Broadcom Enables Enterprises to Strengthen Multi-Layer Cyber Defense and Operational Efficiency with New vDefend and Avi Load Balancer Capabilities
Rhea-AI Summary
Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) announced major updates to VMware vDefend and VMware Avi Load Balancer to strengthen multi-layer cyber defense for VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) private clouds in the frontier AI era. The releases introduce ATP “1-2-3” guided deployment, on‑prem malware sandboxing, and full air‑gapped support, plus native API protection via Avi WAAP for VMs, vSphere Kubernetes Services and AI workloads.
Performance and cost optimizations include a 2‑node SSP model reducing required hardware by up to 33%, DFW throughput up to 22Gbps on 25G NICs and 75Gbps on 100G NICs (up to 129% and 241% increases), IDPS up to 17Gbps per server (up to 89% increase) and Avi Load Balancer scale‑out throughput up to 12.25Tbps (up to 88% increase).
Operational updates add an AI Assistant embedded in vDefend DFW and Avi, plus an enhanced vDefend and Avi Conversion Tool to automate migration from legacy, agent‑based firewalls to DFW. The enhancements ship in vDefend SSP 5.2, vDefend 9.1.1, Avi 32.1.4 and vACT 3.0, compatible with VCF 9.1.
Positive
- Hardware requirement cut up to 33% via new 2‑node SSP deployment model
- Distributed Firewall throughput up to 75Gbps per 100G NIC server, up to 241% increase
- IDPS performance up to 17Gbps per server, up to 89% higher, enabling 17Tbps virtual patching per VCF instance
- Avi Load Balancer scale‑out throughput up to 12.25Tbps, up to 88% increase per controller instance
- ATP 1‑2‑3 workflow cuts advanced threat prevention roll‑out from many months to a few weeks
- Full air‑gapped and on‑prem support for all vDefend capabilities, aiding highly sensitive environments
Negative
- None.
Key Figures
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 16 | Customer infrastructure selection | Positive | -5.0% | Standard Chartered selected Broadcom for global infrastructure modernization using VMware Cloud Foundation. |
| Jun 24 | AI processor launch | Positive | +0.5% | Broadcom and OpenAI introduced an LLM-optimized intelligence processor for future data centers. |
| Jun 17 | Debt tender results | Positive | +4.7% | Broadcom raised its cash purchase cap and accepted approximately $2.9 billion of tendered debt. |
| Jun 17 | Debt tender pricing | Positive | +4.3% | Broadcom announced pricing terms for cash offers covering six senior note series. |
| Jun 11 | Debt tender launch | Positive | +3.6% | Broadcom commenced cash tender offers for up to $2.5 billion of senior notes. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
AVGO's recent news reactions were mostly positive, although a VCF-related customer announcement was followed by a negative reaction.
Key Terms
air-gapped technical
malware sandboxing technical
distributed firewall technical
virtual patching technical
zero trust technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
New Updates Layer Additional Defenses To VMware Cloud Foundation to Better Secure the Modern Private Cloud in the Frontier AI Era
PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO), a global technology leader that designs, develops, and supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions, today announced new updates to VMware vDefend and VMware Avi Load Balancer to deliver a rapidly deployed, intelligently operated, and high performance multi-layer cyber defense. These enhancements expand private cloud security capabilities, optimize infrastructure costs, and use AI-powered automation to simplify operations for overextended IT teams. With vDefend and Avi Load Balancer, enterprises can achieve a more cyber-resilient private cloud with VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) while delivering scale-out workload security, operational efficiency, and rapid roll-out.
“As AI-fueled cyberattacks and vulnerability exploits redefine the threat landscape, a fragmented security approach is no longer an option,” said Umesh Mahajan, vice president and general manager, Application Networking and Security Division, Broadcom. “With today’s updates to vDefend and Avi Load Balancer, we are giving enterprise customers the protection, performance, and automation they need to defend their application infrastructure at scale.”
Defending Against Frontier AI Threat Landscapes
The impact of frontier AI models on IT security demands more than perimeter or point defenses to protect enterprise applications and data. It requires a multi-layer strategy that identifies and blocks threats to private cloud workloads at unprecedented scale and speed. Broadcom is introducing important updates to vDefend and Avi Load Balancer that enhance protection at multiple layers for modern private clouds built on VCF.
Enhanced Lateral Security with vDefend Security Services Platform (SSP):
- Accelerated Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP) with vDefend 1-2-3: Introduces a streamlined, three-step deployment framework that accelerates time-to-value for ATP, enabling overextended IT teams to rapidly deploy defenses in just a few weeks instead of many months. vDefend now offers the 1-2-3 workflow for ATP in conjunction with Distributed Firewall (DFW). Together, they leverage deep workload-level visibility to highlight security posture, recommend rules, and provide guided workflows to further strengthen security.
- On-Prem Malware Prevention: Brings malware sandboxing on-premises, analyzing static and dynamic artifacts entirely within the local network. All vDefend capabilities are now fully supported on prem, enabling enterprises to keep sensitive data in place and maintain control over their security protocols.
