Grafana Mimir, a horizontally scalable and multi-tenant time-series database for Prometheus metrics, can be deployed on Kubernetes or bare metal, with the latter offering certain advantages in specific scenarios. Running Mimir on bare metal or virtual machines is beneficial when a Kubernetes cluster is unavailable, as it allows for deployment using tools like Puppet or Ansible, and it helps avoid circular dependencies that could arise when providing internal metrics services to Kubernetes teams. Additionally, deploying on bare metal provides an opportunity to delve deeper into software functionalities without relying on Kubernetes' extensive features and automation. Although deploying on bare metal might require more manual configuration and increase the complexity of maintenance, it can be a viable option depending on organizational needs and expertise. The choice between Kubernetes and bare metal deployment should be guided by a thorough assessment of the benefits and potential drawbacks, supported by proof-of-concept testing to identify the most suitable approach.