VMware Cloud on AWS: SDDC Version 1.26 Release

Next-Generation Storage: vSAN Express Storage Architecture Bring Your Own Keys (BYOK): VMC Now Includes VM Encryption Expanded Hardware Capabilities: VM Hardware Version 21 VM Hardware Version Comparison: Version 21 vs Version 20 Operational Excellence: VMware Tools 12.5.4 What This Means for Your Organization Discover more from VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Blog Related Articles VCF Breakroom Chats Episode 82 – Beyond DevOps: What is Platform Engineering? Better Together: Modernizing Access Management with Symantec SiteMinder and VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service The CFO’s Case for On-Premises DBaaS: Repatriation and Cost Control Updated: 1/23/2026 The VMware Cloud on AWS SDDC version 1.26 release marks a significant milestone in VMC’s cloud infrastructure evolution, bringing together a modern storage architecture, enhanced compliance capabilities, and improved operational stability. This release focuses on what matters most to enterprise customers: maintaining secure, efficient, and reliable cloud environments while providing flexibility for modern workloads. At the heart of the 1.26 release is the upgrade to vSphere 8.0 Update 3 , a Long-Term Support (LTS) version that provides organizations with a stable foundation for their cloud infrastructure, with improved reliability and performance optimizations. See Correlating VMware Cloud on AWS SDDC Versions With Their vSphere Components for more details about the component version changes and the VMware Cloud on AWS Release Notes for additional details about the release. SDDC Version 1.26 is now the default build for all new SDDC deployments. Keep reading for more details about what’s new in this release. ​​With the VMware Cloud on AWS 1.26 release, the vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA) is now generally available for VMC SDDCs. vSAN ESA is supported only for i4i. metal host types on newly deployed single availability zone SDDCs and for new secondary i4i. metal clusters on existing SDDCs that have been upgraded to 1.26. The introduction of vSAN ESA with SDDC version 1.26 represents a fundamental shift in how storage is managed within VMware Cloud on AWS. This next-generation architecture delivers higher performance and improved efficiency, enabling organizations to run more demanding workloads while optimizing resource utilization.