How quickly will I receive access after payment?
Once payment is confirmed via Stripe, our system provisions your VM automatically. You will receive an email with credentials, IP address, and connection instructions within 1 business day, many times sooner.
What are the available evaluation durations?
We offer 1-week (7 days), 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day evaluation periods. The longer the duration, the lower the effective daily rate. You can also extend your evaluation before it expires.
Can I extend my evaluation period?
Yes! Contact us before your evaluation expires and we will extend it at the same per-period rate. Simply email info@cheapbaremetal.com or submit a ticket.
How do I connect to my VM?
Connection details are emailed to you upon provisioning. Most VMs are accessible via HTTPS (web UI) or SSH. Some require a VPN connection — instructions are included in your welcome email.
Are the VMs dedicated or shared?
All VMs run on dedicated physical hardware in our datacenter. You are not sharing resources with other customers. This ensures consistent, predictable performance.
What happens to my data when the evaluation ends?
All VM data is securely wiped at the end of your evaluation period. If you need to extend, please do so before expiration. We do not retain any customer data after the VM is deprovisioned.
Do you offer multi-VM bundle pricing?
Yes, if you need multiple VMs simultaneously (e.g., Catalyst Center + ISE + FTD), contact us for a bundle quote. We can often provide additional discounts for multi-VM evaluations.
Is there a refund policy?
We offer a 24-hour satisfaction guarantee. If you experience technical issues preventing access within the first 24 hours that we cannot resolve, we will issue a full refund. See our Terms of Service for full details.
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover), Apple Pay, and Google Pay via Stripe. All transactions are encrypted and PCI-DSS compliant.
Are these real vendor VMs or simulations?
These are real vendor-provided virtual appliances running the actual production OS (Cisco IOS XR, Junos, EOS, PAN-OS, etc.) — not simulations or emulators. You get the full feature set for evaluation purposes.