Bare-Metal Kubernetes: The Performance Advantage Is Almost Gone

Bare metal for the last decade has offered a performance edge when running Kubernetes and container infrastructure compared to containers on VM abstraction layers. But that may not be the case for much longer.

Some results indicate that containers over VMs are catching up in terms of performance, with netperf benchmark tests showing that instances of VMs retain 99% of the performance compared to bare metal. Meanwhile, there has long been a consensus that VMs offer more direct operational control, isolation, security, and other benefits…