Broadcom’s VDDK Withdrawal: A Strategic Friction Point for VMware Exits
AI-generated image · US National Wire
By removing the Virtual Disk Development Kit from public access, Broadcom is effectively raising the cost of migration for customers seeking alternatives to vSphere.
From a deals and integration perspective, Broadcom's post-merger playbook has been characterized by a drive toward margin optimization. As Virtualization Howto first reported, the recent removal of the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) from public access appears to be a technical execution of this strategy, complicating the exit path for legacy customers.
**The Technical Lever: VDDK**
Broadcom has removed the publicly accessible download pages for the VDDK. While it may seem like an obscure developer package, it is a critical library for tools used to migrate workloads off the VMware platform. Virtualization Howto notes that the VDDK is central to several migration products, including:
* Microsoft Azure Migrate * Nutanix Move * Red Hat’s Migration Toolkit * Various VMware-to-KVM migration tools, including nbdkit and virtv2v
By restricting access to these bits, Broadcom is introducing friction into the mechanisms customers use to leave its ecosystem.
**Opinion: The Lock-in Playbook**
In my view, this is a calculated move to squeeze legacy margins. By removing the tools that facilitate a low-friction exit to competitors like Nutanix or Microsoft Azure, Broadcom is effectively forcing customers to reconsider the cost and complexity of migration. This is a classic ecosystem lock-in maneuver: make the cost of staying lower than the technical hurdle of leaving.
**Evidence of Intentionality**
Virtualization Howto reports that the company ShapeBlue documented the removal as of August 25, 2026, after discovering that VDDK pages referenced in migration documentation were returning 404 errors. ShapeBlue further tested version-specific paths for VDDK 8 and 9, finding both unavailable.
Direct interactions suggest this was intentional. According to Virtualization Howto, customers on Reddit who opened support tickets were told by Broadcom Customer Care that the VDDK is "no longer available for use or download." Some were directed toward backup and recovery products from authorized Broadcom Technology Alliance Partners.
**The Market Response**
Broadcom has avoided a formal announcement, providing no transition notice or replacement library. The impact is already reaching major providers; Virtualization Howto reports that Microsoft has already updated its guidance regarding the Azure Migrate process and agentless migration of VMware workloads to Azure.