IBM will now rent you a cloud-ready bare metal setup

IBM office logo
(Image credit: IBM)

IBM has announced the full availability of its LinuxONE bare metal servers under an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) model, available to rent in the cloud.

With more and more businesses going hybrid (IBM reckons almost nine in 10 infrastructure decision makers have a hybrid strategy), Big Blue is getting in on the action in a move that will see it capitalize on the cost-efficiency and flexibility valued by customers.

The expansion of this service expands on the current invite-only availability that has been in place since September 2022, and for businesses yet to sign up, this means that the already-tested offering should give them fewer headaches.

IBM LinuxONE now available

Customers already familiar with IBM’s hardware will recognize the Telum processor borrowed from the z16 mainframe, but the LinuxONE differs in that it only supports Linux.

In a press release, the company compares a typical workload against an x86 counterpart. The results promise a 75% reduction in energy consumption, half the footprint, and vast CO2e savings. Although each use case will return varying results, and these headline figures are likely at the higher end, significant environmental and economic benefits look to be on the cards.

Despite the launch of the cloud-ready bare metal setup to even more people, availability is limited to the Sao Paulo, Washington DC, London, Toronto, and Tokyo multi-zone regions. TechRadar Pro asked IBM whether it plans to expand to more regions, though it’s likely testing and observing takeup before a wider rollout.

Pricing stands at $1,490.66 for two vCPUs, 64GB of RAM, and a 2Gbps bandwidth. Upgrading to 16 vCPUs, 512GB of RAM, and an increased 10Gbps bandwidth will set a company back $11,965.43 per month. Running SUSE Linux Enterprise Server rather than Red Hat Enterprise Linux will unlock marginal savings, too.

Craig Hale

With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!