Broadcom has pulled the public download links for VMware’s Virtual Disk Development Kit, known as VDDK. The kit is used by many tools that move virtual machines off VMware, and Broadcom’s decision to take it down is drawing wide notice on Reddit.
Most VMware customers never touch VDDK directly. But it sits inside many of the tools people use to move away from VMware, including Microsoft Azure Migrate, Red Hat’s Migration Toolkit, Nutanix Move, and VMware-to-KVM migration software. Taking it down makes that path harder for anyone planning a move off the platform.
What Changed
Broadcom has removed the public VDDK download pages. Visiting the old link now returns a 404 page.
No notice explaining the withdrawal has come from Broadcom. No new kit or substitute has been named either.
ShapeBlue recorded the change on August 25, 2026, after finding that the VDDK pages named in its VMware-to-KVM migration guidance were returning errors. ShapeBlue tried several VDDK paths, including those tied to VDDK 8 and 9, and reported that none of them worked. ShapeBlue published its findings in a post titled “Broadcom Removes VDDK Pages Without Explanation: What You Need to Know.”
Broadcom Support Confirms It’s Intentional
Reddit threads add weight to the claim that Broadcom did this on purpose. One customer posted a reply from Broadcom Customer Care stating the VDDK was “no longer available for use or download.” That same reply pointed the customer toward backup and recovery software from Broadcom Technology Alliance Partners instead.
A separate thread on the VMware subreddit carried a similar account. One administrator said a support case with Broadcom confirmed the withdrawal was intentional and that VDDK could no longer be reached the old way. That post was later removed by VMware moderators, though the comments are still visible.
Microsoft Changes Course
Microsoft has updated its own guidance for Azure Migrate’s method of moving VMware systems without an agent. That guidance used to tell administrators to set up the VMware VDDK on the Azure Migrate appliance.
Now it warns that Broadcom may limit the ability to reach VDDK. Microsoft’s advice: if VDDK cannot be reached, switch to the agent method of migration instead.
Broadcom has not said why VDDK was pulled. Whether the change is permanent has not been said either.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| VDDK download pages begin returning 404 errors | Discovered by ShapeBlue |
| ShapeBlue publishes its findings | August 25, 2026 |
| Reddit users report Broadcom support confirming the withdrawal | Not dated in reports |
| VMware subreddit thread on the topic | Later removed by moderators |
| Microsoft updates Azure Migrate guidance | Not dated in reports |
| Broadcom public statement on the change | None published |
For now, customers and the makers of migration software must work without VDDK, a problem that did not exist before. Whether Broadcom restores the download, offers something new, or leaves things as they stand has not been said.
Source: virtualizationhowto.com
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