- Comprehensive Air-Gapped Support: All vDefend capabilities are now fully supported in air-gapped environments. This deployment model enables secure, offline threat intelligence updates so highly sensitive environments can stay current on the latest threat vectors without ever connecting to the cloud.
API Protection with Avi Load Balancer:
APIs are increasingly exploited by attackers to infiltrate private cloud environments. Broadcom is further enhancing Avi Load Balancer’s security capabilities by introducing native API protection for virtual machines (VMs), vSphere Kubernetes Services (VKS), and AI workloads. The combination of Web Application Firewall and API Protection (WAAP) protects vulnerable APIs and gives enterprises comprehensive visibility to close security gaps while reducing the high cost and complexity of multiple disconnected tools.
Optimizing Performance to Lower Infrastructure Costs
To counter rising server hardware expenses, the latest optimizations to vDefend and Avi Load Balancer help enterprises get more value from their existing infrastructure investment.
- Leaner 2-Node SSP Deployment: vDefend introduces a 2-node SSP model that reduces the physical hardware required to run the platform by up to
33% 1, lowering infrastructure costs while delivering comprehensive lateral segmentation. - Distributed Firewall Performance Boosts: To deliver Zero Trust lateral security to data-heavy AI workloads, vDefend delivers significant throughput gains by driving DFW speeds up to 22Gbps on 25G NIC servers (up to
129% increase) and up to 75Gbps on 100G NIC servers (up to additional241% increase)1. This amounts to DFW scale-out performance of up to 75Tbps per VCF instance. - Distributed Intrusion Detection and Prevention System (IDPS) Performance: To combat the rise of frontier AI discovered software vulnerabilities, vDefend IDPS enables distributed virtual patching to block workload-level exploits in the hypervisor itself, buying time to roll out software patches. vDefend can now boost IDPS performance to up to 17Gbps per server (up to
89% increase), delivering up to 17Tbps scale-out performance for distributed virtual patching per VCF instance1. - Improved Application Delivery Performance: Avi Load Balancer scale-out throughput is also boosted up to 12.25Tbps (up to
88% increase) per controller instance1.
Simplifying Deployment and Operations with AI-Powered Tools
Broadcom is introducing an AI-powered assistant and advanced migration tool to streamline day-to-day operations and accelerate network migration. By embedding intelligence directly into the infrastructure, these updates can remove operational complexity and speed up the transition from legacy security solutions.
- AI Assistant: Both vDefend DFW and Avi Load Balancer now include AI Assistant to better streamline lateral security and load balancing operations. They embed AI-powered automation directly into the platform to simplify troubleshooting and remediation.
- Automated Migration to vDefend DFW: The vDefend and Avi Conversion Tool (vACT) enhancement simplifies and automates the migration process of legacy, agent-based firewall solutions to DFW, significantly reducing migration cost and speeding up security posture.
These new enhancements are delivered in vDefend SSP 5.2, vDefend 9.1.1, Avi Load Balancer 32.1.4, and vACT 3.0 releases, and are compatible with the VCF 9.1 release.
Third-Party Commentary
"As a global solutions integrator, TeraSky helps customers implement, operate, and modernize complex technology environments," said Scott Rosenberg, lead architect in the CTO Office at TeraSky. "By integrating powerful AI directly into the product, the AI Assistant for vDefend and Avi streamlines operations by quickly showing real-time insights, assisting with troubleshooting, and accelerating deployments. This powerful combination can make day-to-day operations faster, simpler and more contextual."
“API protection has become paramount for securing our private cloud application and AI traffic” said Ahsan Khan, chief technology officer of ThinkOn, “Avi WAAP extends our existing web security posture to defend against API layer threat vectors. Additionally, Avi’s software-defined scale-out architecture makes it very easy to roll out WAAP comprehensively across our VCF private cloud workloads.”
"Frontier AI assisted attacks have made multi-layer defense a necessity for private cloud workloads," said Chris Steffen, VP of Research at EMA. "With prescriptive ATP 1-2-3 workflows, enterprise customers can enable virtual patching and advanced threat detection comprehensively. What could have taken many months can now be rolled-out in a matter of a few weeks."
"As a financial institution, securing virtualized, Kubernetes and AI applications is a top priority” said Nagaraj Reddi, VP of Technology at United States Senate Federal Credit Union. "With prescriptive ATP 1-2-3 workflows in vDefend, we can efficiently implement virtual patching and advanced threat prevention in a matter of weeks, rather than many months. Furthermore, Avi WAF and WAAP capabilities further protect web applications and API traffic as part of our defense-in-depth security architecture.”
Additional Resources
- For more details on these updates, please read the vDefend and Avi Load Balancer blogs:
- Follow VMware vDefend on LinkedIn
- Follow VMware Avi Load Balancer on LinkedIn
About Broadcom
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) is a technology leader that designs, develops, and supplies semiconductors and infrastructure software for global organizations’ complex, mission-critical needs. Broadcom combines long-term R&D investment with superb execution to deliver the best technology, at scale. Broadcom is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, CA. For more information, visit www.broadcom.com.
1 - Based on internal Broadcom test results, July 2026
Media Contact:
Heather Haley
Broadcom Global Communications
heather.haley@broadcom.com
1-925-482-4333
