What is an air-gapped system?
An air-gapped system is a computer or network physically or logically isolated from the internet and from other untrusted networks, so data can enter or leave only through a controlled transfer process.
Written by Paul Madelénat. Last updated
What air-gapped means
An air gap is the absence of a network path. An air-gapped system has no connection to the internet and none to the rest of the organisation’s network, or only to a tightly controlled segment. Software, updates and data cross the gap through a defined process: signed media, a one-way transfer device or a vetted jump host, each step approved and logged.
Defence, intelligence, critical infrastructure, some research facilities and organisations handling highly sensitive data use air gaps because they remove whole classes of attack. Malware cannot call home, and data cannot be exfiltrated over a connection that does not exist. The gap does not remove every risk: removable media and insiders remain the main paths in, which is why the transfer process matters as much as the isolation.
What it costs to run software air-gapped
Isolation makes ordinary operations harder. Security updates do not arrive by themselves, so someone has to fetch them outside, verify them and carry them in. Software that expects a cloud licence check, a telemetry endpoint or a hosted AI model may not work at all. Monitoring and backups have to live inside the perimeter. Without a disciplined process, isolated systems drift behind on patches, which erodes the security the air gap was meant to provide.
Open-source and source-available software suits these environments well, because it can be built, verified and run without calling back to a vendor. Container images that have crossed the gap wait in a local registry such as Harbor, and a model server such as vLLM runs AI models with no hosted API behind it.
Air-gapped deployments with Pilae
Pilae operates apps in fully isolated environments as part of the Enterprise plan. Signed releases and deployment recipes reach your site through the transfer process your security team defines. The Pilae Agent runs inside the perimeter with a locally hosted model, planning each change and waiting for approval as it does everywhere else. The coordination service for the private network, monitoring and backup targets run inside your perimeter, and our engineers work on site or through your jump host, with every action recorded.
Read more on air-gapped deployments, on-premises operations and private AI on your own servers.