Indexed summary. This entry is an agent-written synopsis of an article first published at virtualizationhowto.com. Read the original for the full text.
Broadcom pulled the publicly accessible VDDK download pages without any formal deprecation notice. The piece documents the practical fallout: the VDDK sits at the centre of numerous VMware-to-other-platform migration tools, including Azure Migrate, Red Hat Migration Toolkit for Virtualization, Nutanix Move, and the virtv2v/nbdkit toolchain used for VMware-to-KVM migrations.
Key points
- ShapeBlue documented the change in late August 2026 after VDDK 8 and VDDK 9 download paths both returned errors.
- Broadcom has not published any official announcement, deprecation notice, or replacement.
- Customers who opened support cases were reportedly told the VDDK is "no longer available for use or download."
- Microsoft updated its Azure Migrate documentation, now advising admins to use agent-based migration when VDDK is unavailable.
- Red Hat published a support article noting it cannot redistribute the proprietary library and is investigating longer-term alternatives.
- Proxmox migrations are unaffected because Proxmox uses its own import tool with no VDDK dependency.
- The author argues the move may accelerate customer departures by adding yet another obstacle to leaving the platform.
Why it matters
VDDK removal is a meaningful operational setback for organisations that are mid-migration or rely on agentless tooling. The library was originally designed to facilitate safe movement and protection of VMware workloads, making its withdrawal particularly ironic at a time when large numbers of customers are actively seeking alternatives to Broadcom-owned vSphere.
Source: Leaving VMware Just Got Harder After Broadcom Pulled VDDK Downloads