Bare metal automation has the power to completely transform how enterprises manage their infrastructure. By moving beyond manual provisioning and adopting a systemic approach, organizations can unlock significant efficiency gains, savings, and improved reliability.
But what exactly is bare metal automation, and why does it matter? Let’s break it down. (We also have a video on this topic, check it out!)
What Is Bare Metal Automation?
Bare metal automation refers to the process of managing physical servers without manual intervention. This spans from initial provisioning to ongoing maintenance. Unlike virtualized environments, bare metal requires direct hardware interaction. This makes automation more complex, but also more powerful when done right.
Traditional approaches often rely on a patchwork of scripts and tools (PXE, IPMI, SSH, etc.), leading to inefficiencies and inconsistencies. A systemic approach where every step is automated creates a seamless, repeatable process that cuts down on errors and speeds up deployments.
The Core Components of Bare Metal Automation
1. Provisioning
Provisioning is the first step in bare metal automation, getting a server to boot and install an operating system. Common methods include PXE/iPXE network booting (the most widely used approach) and out-of-band media (when network booting isn’t feasible). At the heart of provisioning is DHCP, which directs servers to the right boot source. However, reliable automation requires more:
- A control/management network (isolated from production traffic for security and reliability)
- A bare metal control network (for out-of-band management via BMC/IPMI/Redfish)
Without these dedicated networks, automation becomes fragile and difficult to scale.
2. Configuring
Once a server is booted, the next step is configuration for both hardware and OS. This involves:
- Out-of-band management (via IPMI/Redfish) for power control, firmware updates, and BIOS/RAID settings
- In-band configuration (via SSH, agents, or cloud-init) to finalize the OS setup
A key best practice is discovery first, install OSes later. Before committing to an OS, boot a lightweight discovery image to:
- Scan hardware (CPU, memory, disks)
- Validate firmware and RAID settings
- Apply OEM-specific configurations
This gives you full visibility and control before installation, reducing post-deployment surprises.
3. Group Management
Managing servers individually doesn’t scale. Bare metal automation must handle groups of machines efficiently. Digital Rebar enables this through:
- Server Pools – Treat bare metal like cloud resources, with automatic check-in/check-out, reservations, and resets.
- Clusters – Coordinate workflows across groups of machines (e.g., Kubernetes nodes, HA pairs). Clusters remain functional even when empty, making them ideal for dynamic environments.
This abstraction is important for large-scale automation, allowing operators to focus on the bigger picture rather than individual servers.
4. Managing Interactions
Automation isn’t just about machines. Instead, it’s also about how users and systems interact with them and the platform itself. Key features include:
- APIs – Allow external systems to request and manage resources programmatically
- Single Sign-On (SSO) – Secure access for operators without manual credential handling
- Pipelines – Connected workflows that tie together complex operations (e.g., discovery → RAID config → OS install → cluster join)
In the end, the goal is to minimize human intervention while maintaining full control.
5. Autonomics
The final layer is self-monitoring infrastructure. It’s important for a system to be able to be able to identify issues like configuration drift, hardware failures, and compliance issues.
When issues are detected, a system should be able to auto-remediate (reset, reinstall, or reconfigure) and alert operators (via internal dashboards or external tools like Grafana). This proactive approach ensures infrastructure stays compliant and available without manual oversight.
Digital Rebar, A Complete Bare Metal Automation Platform
Digital Rebar isn’t just another single-use tool. Rather, it’s an integrated system designed to handle every aspect of bare metal automation:
- Out-of-the-box, vendor neutral pipelines
- Customizable workflows that persist across upgrades
- Multi-vendor support, ensuring compatibility with any hardware or OS
- Advanced features like airgap, multi-site management, high availability, and more
Unlike fragmented solutions, Digital Rebar provides a standardized, API-driven approach that grows with your infrastructure.
Conclusion
Bare metal automation is more than provisioning. Instead, it goes beyond that to create a seamless, automated end-to-end lifecycle for physical infrastructure. By adopting an integrated platform approach, organizations can significantly reduce manual effort, improve scalability, and ensure compliance. In the end, you get a complete, standardized automation layer that lets you focus on delivering workloads instead of managing hardware.
Want to learn more? We recently published a piece on the best testing scripts for when you bring up bare metal. And if you’re ready to start transforming your bare metal operations today, book a demo with us.
