge

TechKnowSurge builds IT and cybersecurity professionals through hands-on, concept-first training built around real understanding — not memorization. Free interactive tools, structured programs, and 25+ years of real-world experience, all in one place.

Explore free tools and programs →