Why is NSX being discontinued?
The short answer: NSX as a product line is not being dropped entirely, but the older NSX for vSphere (NSX-V) is being retired, and VMware is guiding customers toward NSX-T Data Center for current and future needs.
Over the past several years, VMware has shifted its networking strategy toward NSX-T Data Center, which supports multiple hypervisors, multi‑cloud environments, and modern cloud‑native workloads. NSX-V reached end of life and is no longer the focus of development, while NSX-T remains the actively developed platform. This article explains why that shift happened, what is changing, and how organizations can navigate the transition.
What changed: NSX-V versus NSX-T
NSX has evolved through two main generations. The first, NSX-V (NSX for vSphere), was tightly integrated with VMware vSphere. The second generation, NSX-T Data Center, was redesigned to be platform‑agnostic and better suited for heterogeneous data centers and cloud deployments, including Kubernetes workloads. Businesses considering NSX today are generally choosing NSX-T for new projects.
Why NSX-V is being retired
- Architecture and scope: NSX-V was vSphere‑centric, limiting its usefulness in multi-hypervisor and multi‑cloud environments.
- Strategic focus: VMware’s development pipeline is centered on NSX-T, which aligns with modern data centers and cloud strategies.
- Lifecycle and support: NSX-V has entered deprecation with no new features and limited ongoing updates; migration to NSX-T is encouraged to receive security updates and new capabilities.
- Migration incentives: VMware provides tooling and guides to help customers move configurations and policies from NSX-V to NSX-T.
In short, the discontinuation relates to NSX-V specifically, not to NSX-T, which remains the core, actively supported platform for on‑premises and multi‑cloud networking.
Migration path to NSX-T Data Center
Organizations still running NSX-V should plan a move to NSX-T Data Center to maintain support and access new features. The following steps outline a typical migration approach:
- Assessment and discovery: Inventory existing NSX-V components, configurations, security policies, edge services, and integrations.
- Define target topology: Decide on the NSX-T deployment model (embedded vs. dedicated edges, topology for datacenters, and cloud integrations).
- Environment preparation: Provision the NSX-T Data Center environment in parallel with NSX-V still in place, ensuring network connectivity and prerequisites are met.
- Migration tooling: Use VMware’s official migration tools and coordinators to translate NSX-V objects (logical switches, routers, firewalls) into NSX-T equivalents.
- Phased cutover: Migrate workloads in cohorts, validate networking and security policies, and gradually switch traffic paths to NSX-T.
- Validation and hardening: Verify reachability, policy enforcement, microsegmentation rules, load balancing, and monitoring in NSX-T before decommissioning NSX-V.
- Knowledge transfer: Update runbooks, operator training, and security baselines to reflect NSX-T operations.
Concluding: A careful, phased migration minimizes risk and helps preserve security and performance throughout the transition to NSX-T.
What to expect from the NSX product family now
Beyond NSX-V’s retirement, VMware’s current strategy centers on NSX-T Data Center as the primary platform for on‑prem, multi‑hypervisor, and multi‑cloud networking. The NSX-T suite continues to evolve with new features for microsegmentation, security automation, integrated load balancing, and cloud-native networking.
- NSX-T Data Center: Actively developed and supported; the recommended platform for new deployments.
- NSX-V: End-of-life/deprecated; no new features, and migration is strongly encouraged.
- Edge and security capabilities: Updated primarily within NSX-T ecosystems or combined with related VMware networking products.
- Licensing and lifecycle: Aligning licensing with NSX-T and following VMware’s lifecycle matrices for supported versions.
Concluding: If you are starting a new project or refreshing a network virtualization strategy, NSX-T Data Center is the path forward. Existing NSX-V deployments should plan a migration to NSX-T to stay supported and aligned with modern capabilities.
Timeline and practical takeaways for organizations
To stay current, organizations should build a plan that accounts for lifecycle realities, internal resources, and risk management. The following guidance is commonly recommended by VMware‑certified professionals:
- Engage stakeholders early: security, operations, and application teams should align on the migration goals.
- Set a realistic timeline: migration windows depend on data center size, but a phased approach over 12–24 months is typical.
- Allocate budget for migration: include tooling, training, and potential professional services.
- Leverage VMware resources: use the official NSX-T Migration Coach, documentation, and VMware/partner support for planning and execution.
- Test thoroughly: validate connectivity, policies, and performance in a staging environment before production cutover.
Concluding: A structured migration plan helps ensure continuity of networking, security, and operations while transitioning from NSX-V to NSX-T Data Center.
Bottom line: summary and context
There isn’t a blanket discontinuation of NSX. The legacy NSX for vSphere (NSX-V) is being retired, and VMware is concentrating its development and support on NSX-T Data Center for current and future needs. For new deployments and modernization efforts, NSX-T is the recommended platform, and organizations on NSX-V should plan a migration to NSX-T with a structured, risk-managed approach.
Summary
VMware is not ending NSX as a concept, but it is retiring the NSX-V lineage and guiding customers toward NSX-T Data Center for ongoing support, features, and multi-cloud capabilities. If you’re on NSX-V, begin planning a migration to NSX-T now; if you’re starting fresh, deploy NSX-T and align with VMware’s recommended best practices and lifecycle guidance.
