Overview
Customize a server to grow with you
Provision and scale public and private IBM Cloud® Virtual Servers for Classic Infrastructure to your needs. Launch apps and software across blended, hybrid environments — our virtual servers integrate with all cloud models. Spin up on demand and save costs with hourly and monthly pricing options plus suspend billing. Reserve in advance or opt for our pay-as-you-use model.

How clients use it
Sustained capacity planning

Sustained capacity planning
Control requirements

Control requirements
Enhanced GPU capabilities

Enhanced GPU capabilities
Benefits
Flexible
Powerful
Global
Key features
Differentiating options
Varied pricing options
Choose by size or cost, by billing cycle or by capacity.
Virtual server instances (VSIs)
Get a public, dedicated, transient, reserved or host server.
Profiles
Choose a profile configuration in the IBM Cloud console.
Decision Makers Ltd
Resources
Key claims report
Get started with virtual servers
How-to documentation
API reference
Virtual servers explained
What is the difference between virtual machines and bare metal servers?
Choosing a virtual machine or a physical machine (bare metal server) depends on your needs. Bare metal servers are single-tenant, physical servers void of virtualization software and dedicated to a single client. Workloads prioritizing performance and seclusion are best suited for bare metal. VMs best support workloads demanding flexibility and scalability.
How does a virtual server work?
Using a hypervisor on a bare metal server lets the physical machine separate its operating system and applications from its hardware, so it can split into independent VMs. Each new VM can then run its own operating system and applications independently, while sharing the bare metal server’s resources — memory, RAM, storage and so on — managed by the hypervisor.
What is a virtual server used for?
Enterprise IT administrators and users use VMs to:
- Enable cloud computing. Run and scale different types of apps and workloads.
- Support DevOps. Configure templates with settings for software development and testing to help streamline the DevOps toolchain.
- Test a new operating system.
- Investigate malware.
- Run incompatible software.
- Browse securely.
Related products
IBM Cloud® Bare Metal Servers
IBM Cloud® Object Storage
IBM Cloud® Virtual Servers for VPC
Start using our virtual servers in minutes
Provision a public, dedicated, transient or reserved VPS to match your workload.