VMware Launches vSphere Express for Small Deployments
Broadcom's new entry-level tier targets organizations running up to 128 processor cores, as an independent engineer releases an open source replacement for a revoked migration library.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Data Centers
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VMware launched vSphere Express on November 4 for organizations with deployments of up to 128 processor cores. The move comes as a single engineer, Andrija Panic, unveiled OpenVDDK, an open source project that replaces the VDDK library Broadcom recently revoked from public access.
Why it matters
Broadcom's revocation of public VDDK access disrupted server-level migrations of VMware virtual machines, leaving migration service providers such as ShapeBlue without a publicly available tool. Some observers view the new entry-level tier as a response to customers frustrated by licensing changes since VMware's 2024 licensing model revision.
vSphere Express is capped at deployments of up to 128 processor cores, while OpenVDDK supplies the disk-reading functionality that migration tools require. Its GitHub page states the project contains no VMware code, though that claim has not been independently verified.
The players
Broadcom
Broadcom acquired VMware and controls its licensing, product tiers, and the decision to revoke public access to the VDDK library.
Andrija Panic
Panic is an independent engineer who built OpenVDDK from scratch and is developing the V2K Migrate application.
Red Hat
Red Hat is a major enterprise Linux and open source software provider that plans to present alternatives to VMware at KubeCon North America.
The details
OpenVDDK is an independently developed re-creation of VMware's VDDK interface, built from scratch by Panic to restore disk-reading capability for migration tools. Panic is also distributing V2K Migrate, a planned standalone migration application, as a private beta through an email sign-up list on his website.
Timeline
2024: VMware's licensing model changed and its service tiers were revamped.
November 4, 2026: VMware launched vSphere Express.
Week of November 6, 2026: OpenVDDK was unveiled as an open source project.
Next week: Red Hat plans to present alternatives at the KubeCon North America conference.
Market Landscape
The 2024 licensing model change under Broadcom reshaped VMware's service tiers and prompted customer discontent across the virtualization market. The vSphere Express launch and the community-built OpenVDDK replacement signal that vendors and independent developers are now competing to fill the gaps left by those changes.
Organizations running up to 128 processor cores now have a lower-tier vSphere option, which may affect renewal and budgeting decisions. Teams that depended on public VDDK access for server-level VM migrations may need to evaluate alternatives such as OpenVDDK or waiting for V2K Migrate.
The takeaway
Organizations dependent on proprietary virtualization tooling should audit their migration workflows now, since changes to public access can disrupt routine operations with little notice. Monitoring open source alternatives can provide a fallback when vendor licensing shifts.
What happens next
Red Hat is scheduled to present alternatives to VMware at the KubeCon North America conference next week.
Further reading
Explore more on Data Centers to see how virtualization platforms and migration tools shape enterprise infrastructure.
Source note: This article includes information reported by TechTarget.
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