--- name: vmwaresolutions-faq_kmip title: FAQ for KMIP for VMware description: As of 17 July 2025, new automated installations of Red Hat® OpenShift® for VMware® are no longer available for new or existing deployments of VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Automated instances. You can still use or delete your existing Red Hat OpenShift for VMware automated installations until 16 July 2026. The service will no longer be available from 17 July 2026. last-updated: 2026-09-24 --- > ## Documentation Index > The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?format=markdown > The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt > Use these files to discover more information as needed. # FAQ for KMIP for VMware {: #faq-kmip} As of 17 July 2025, new automated installations of Red Hat® OpenShift® for VMware® are no longer available for new or existing deployments of VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Automated instances. You can still use or delete your existing Red Hat OpenShift for VMware automated installations until 16 July 2026. The service will no longer be available from 17 July 2026. {: deprecated} **End of Marketing**: As of 17 July 2025, new deployments of VMware Regulated Workloads instances are no longer available for new customers. If you are an existing customer, you can still add or delete clusters, add or delete VMware ESXi™ servers or NFS storage, and add or remove services for your existing Regulated Workloads instances. As an existing customer, you can also view or delete your Regulated Workloads instances. {: note} Find answers to frequently asked questions about the Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP™) for VMware® service. ## What does the End of Support announcement mean? {: #faq-kmip-eos-kp} {: faq} Support for the Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP™) for VMware® service will end on 31 December 2026 after which the service will no longer work. Customers must migrate to the native [IBM® Key Protect for IBM Cloud®](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/key-protect?format=markdown) offering, or an alternative key management service of your choice by 31 December 2026. ## Why is the support for KMIP for VMware ending? {: #faq-kmip-eos-reason} {: faq} The new key provider, [IBM® Key Protect for IBM Cloud®](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/key-protect?format=markdown), offers various advantages over the KMIP for VMware. The decision to end support was taken due to the following reasons: * Reduced risk of failure to recover VMs. * Improved performance due to the shorter network distance for calls from KMIP to key provider. * Improved visibility and management of KMIP keys. * No change in pricing when you shift to the new and improved key provider. ## What are the next steps? {: #faq-kmip-eos-next} {: faq} Customers must migrate to the native [IBM® Key Protect for IBM Cloud®](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/key-protect?format=markdown) offering, or an alternative key management service of your choice by 16 July 2026. For more information about the migration steps, see [Migrating from KMIP for VMware to IBM Cloud native KMIP providers](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-kmip_migration&format=markdown). The KMIP for VMware support is not going to be available from 01 January 2027. {: important} For any questions or assistance, send an email to clouddigitalsales@us.ibm.com, or [open a support ticket](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-trbl_support&format=markdown) in the VMware Solutions console. ## Are there any challenges that are anticipated during the migration? {: #faq-kmip-eos-challenges} {: faq} Customers who are using vSphere version 7.x can encounter an issue in vSphere HA that results in the restart of virtual machines with vSphere encryption during the rekeying process. However, you can work around this issue. For more information, see [Encrypted VM with Change Block Tracking (CBT) enabled unexpectedly powers off after shallow rekey operation](https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article?articleNumber=387897){: external}. For any questions or assistance, send an email to clouddigitalsales@us.ibm.com, or [open a support ticket](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-trbl_support&format=markdown) in the VMware Solutions console. ## Is there a price change? Does it cost more? {: #faq-kmip-eos-price} {: faq} No, the price of adopting the new key provider, [IBM® Key Protect for IBM Cloud®](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/key-protect?format=markdown), remains the same as what customers are currently paying for KMIP for VMware support. The existing KMIP adapter for VMware is not chargeable, and the customers are only charged monthly for per key version. The pricing remains the same in the new key provider. ## Related links {: #faq-kmip-related} * [End of Support for KMIP for VMware](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-eos-kmip&format=markdown) * [Migrating from KMIP for VMware to IBM Cloud native KMIP providers](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-kmip_migration&format=markdown) * [IBM® Key Protect for IBM Cloud®](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/key-protect?format=markdown)