VMware Data Services Manager delivers database-as-a-service on VMware Cloud Foundation. It automates the provisioning, backup, patching, and scaling of PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQL Server — giving developers self-service database access while IT maintains governance and control.
Best for
Managing a growing number of databases — provisioning, patching, scaling, backup — while maintaining consistent operations, performance, security, and governance is a complex and costly undertaking for IT organizations.
Developers wait days or weeks for database provisioning through manual IT processes. This slows application delivery and pushes teams toward unmanaged cloud database services.
DSM provides self-service database provisioning in minutes. Developers request databases through vCenter or APIs, and DSM handles deployment, configuration, and compliance automatically.
Open-source databases deployed without mature lifecycle management tools expose applications to cyberattacks. Manual patching creates inconsistent security postures.
DSM automates patching and upgrades across your entire database fleet. FIPS compliance is built in. Active Directory integration provides per-database authentication.
Finding and retaining skilled DBAs who can manage multiple database engines at scale is expensive. Manual operations across provisioning, backup, and patching consume disproportionate IT resources.
DSM centralizes and automates day 0-2 database operations from a single appliance, reducing the specialized DBA effort required to manage your database fleet.
Based on Broadcom internal testing, customer proof-of-concepts, and VMware Cloud Economics team analysis.
Annual savings by Broadcom IT using DSM
R&D divisions served with self-service DBaaS
Database provisioning time (vs. days/weeks)
"This is exactly the technology that Broadcom's IT is using to provide database-as-a-service to thousands of our own developers for business critical use cases. And for me, there is no better validation for our product than that."
— Christos Karamanolis, Broadcom Fellow
Manage your entire database fleet from a single appliance. Optimizes resource use, strengthens data governance, and provides infrastructure and data service-level visibility.
Streamlines provisioning, backup, cloning, scaling, patching, and upgrades. High availability clusters upgrade non-disruptively. Automated node failure recovery and synchronization.
Developers provision databases through vCenter/vSphere Client or Kubernetes-style declarative APIs. Consistent service models across data services, VMs, and Kubernetes workloads.
Integrated HA/DR ensures business continuity. Automated backup and recovery. In the event of node failure, the system automatically brings it back and synchronizes with the primary.
Infrastructure policies pool and abstract compute, storage, and network resources. Pre-created policies automate provisioning with compliance guardrails. FIPS compliance and AD/LDAP integration.
Delivers and manages vector databases via pgvector on PostgreSQL for RAG workflows and AI workloads. Enables fast querying and real-time updates for LLM-augmented applications.
Development teams need databases quickly to deliver applications at velocity. DSM provides a self-service solution that lets developers request and start using databases in minutes while IT maintains compliance controls.
Application modernization drives significant growth in open-source database instances. IT teams need to modernize their data infrastructure with more automation while controlling costs through database licensing optimization.
Vector databases are essential for RAG workflows and AI applications. They enable fast querying and real-time updates that enhance LLM outputs without retraining models.
DSM delivers and manages vector databases by leveraging pgvector on PostgreSQL — keeping your AI data on private infrastructure.
DSM supports PostgreSQL and MySQL with full enterprise support, including database-level support. Microsoft SQL Server is available as a Tech Preview in DSM 9.0.
DSM also supports vector database capabilities via pgvector on PostgreSQL for AI and RAG workloads.
Yes. DSM is built for VMware Cloud Foundation and integrates natively with VCF components including vCenter, vSphere Client, VCF Automation, and Supervisor services.
DSM provides a cloud-like DBaaS experience on your private cloud infrastructure. Developers get self-service provisioning and automated lifecycle management — similar to AWS RDS or Azure Database — but data stays on hardware you own and control.
This eliminates cloud database egress fees and keeps sensitive data under your organization's data sovereignty controls.
DSM installs as a single OVA appliance on your VCF environment. Once deployed, it can begin managing data services immediately. Infrastructure policies can be configured to pool compute, storage, and network resources for automated provisioning.
VirtualizationWorks helps organizations evaluate Data Services Manager, plan database modernization, and understand VCF add-on licensing.
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