Firevault vs LTO-9 Tape Storage
LTO-9 gives you a real air gap once the cartridge leaves the library. Firevault keeps the same physical disconnection and removes the drives, the rotation, the offsite retrieval and the manual chain of custody.
Both Are Offline. One Needs No Library.
The choice is not air gap or no air gap. It is how that air gap is operated, audited and restored from.
LTO-9 Tape
LTO-9 holds 18TB native (45TB compressed) per cartridge at up to 400MB/s native. Once ejected and stored offsite it is a genuine physical air gap. The trade-offs are drives, libraries, rotation, media handling and sequential restore.
- Real air gap when ejected
- Low cost per terabyte at scale
- Manual handling and rotation
Firevault Offline Secure Storage®
Firevault holds the gold copy on dedicated hardware in carefully selected bunkers in the customer's chosen jurisdiction, physically disconnected at OSI Layer 1. Access is a scheduled, identity-verified connection window, with every event logged.
- Layer 1 physical disconnect
- No drives or libraries to buy
- Tamper-evident audit trail
Where the Choice Actually Bites
Recovery speed, custody, capital and evidence. The places the difference shows in a real incident.
Recovery Speed
An LTO-9 restore depends on retrieving cartridges from offsite, loading them and reading sequentially. Firevault restores run inside a scheduled connection window over a high-speed link, with no media transport in the critical path.
- No offsite retrieval delay
- Random access to files
- Predictable restore time
Chain of Custody
Tape custody depends on the people who eject, transport and file cartridges. Firevault custody is documented inside the bunker, with switching controlled from a separate management plane that does not share the data path.
- No cartridge handling
- Out-of-band switching
- Documented custody
Capital and Refresh
LTO-9 needs drives, a library or autoloader, media, cleaning and a plan for the next generation migration. Firevault is a monthly subscription with hardware refresh and verification handled by Firevault.
- No drives or library
- No generation migration
- Refresh handled by Firevault
Audit and Evidence
Tape audit relies on backup software logs and physical movement records. Firevault produces a tamper-evident log of every connection, disconnection, identity check and restore, ready for NCSC-aligned reviews, insurers and boards.
- Per-event log
- Identity captured at access
- Insurer and board ready
Firevault vs LTO-9 Tape, Common Questions
Straight answers on how Offline Secure Storage® behaves in practice.
Keep the air gap, drop the library
Talk to Firevault about replacing or complementing LTO-9 with a Layer 1 offline copy.
From £360 a month including VAT. 36-month commitment. First payment at checkout.