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Kerberos Vault vs Kerberos.io Machinery

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted video surveillance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
KE Kerberos Vault Storage and lifecycle management for surveillance recordings VS KE Kerberos.io Machinery Archived Open-source video surveillance recording engine
FeatureKerberos VaultKerberos.io Machinery
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score37 · At risk10 · At risk
StatusActively maintainedArchived
CategoryVideo SurveillanceVideo Surveillance
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageGoC++
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetesdocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 42★ 486
First released20212014
ReplacesMilestone XProtectMilestone XProtect, Blue Iris

What are Kerberos Vault and Kerberos.io Machinery?

Kerberos Vault

Kerberos Vault is a storage system that securely receives and manages recordings from Kerberos Agents and other surveillance sources. It connects to object storage backends and handles retention and routing of footage.

  • Centralized recording storage
  • Object storage integration
  • Retention management
  • Works with Kerberos Agents

Kerberos.io Machinery

Kerberos Machinery is the open-source video surveillance recording engine of the Kerberos.io ecosystem. It captures, records, and processes video from IP and USB cameras with motion detection and event-based recording.

  • Video recording engine
  • Motion-based capture
  • IP and USB camera support
  • Event-driven processing

Kerberos Vault vs Kerberos.io Machinery: key differences

The biggest difference is maintenance: Kerberos.io Machinery's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Kerberos Vault is actively maintained. Kerberos Vault is written in Go, while Kerberos.io Machinery is built with C++. Licensing differs — MIT for Kerberos Vault versus Apache-2.0 for Kerberos.io Machinery. Kerberos.io Machinery is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Kerberos Vault. Kerberos.io Machinery is the more established project (first released 2014), while Kerberos Vault arrived in 2021. Kerberos.io Machinery has the considerably larger community, at 486 GitHub stars versus 42.

Why pick each one

Choose Kerberos Vault if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Written in Go

Watch out for

  • Part of a larger stack
  • Hard to set up alone
Kerberos Vault details

Choose Kerberos.io Machinery if…

  • Lightweight engine
  • Part of broader ecosystem

Watch out for

  • Best with Kerberos suite
  • Single-camera per instance
Kerberos.io Machinery details

Frequently asked questions

Is Kerberos Vault or Kerberos.io Machinery better?

Kerberos.io Machinery is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Kerberos.io Machinery if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Kerberos Vault and Kerberos.io Machinery free and open-source?

Yes. Kerberos Vault is licensed under MIT and Kerberos.io Machinery under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Kerberos Vault and Kerberos.io Machinery with Docker?

Kerberos Vault: yes. Kerberos.io Machinery: yes.

Which is lighter on resources, Kerberos Vault or Kerberos.io Machinery?

Kerberos.io Machinery has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Kerberos Vault. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.

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