Broadcom has discontinued public downloads of the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK), impacting backup and migration tools. The move, first noticed in mid-August, restricts access to the library used for reading VMware virtual disks outside the hypervisor.
ShapeBlue, an Apache CloudStack services firm, documented the change on August 25, followed by a support note from Red Hat on August 28 regarding its Migration Toolkit for Virtualization. While existing VDDK installations will continue to function, obtaining new copies is now impossible.
The VDDK, launched in 2008, allows third-party tools to perform image-level backups and agentless migrations of VMware virtual disks. However, its license prohibits redistribution, meaning users have always relied on Broadcom’s download page, which is now inaccessible. This change hinders users attempting to move away from VMware, as evidenced by outdated documentation from Microsoft Azure Migrate and Red Hat, both of which previously directed users to the now-defunct download links.
Red Hat’s support note details customers receiving “not found” or “access denied” errors when attempting to access the VDDK. Red Hat is directing customers to Broadcom support and seeking a long-term alternative. A Broadcom Customer Care representative responded to a Reddit user, bobdrakken, stating that the VDDK is “no longer available for use or download” to ensure “the highest standard of security, reliability, and product features.” The representative further stated that Broadcom now directs customers to rely on backup and recovery solutions from its “authorized technology alliance partners.”
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