Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) announced updates to its VMware vDefend and VMware Avi Load Balancer products, introducing new security, performance, and automation features for enterprise private cloud environments, according to a company statement.

The updates are delivered in vDefend SSP 5.2, vDefend 9.1.1, Avi Load Balancer 32.1.4, and vACT 3.0, all compatible with the VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 release.

Among the security additions, vDefend now supports on-premises malware sandboxing and full air-gapped environment deployment, allowing threat intelligence updates without cloud connectivity. A three-step deployment framework for Advanced Threat Prevention is also introduced, which Broadcom says can reduce deployment time from months to weeks.

Avi Load Balancer gains native API protection for virtual machines, vSphere Kubernetes Services, and AI workloads through a Web Application Firewall and API Protection capability.

On the performance side, Broadcom cited internal test results from July 2026 showing Distributed Firewall throughput reaching up to 22Gbps on 25G NIC servers, a claimed increase of up to 129%, and up to 75Gbps on 100G NIC servers, a claimed increase of up to 241%. Distributed Intrusion Detection and Prevention System performance is said to reach up to 17Gbps per server, a claimed 89% increase. Avi Load Balancer scale-out throughput is reported at up to 12.25Tbps per controller instance, a claimed 88% increase.

A new 2-node Security Services Platform deployment model is said to reduce physical hardware requirements by up to 33%, based on the same internal testing.

Both vDefend and Avi Load Balancer now include an AI Assistant feature for troubleshooting and remediation. An updated migration tool, vACT 3.0, automates the transition from agent-based firewall solutions to the Distributed Firewall.

"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 of Broadcom's Application Networking and Security Division.