---
title: "Lease bare metal"
description: "Lease a dedicated server in the Metalhost dashboard — pick a host, OS, SSH access, public IPv4, and billing term."
url: "https://metalhost.net/docs/dashboard/guides/bare-metal-lease"
---

# Lease bare metal

*bare metal → lease a machine*. The form runs top to bottom: **name → machine → operating system → access → billing**. A live quote in the right rail updates as you change host, term, or IPv4 block size.

## Before you start

- Fund the org wallet — monthly terms charge **due now** at submit time.
- Register SSH keys under *Developers → SSH keys* (or add them during VM/bare-metal flows).
- Pick an **available** host — browse inventory if the list is empty.

## 1. Lease name

DNS-safe slug for this lease (lowercase letters, digits, hyphens; 1–63 chars; no leading/trailing hyphen). Shows as `bare-metal-instances/{slug}`. Auto-fills from the host name until you edit it.

## 2. Machine

Cards list only **available** hosts: spec label, monthly price, CPU model, cores, RAM, storage, datacenter. If none are free, check *browse inventory* or try again later.

## 3. Operating system

Three paths — pick one:

- **Curated catalog** — Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, CentOS Stream, Rocky Linux. Metalhost runs a managed network install and injects your SSH keys via cloud-init.
- **custom image url** — HTTP(S) URL reachable from the datacenter; overrides the catalog pick.
- **No OS — bring your own** — skip managed install. You install from the [ISO library](https://metalhost.net/docs/dashboard/guides/bare-metal-isos.md) via the [console](https://metalhost.net/docs/dashboard/guides/bare-metal-lifecycle.md). Configure networking yourself using the assigned IPv4 block.

> **No OS networking**
>
> With bring-your-own OS, the switch only forwards traffic from your assigned IP(s). Use the subnet mask and gateway from the *network* tab — a wrong IP is dropped.

## 4. Access

**Managed install only:**

- **ssh user** — defaults to the distro user (`ubuntu`, `debian`, …). Cannot be `root`.
- **ssh keys** — checkboxes for project keys; all selected by default. Without at least one key, only serial console works at first boot.

**Public IPv4 block** (managed and BYO):

| Size | CIDR |
| --- | --- |
| 1 IP | /32 (default) |
| 2 IPs | /31 |
| 4 IPs | /30 |
| 8 IPs | /29 |
| 16 IPs | /28 |

Optional **cloud-init** user-data for managed installs — leave blank for Metalhost to generate minimal SSH-only config.

## 5. Billing

| Term | Notes |
| --- | --- |
| **hourly** | Pay-as-you-go while the lease is active. |
| **1 / 3 / 6 / 12 month** | Prepay from wallet at lease time. Discounts: 5% (3 mo), 8% (6 mo), 12% (12 mo). |

Monthly terms: optional **auto-renew at term end** — if off, the lease falls back to hourly when the term expires.

## Live quote

Right rail shows hourly rate, host $/mo, public IPv4 $/mo (per IP × count), total $/mo, and **due now** for prepaid terms. Bandwidth is **unlimited** — no transfer line item on bare metal quotes. Click **lease machine** to submit — on success you land on the bare metal list while the lease provisions.

> **do not interrupt provisioning**
>
> While state is `provisioning`, the OS is installing over the network. Do not power-cycle or open console install flows until the lease reaches `active`.

## What's next

- [Bare metal lifecycle](https://metalhost.net/docs/dashboard/guides/bare-metal-lifecycle.md) — SSH, power, console, release.
- [Wallet & top-ups](https://metalhost.net/docs/dashboard/guides/wallet-topup.md) — fund before prepaid lease.