Broadcom’s restriction of public access to VMware’s Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) is creating problems for organizations migrating VMware workloads to competing platforms, with several widely used migration tools dependent on the software.

Public VDDK download pages became unavailable in late August, affecting access to versions including VDDK 8 and 9.

The change matters because VDDK provides software with access to VMware virtual disks. Migration, backup and disaster recovery products can use its libraries to read and transfer data from VMware environments. This makes a relatively low-profile developer kit an important component of the infrastructure supporting VMware workload portability.

Broadcom Customer Care has told affected users that VDDK is “no longer available for use or download,” but that Broadcom continues to maintain APIs and SDKs that enable authorized technology alliance partners to develop backup and recovery products.

Regardless of Broadcom’s reasons for restricting VDDK downloads, the practical effect is clear: some VMware migration paths now depend on software that customers can no longer assume will be publicly available.

Migration Tools Impacted

The impact has already reached major migration platforms. Microsoft notes that VDDK packages are required for agentless migration. “If you don’t have access to a supported VDDK package, use agent-based migration,” the page explains.

Red Hat acknowledged a similar issue on August 27 for customers using its Migration Toolkit for Virtualization (MTV), which supports migrations to OpenShift Virtualization. Because the software belongs to Broadcom, Red Hat cannot distribute the package itself and directs customers to Broadcom for access.

Red Hat Engineering is also examining alternatives that could eliminate or work around the VDDK dependency, including storage-based copy capabilities where supported by the underlying storage system.

Nutanix users have reported problems obtaining VDDK for Move, its migration utility for shifting virtual machines from VMware ESXi to Nutanix AHV. Community reports include unsuccessful attempts to obtain VDDK 7.0.3.1 and 8.0.3.2, even after users logged into Broadcom accounts.

The restrictions do not affect every migration architecture equally. Platform9, for example, offers VDDK-independent approaches in its vJailbreak migration software, including storage-assisted transfers and a proxy-VM method that connects to VMware storage without VDDK. RackWare says its RMM software operates at the file-system level rather than depending on VMware virtual-disk access, eliminating a VDDK requirement.

Some migration processes can continue using previously downloaded VDDK packages, depending on the product and supported version, though future access and support remain important considerations.