| Resource isolation |
Workloads run on virtual machines, with underlying physical hardware shared among multiple instances. |
The entire CPU, memory, and direct-attached storage are assigned to one account. |
Purchase, install, and manage physical hardware; organize rack resources as needed. |
| Compute consistency |
Available resources depend on instance limits, scheduling, and use of the underlying hardware. |
Server resources are not shared with other tenants; performance still depends on workload and system configuration. |
Depends on purchased hardware, capacity planning, and how resources are allocated and managed. |
| Provisioning |
OS and resource quotas are provided as a virtual machine. |
The selected server configuration is provisioned; the account holder manages the OS and data. |
Coordinate hardware procurement, rack installation, network connectivity, and ongoing hardware maintenance. |
| Upfront cost |
Charged by instance type and resource quota; exact costs depend on the service catalog. |
Add the server price and selected options, then multiply by the number of months in the chosen term. |
Budgets typically include hardware, rack space, networking, and hardware management. |