Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization offers VDDK-independent migration paths

Red Hat has introduced migration strategies for OpenShift Virtualization that bypass the need for the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK). This development addresses reports from customers who can no longer access VDDK through standard public download paths, which previously hindered the use of many third-party migration and data protection tools.

The solution relies on the Migration Toolkit for Virtualization (MTV) to facilitate data transfers. By utilizing storage-level offloading or a dedicated VDDK-independent transfer capability, organizations can move virtual machine disk data without relying on VMware's proprietary development kit.

Technical migration methods in MTV

• Storage Copy Offload: This feature utilizes existing storage arrays to perform internal data copies rather than moving disk data over the IP network, reducing migration network capacity requirements.
• MTV Versioning: Migration Toolkit for Virtualization (MTV) 2.11 supports storage copy offload for cold migrations, while MTV 2.12 extends this capability to warm migrations.
• Hardware Compatibility: Storage copy offload is designed for source VMs on block storage via iSCSI or Fibre Channel, with support in MTV 2.12 for arrays from Hitachi Vantara, NetApp, Pure Storage, Dell, HPE, Infinidat, and IBM.
• VDDK-Independent Transfer: A secondary capability within MTV provides an alternative for warm and cold migrations in environments where storage-level offloading is not applicable.

Why it matters

This development provides a critical exit ramp for enterprises moving from VMware to open-source-based virtualization platforms like OpenShift. By removing the dependency on proprietary VMware tools, Red Hat reduces the friction and technical blockers associated with large-scale infrastructure migrations.