Intel QAT cut encrypted VMware vMotion time by 25% by offloading cryptographic processing

Hands-on testing of active SQL Server VMs showed shorter migration windows with Intel QAT and VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1.

SAN JOSE, CA, UNITED STATES, August 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Migrating VMs with VMware vMotion remains a common practice in many data centers, but IT teams may want to run these migrations faster to reduce disruption to production workloads and free up time for other initiatives. Principled Technologies (PT) released a hands-on report examining how Intel QuickAssist Technology (Intel QAT) affects encrypted VMware vMotion for Microsoft SQL Server VMs on Intel Xeon 6 processor-powered hosts. PT migrated six SQL Server VMs between two hosts in the same VMware environment with Intel QAT both enabled and disabled.

Encrypted vMotion helps protect VM data as it moves between physical hosts, but the associated encryption and decryption can add processing work. VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1 uses Intel QAT integrated into supported Intel Xeon processors to route that cryptographic work to dedicated hardware. PT kept the host configurations consistent and changed only the Intel QAT condition, allowing a direct comparison of migration duration while the SQL Server VMs processed database workloads.

Key findings
• Intel QAT cut the active six-VM encrypted vMotion from 2 minutes and 3 seconds to 1 minute and 32 seconds—a 25 percent reduction.
• The 31-second shorter migration reduced the time that migration activity overlapped with active database processing.

The report concludes, “vMotion is essential for routine VMware operations such as host maintenance, patching, and cluster rebalancing. In our testing, VCF 9.1 with Intel QAT on Intel Xeon 6 processor-based hosts reduced the time to migrate active SQL Server VMs by 25 percent.”

Shorter encrypted migration windows can matter when IT teams rebalance workloads, clear hosts before planned maintenance, or move VMs as infrastructure demands change. Completing the migration sooner also meant the hosts handled migration activity alongside active database work for less time. The report notes that the exact effect in an environment depends on factors including VM size, workload activity, network configuration, storage, and the number of migrating VMs.

Read the full PT report on Intel QAT-accelerated encrypted vMotion and review the science behind the Intel QAT encrypted vMotion testing for detailed system configurations, methodology, and results.

About Principled Technologies, Inc.
Principled Technologies, Inc. is the leading provider of fact-based marketing and competitive analysis backed by transparent methodologies.

Principled Technologies, Inc. is located in Durham, North Carolina, USA. For more information, please visit www.principledtechnologies.com.

Sharon Horton
Principled Technologies, Inc.
press@principledtechnologies.com
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