---
title: "Veeam vs Firevault physical air gap - immutable backup comp…"
url: https://fire-vault.com/compare/veeam-vs-firevault-physical-air-gap
description: "Compare Veeam software immutability with Firevault Layer 1 physical air gap on air gap type, blast radius, location and recovery. Pick the right immutable…"
lang: en-GB
---

Why OSS

# Veeam vs Firevault Physical Air Gap

Software immutability is not the same as physical disconnection. Compare Veeam and Firevault on the four dimensions that decide whether a backup survives when the production estate does not.

Image: Corridor of offline storage racks inside a Firevault bunker (https://fire-vault.com/assets/hero-square-bunker-B6Y7Qt9r.jpg)

vs

Head To Head

## Software Immutability or Physical Air Gap

The fundamental architectural difference between a hardened backup repository and a Layer 1 disconnected gold copy.

01

Software immutability on connected media

### Veeam

Veeam is a backup and replication platform. Immutability is enforced in software using object lock on S3 compatible targets, hardened Linux repositories or tape out. The repository, the console and the credentials stay reachable on the estate network.

- Software enforced immutability
- Repository stays online
- Depends on credential and console hygiene

02

Layer 1 physical air gap, no IP

### Firevault Offline Secure Storage

Firevault holds the gold copy on dedicated hardware inside Firevault Bunkers, physically disconnected from any network. There is no NIC, no IP address and no console to compromise. Access is via scheduled identity verified connection windows only.

- Physical air gap at Layer 1
- No IP surface when disconnected
- Identity verified scheduled retrieval

Four Dimensions

## Where the Choice Actually Bites

Air gap type, blast radius on admin compromise, location and recovery behaviour. The places teams regret picking one tier when they needed both.

01

Logical immutability vs physical disconnection

### Air Gap Type

Veeam immutability is enforced at the software layer on repositories that remain network reachable. Firevault is disconnected at Layer 1: the hardware has no route to the internet or the internal estate until a scheduled retrieval window opens.

- Veeam: logical, always reachable
- Firevault: physical, unreachable
- No IP means no exploit path

02

Console and credentials vs physical custody

### Blast Radius on Admin Compromise

If a Veeam service account, backup console or hypervisor is compromised, the attacker is inside the same trust boundary as the backups. Firevault sits outside that boundary. Compromising the production environment does not reach the offline copy.

- Outside the domain trust boundary
- No pass through from AD or SSO
- Physical chain of custody

03

Customer datacentre or cloud vs UK Firevault Bunker

### Where the Data Lives

Veeam repositories typically live inside your datacentre, a cloud bucket or a hosted immutability appliance. Firevault data is held in named UK colocation bunkers with documented physical security, monitored custody and no shared multi tenant network.

- Named Firevault Bunker locations
- Documented chain of custody
- No multi tenant control plane

04

Instant restore vs scheduled physical retrieval

### Recovery Behaviour

Veeam is optimised for fast operational restore of live workloads. Firevault is optimised as a gold copy of record: the copy you go to when the operational backup, the cloud tenancy or the domain itself is compromised. The two roles complement each other.

- Operational restore stays with Veeam
- Firevault holds the gold copy
- Scheduled and audited retrieval

Want to see how Firevault compares against Glacier, tape and cloud too.

Compare five storage architectures (https://fire-vault.com/compare/oss-vs-everything)

Questions

## Veeam vs Firevault, Common Questions

Straight answers on how Offline Secure Storage® behaves in practice.

### Is Veeam not already ransomware proof with immutability?

### Do I have to replace Veeam with Firevault?

### How does Firevault compare to a Veeam hardened Linux repository?

### Is tape out from Veeam equivalent to Firevault?

### Does Firevault align with the NCSC Principles for Ransomware Resistant Backups?

Image: Mark Fermor (https://fire-vault.com/assets/mark-fermor-DWFWqeWL.jpg)

Image: David Bailey (https://fire-vault.com/assets/david-bailey-Dgqj8eaE.jpg)

Image: Kenny Phipps (https://fire-vault.com/assets/kenny-phipps-Dy-CtCjw.jpg)

Online Now

Get started

## Keep Veeam for restore, add Firevault for the gold copy

Talk to Firevault about adding a Layer 1 physical air gap alongside your existing Veeam estate.

From £360 a month including VAT. 36-month commitment. First payment at checkout.

From £360/mo VAT included 36-month plan

## Structured data

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```