Learn how to shelve, pause, or suspend your instance.
As part of the configuration of a high-availability infrastructure, you may encounter the need to cut access to your instances to perform different tests. OpenStack allows you to shelve, suspend, or pause your instance. In each case, your IP is maintained.
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
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.
| Term | Description | Billing |
| Shelve | Retains the resources and data in your disk by creating a snapshot, all other resources are released. | You are only billed for the snapshot. |
| Suspend | Stores the VM state on disk, the resources dedicated to the instance are still reserved. | You will still be billed the same price for your instance. |
| Pause | Stores the state of the VM in RAM, a paused instance becomes frozen. | You will be billed the same price for your instance. |
Shelve (suspend) an instance
Suspending this type of instance leads to its decommissioning from the host, and therefore from the disks in passthrough.
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.
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 shut down 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>
Go further
For more information and tutorials, please see our other Public Cloud support guides or explore the guides for other OVHcloud products and services.