Kerberos Vault vs Kerberos Factory
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted video surveillance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Kerberos Vault | Kerberos Factory |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 37 · At risk | 62 · Good |
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 42 | ★ 35 |
| First released | 2021 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Milestone XProtect | Milestone XProtect, Genetec |
What are Kerberos Vault and Kerberos Factory?
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 Factory
Kerberos Factory is a self-hosted platform for managing many camera agents and applying video analytics at scale. It centralizes configuration, storage, and analytics across distributed surveillance deployments.
- Centralized camera fleet
- Scalable analytics
- Kubernetes deployment
- Distributed storage
Kerberos Vault vs Kerberos Factory: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Kerberos Vault is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Kerberos Factory.
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
Choose Kerberos Factory if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Kerberos Vault or Kerberos Factory better?
Neither is universally better. Kerberos Vault has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kerberos Vault and Kerberos Factory free and open-source?
Yes. Kerberos Vault is licensed under MIT and Kerberos Factory under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kerberos Vault and Kerberos Factory with Docker?
Kerberos Vault: yes. Kerberos Factory: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Kerberos Vault or Kerberos Factory?
Kerberos Vault has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Kerberos Factory. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.