As part of the configuration of a high-availability infrastructure, you may encounter the need to cut access to your instances in order to perform different tests. OpenStack allows you to shelve, suspend, or pause your instance. In each case, your IP is maintained.
Note: The naming of these options in the OVHcloud Control Panel is different from the naming in Openstack/Horizon. If you are doing this via the OVHcloud Control Panel, make sure you select the right option.
This guide explains how to shelve, pause, or suspend your instance.
Requirements
- An OVHcloud Public Cloud instance on hourly billing.
- Access to the OVHcloud Control Panel or Horizon interface.
- Knowledge of Openstack API and Openstack variables.
Instructions
Warning: These manipulations still result in the instance being billed as long as the instance is not deleted.
The table below allows you to differentiate the options available on your instances. Continue reading this guide by clicking on the option of your choice.
Shelve (suspend) an instance
This option will allow you to release the resources dedicated to your Public Cloud instance, but the IP address will remain. The data on your local disk will be stored in a snapshot automatically created once the instance is shelved. Data stored in the memory and elsewhere will not be retained.
From the OVHcloud Control Panel
In the OVHcloud Control Panel, select your project from the Public Cloud section. Click on Instances in the left side menu.
Click on the ... button to the right of the instance you want to suspend, then click on Suspend.
In the pop-up window, take note of the message and click on Confirm.
Once the process is completed, your instance will now appear as Suspended.
To view the snapshot, go to the left side menu and click on Instance Backup. A snapshot named xxxxx-shelved will now be visible:
From the Horizon Interface
To proceed, you need to configure user access to Horizon and log in to the Horizon interface.
If you have deployed instances in different regions, make sure you are in the correct region. You can verify this on the top left corner in the Horizon interface.
Click on the Compute menu on the left side and select Instances. Select Shelve Instance in the drop list for the corresponding instance.
Once the process is completed, your instance will now appear as Shelved Offloaded.
To view the snapshot, in the Compute menu, click on Images.
Using Openstack/Nova APIs
Before proceeding, it is recommended that you consult these guides:
Once your environment is ready, type the following at the command line:
~$ openstack server shelve <UUID server>
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~$ nova shelve <UUID server>
Unshelve (reactivate) an instance
This option will allow you to re-up your instance so that you can continue using it. Please note that once this is done, the regular billing will resume.
Warning: Any actions on the snapshot other than unshelve can be very dangerous for your infrastructure in case of misuse. Once you unshelve an instance, the snapshot is automatically deleted. It is not recommended to deploy a new instance from any snapshot created as a result of shelving (suspending)an instance.
From the OVHcloud Control Panel
In the OVHcloud Control Panel, select your project from the Public Cloud section and click on Instances in the left side menu.
Click on the ... button to the right of the instance, then click on Reactivate.
In the pop-up window, take note of the message and click on Confirm.
Once the process is completed, your instance will now appear as Activated.
From the Horizon interface
In the Horizon interface, click on the Compute menu on the left and then select Instances. Select Unshelve Instance in the drop list for the corresponding instance.
Once the process is completed, your instance will now appear as Active.
Using Openstack/Nova APIs
Once your environment is ready, type the following at the command line:
~$ openstack server unshelve <UUID server>
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~$ nova unshelve <UUID server>
Suspend (stop) an instance
This option will allow you to shutdown your instance and store the VM state on disk, the memory will be written to the disk as well.
From the OVHcloud Control Panel
In the OVHcloud Control Panel, select your project from the Public Cloud section and click on Instances in the left side menu.
Click on the ... button to the right of the instance you want to stop, then click on Stop.
In the pop-up window, take note of the message and click on Confirm.
Once the process is completed, your instance will now appear as Off.
To resume the instance, perform the same steps as mentioned above. Click on the ... button to the right of the instance and select Boot. In some cases, you might need to do a cold reboot.
From the Horizon interface
In the Horizon interface, click on the Compute menu on the left and then select Instances. Select Suspend Instance in the drop list for the corresponding instance.
The confirmation message will appear, indicating that the instance has been suspended.
To unsuspend the instance, perform the same steps as mentioned above. In the drop list for the corresponding instance select Resume Instance.
Using Openstack/Nova API
Once your environment is ready, type the following at the command line:
~$ openstack server suspend <UUID server>
====================================
~$ nova suspend <UUID server>
To unsuspend the instance, type the following at the command line:
~$ openstack server unsuspend <UUID server>
====================================
~$ nova unsuspend <UUID server>
Pause an instance
This action is only possible in the Horizon interface or via the Openstack/Nova API. It allows you to freeze your instance.
Using Horizon
In the Horizon interface, click on the Compute menu on the left and then select Instances. Select Pause Instance in the drop list for the corresponding instance.
The confirmation message will appear, indicating that the instance has been paused.
To unpause the instance, perform the same steps as mentioned above. In the drop list for the corresponding instance select Resume Instance.
Using Openstack/Nova APIs
Once your environment is ready, type the following at the command line:
~$ openstack server pause <UUID server>
====================================
~$ nova pause <UUID server>
To unpause the instance, type the following at the command line:
~$ openstack server unpause <UUID server>
====================================
~$ nova unpause <UUID server>
Conclusion
Having read this guide, you should be able to shelve, suspend, or pause an instance using OVHcloud Control Panel, Horizon, and/or Openstack.