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* conversion stage 1 * correct image paths * add sidebar title to frontmatter * docs/concepts and docs/internals * configuration docs and multi-level nav corrections * commands docs, index file corrections, small item nav correction * secrets converted * auth * add enterprise and agent docs * add extra dividers * secret section, wip * correct sidebar nav title in front matter for apu section, start working on api items * auth and backend, a couple directory structure fixes * remove old docs * intro side nav converted * reset sidebar styles, add hashi-global-styles * basic styling for nav sidebar * folder collapse functionality * patch up border length on last list item * wip restructure for content component * taking middleman hacking to the extreme, but its working * small css fix * add new mega nav * fix a small mistake from the rebase * fix a content resolution issue with middleman * title a couple missing docs pages * update deps, remove temporary markup * community page * footer to layout, community page css adjustments * wip downloads page * deps updated, downloads page ready * fix community page * homepage progress * add components, adjust spacing * docs and api landing pages * a bunch of fixes, add docs and api landing pages * update deps, add deploy scripts * add readme note * update deploy command * overview page, index title * Update doc fields Note this still requires the link fields to be populated -- this is solely related to copy on the description fields * Update api_basic_categories.yml Updated API category descriptions. Like the document descriptions you'll still need to update the link headers to the proper target pages. * Add bottom hero, adjust CSS, responsive friendly * Add mega nav title * homepage adjustments, asset boosts * small fixes * docs page styling fixes * meganav title * some category link corrections * Update API categories page updated to reflect the second level headings for api categories * Update docs_detailed_categories.yml Updated to represent the existing docs structure * Update docs_detailed_categories.yml * docs page data fix, extra operator page remove * api data fix * fix makefile * update deps, add product subnav to docs and api landing pages * Rearrange non-hands-on guides to _docs_ Since there is no place for these on learn.hashicorp, we'll put them under _docs_. * WIP Redirects for guides to docs * content and component updates * font weight hotfix, redirects * fix guides and intro sidenavs * fix some redirects * small style tweaks * Redirects to learn and internally to docs * Remove redirect to `/vault` * Remove `.html` from destination on redirects * fix incorrect index redirect * final touchups * address feedback from michell for makefile and product downloads
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| layout | page_title | sidebar_title | sidebar_current | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| docs | Vault vs. HSMs | HSMs | vs-other-hsm | Comparison between Vault and HSM systems. |
Vault vs. HSMs
A hardware security module (HSM) is a hardware device that is meant to secure various secrets using protections against access and tampering at both the software and hardware layers.
The primary issue with HSMs is that they are expensive and not very cloud friendly. An exception to the latter is Amazon's CloudHSM service, which is friendly for AWS users but still costs more than $14k per year per instance, and not as useful for heterogenous cloud architectures.
Once an HSM is up and running, configuring it is generally very tedious, and the API to request secrets is also difficult to use. Example: CloudHSM requires SSH and setting up various keypairs manually. It is difficult to automate. APIs tend to require the use of specific C libraries (e.g. PKCS#11) or vendor-specific libraries.
However, although configuring and running an HSM can be a challenge, they come with a significant advantage in that they conform to government-mandated compliance requirements (e.g. FIPS 140), which often require specific hardware protections and security models in addition to software.
Vault doesn't replace an HSM. Instead, they can be complementary; a compliant HSM can protect Vault's master key to help Vault comply with regulatory requirements, and Vault can provide easy client APIs for tasks such as encryption and decryption.
Vault can also do many things that HSMs cannot currently do, such as generating dynamic secrets. Instead of storing AWS access keys directly within Vault, Vault can generate access keys according to a specific policy on the fly. Vault has the potential of doing this for any system through its mountable secret backend system.
For many companies' security requirements, Vault alone is enough. For companies that can afford an HSM or with specific regulatory requirements, it can be used with Vault to get the best of both worlds.