GoKawiilBroadcom quietly pulls VMware's VDDK downloads, complicating exits from vSphere
Broadcom has removed public access to VMware's Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK), a library relied on by major migration tools including Microsoft Azure Migrate, Red Hat's Migration Toolkit, Nutanix Move, and various VMware-to-KVM utilities. Customers report that Broadcom support confirmed the kit is no longer available for general download, though no official announcement or explanation has been issued.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
VDDK underpins the tooling many organizations depend on to move workloads off VMware, so cutting off access effectively raises the difficulty and cost of leaving the platform at a time when many customers are seeking alternatives following Broadcom's acquisition and licensing changes. Without clarity on whether this is temporary or permanent, IT teams planning migrations face new uncertainty and risk in their exit strategies.
- Broadcom has removed public download access to VMware's VDDK library.
- Many popular migration tools from Microsoft, Red Hat, and Nutanix rely on VDDK to move data off VMware.
- No official statement has been made, leaving customers uncertain if this is permanent or a mistake.
Samsung T9 Portable SSD — If you're wrangling VM exports and disk images while planning a move off vSphere, a fast USB-C portable SSD like the Samsung T9 is a handy staging ground for VMDKs and backups. It's rugged, pocketable, and plugs straight into a laptop or workstation for shuttling large virtual disks between hosts.
See Samsung T9 Portable SSD on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: virtualizationhowto.com — Brandon Lee, 2026-09-07
Published there as: “Leaving VMware Just Got Harder After Broadcom Pulled VDDK Downloads”
Read the original report → The summary and analysis above are GoKawiil's own, written from reporting by the source above. Facts and quotes belong to the original publisher.