# Open-source tool aims to restore access to VMware virtual disk migration

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/architect-creates-open-source-replacement-for-vm-migration-tool-vmware-has-hidden/
- Published: 2026-11-03T04:45:59+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T05:32:15+00:00
- Original publisher: The Register
- Original article: https://www.theregister.com/virtualization/2026/11/03/architect-creates-open-source-replacement-for-vm-migration-tool-vmware-has-hidden/5307124
- Topics: Software

## Key points

- VMware restricted public access to its virtual disk library.
- OpenVDDK offers a read-only, open-source replacement.
- Users report successful migrations, including production use.

## Summary

Cloud architect Andrija Panić has released OpenVDDK, an open-source tool designed to replace a VMware library that the company recently restricted to partners. The change matters because backup and migration software used VDDK to read virtual disks, making it harder for customers and VMware rivals to move or protect their data.

Written from scratch in Go with a C interface compatible with VMware’s library, OpenVDDK can read disks but cannot write them. Panić says it has been tested with vSphere versions 6.7 U3, 7.0.3, 8.0.3 and 9.1.1, and users have reported successful migrations with several tools, including in production; those reports are not independently audited. Other alternatives include OpenNebula’s OneSwap, which claims a 96 per cent success rate, and a VDDK-free version of Nutanix Move.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.