A new era of virtualization: Broadcom releases VMware Workstation Pro 26H1

Broadcom has officially released a major update to its flagship virtualization platform — VMware Workstation Pro 26H1 Build 25388281. This release opens a fundamentally new chapter in the product's history, bringing not only important architectural changes but also a radical overhaul of the licensing policy that will positively impact the entire IT infrastructure market.

Main sensation of the release: elimination of license keys

The most important news for many technical professionals is that VMware Workstation Pro is now completely free for commercial, educational, and personal use. Users no longer require a license key to activate the full range of the tool's capabilities. It is enough to simply log in to the Broadcom Support Portal, download the required distribution, and deploy test or production environments without additional costs.

What's new in version 26H1: key improvements and features

The developers focused on improving system performance, security, and expanding the list of compatible software.

Full 64-bit architecture on Windows

VMware Workstation Pro for Windows now functions as a pure 64-bit application. Absolutely all internal binaries, libraries, services, and installer components are executed exclusively as 64-bit processes. This significantly optimizes the host's system resource consumption when running multiple heavy virtual machines in parallel.

Expanded operating system support

The updated platform received compatibility with the latest OS releases on the market. The list of systems that are now supported both as a host (Host OS) and as a guest (Guest OS) includes:

• Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
• Fedora 43 and Fedora 44
• SUSE Linux Enterprise 16
• openSUSE 16.0
• FreeBSD 15.0 (as guest OS)

ARM infrastructure management and additional features

Version 26H1 introduces support for remote connections to ARM-based ESX hosts, enabling basic virtual machine operations directly through the Workstation Pro console. In addition, a mechanism for recording and reporting time stamps of virtual machine creation and last power-on time has been added, and virtual machine notes are now conveniently displayed in folder tabs.

New comparison format for the product line

To choose the optimal tool for your IT team's tasks, take a look at the feature structure of VMware by Broadcom desktop hypervisors:

VMware Workstation Pro

• Target audience: IT administrators, developers, cyber security engineers
• Functionality: Full control over virtual networks, snapshots, VM cloning, connection to vCenter
• Host platforms: Windows and Linux

VMware Workstation Player

• Target audience: Students, home users, basic application testing
• Functionality: Simplified interface, launching ready-made templates, lack of advanced snapshot and network management
• Host platforms: Windows and Linux

Expert support and migration with Softprom

Even though VMware Workstation Pro has become free, building a reliable enterprise infrastructure, scaling to private vSphere clouds, and migrating complex environments require high architectural expertise. As an official distributor of VMware by Broadcom, Softprom helps businesses properly integrate the vendor's solutions, optimize server product licensing, and ensure the continuity of critical services.