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azlin batch stop

Stop/deallocate multiple VMs simultaneously

Description

The azlin batch stop command stops or deallocates multiple running VMs in parallel. By default, VMs are deallocated to stop billing for compute resources. This is ideal for shutting down development environments at end of day or reducing costs for idle workloads.

Usage

azlin batch stop [OPTIONS]

Options

Option Type Description
--tag TEXT Key=Value Filter VMs by tag (format: key=value)
--vm-pattern TEXT Pattern Filter VMs by name pattern (glob syntax)
--all Flag Select all VMs in resource group
--resource-group, --rg TEXT Name Azure resource group
--config PATH Path Config file path
--deallocate / --no-deallocate Bool Deallocate to save costs (default: yes)
--max-workers INTEGER Count Maximum parallel workers (default: 10)
--confirm Flag Skip confirmation prompt
-h, --help Flag Show command help and exit

Examples

Stop VMs by Tag

# Stop all dev environment VMs
azlin batch stop --tag 'env=dev'

# Stop all VMs for a project
azlin batch stop --tag 'project=webapp'

Stop VMs by Name Pattern

# Stop all test VMs
azlin batch stop --vm-pattern 'test-*'

# Stop specific numbered VMs
azlin batch stop --vm-pattern 'worker-[6-10]'

Stop All VMs

# Stop all VMs in resource group (with confirmation)
azlin batch stop --all

# Stop all without confirmation
azlin batch stop --all --confirm

Stop Without Deallocate

# Just stop, don't deallocate (still incurs charges)
azlin batch stop --tag 'env=staging' --no-deallocate

Custom Parallelism

# Stop with more workers
azlin batch stop --tag 'env=test' --max-workers 20

# Limit workers to avoid rate limiting
azlin batch stop --all --max-workers 5

Deallocate vs Stop

Deallocate (Default - Recommended): - Stops billing for compute - Releases IP address (unless static) - Faster to stop - Slower to start again - Saves money

Stop Only (--no-deallocate): - Still charges for compute - Keeps IP address - Slower to stop - Faster to start - More expensive

Recommendation: Always use default deallocate unless you specifically need to preserve the IP address.

Common Workflows

End of Day Shutdown

# Stop all team VMs at end of day
azlin batch stop --tag 'team=engineering' --confirm

Weekend Cost Savings

# Stop all non-production VMs on Friday evening
azlin batch stop --tag 'env=dev' --confirm
azlin batch stop --tag 'env=test' --confirm
azlin batch stop --tag 'env=staging' --confirm

Project Completion

# Stop all VMs for completed project
azlin batch stop --tag 'project=old-project' --confirm

Emergency Cost Control

# Quickly stop all VMs to control costs
azlin batch stop --all --confirm

Output Example

Batch Stop VMs

Scanning for VMs...
Found 5 VMs matching criteria

VMs to stop (deallocate):
  dev-vm-1    (running)
  dev-vm-2    (running)
  dev-vm-3    (running)
  dev-vm-4    (running)
  dev-vm-5    (running)

Continue? [y/N]: y

Stopping VMs (max 10 parallel workers)...
✓ dev-vm-1 stopped (deallocated)
✓ dev-vm-2 stopped (deallocated)
✓ dev-vm-3 stopped (deallocated)
✓ dev-vm-4 stopped (deallocated)
✓ dev-vm-5 stopped (deallocated)

Batch stop complete!
  Total: 5 VMs
  Stopped: 5
  Failed: 0
  Time: 1m 45s

Estimated monthly savings: $450

Troubleshooting

No VMs Match Criteria

Symptoms: "No VMs found matching criteria"

Solutions: 

# List running VMs
azlin list --status running

# Check tag syntax
azlin list --tag env=dev

# Try broader pattern
azlin batch stop --vm-pattern '*'

Stop Fails for Some VMs

Symptoms: Some VMs fail to stop

Solutions: 

# Check VM status
azlin status

# Retry failed VMs individually
azlin stop failed-vm-name

# Force stop if needed
azlin stop failed-vm-name --force

VMs Still Billing After Stop

Symptoms: Costs remain high after stopping VMs

Solutions: 

# Verify VMs are deallocated (not just stopped)
azlin status

# If stopped but not deallocated, deallocate them
azlin batch stop --all --deallocate --confirm

# Check for other resources (disks, IPs, etc.)
azlin cost --by-resource

Best Practices

Use Deallocate for Cost Savings

# Always use default deallocate
azlin batch stop --tag 'env=dev' --confirm

# Only use --no-deallocate if you need to preserve IP
azlin batch stop --tag 'special-case' --no-deallocate

Tag-Based Automation

# Tag VMs for auto-shutdown
azlin tag my-vm --add auto-shutdown=weekends

# Stop them on schedule
# crontab: 0 18 * * 5 azlin batch stop --tag 'auto-shutdown=weekends' --confirm

Pre-Stop Verification

#!/bin/bash
# Verify before stopping

echo "VMs to be stopped:"
azlin list --tag 'env=dev' --status running

read -p "Proceed with batch stop? [y/N] " -n 1 -r
echo
if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
  azlin batch stop --tag 'env=dev' --confirm
fi

Cost Tracking

#!/bin/bash
# Track cost savings from stops

BEFORE=$(azlin cost --format json | jq '.total')
azlin batch stop --tag 'env=dev' --confirm
sleep 3600  # Wait 1 hour
AFTER=$(azlin cost --format json | jq '.total')

echo "Hourly savings: \$$(echo "$BEFORE - $AFTER" | bc)"

Automation Examples

Scheduled Weekend Shutdown

# Add to crontab
# Stop non-production VMs Friday 6 PM
# 0 18 * * 5 /path/to/weekend-shutdown.sh

#!/bin/bash
azlin batch stop --tag 'env=dev' --confirm
azlin batch stop --tag 'env=test' --confirm
azlin batch stop --tag 'env=staging' --confirm

echo "Weekend shutdown complete: $(date)" >> ~/azlin-shutdowns.log

Nightly Development Shutdown

# Stop dev VMs every night at 8 PM
# 0 20 * * * azlin batch stop --tag 'team=engineering' --confirm

Emergency Stop All

#!/bin/bash
# Emergency stop all VMs

echo "EMERGENCY: Stopping all VMs"
azlin batch stop --all --confirm

echo "Emergency stop completed: $(date)" | mail -s "Emergency VM Shutdown" admin@company.com

Performance

VMs Workers Stop Time
5 VMs 10 1-2 minutes
10 VMs 10 2-3 minutes
20 VMs 10 3-5 minutes
20 VMs 20 2-4 minutes

Deallocate is faster than stop-only

Cost Savings

Stopping and deallocating VMs can save significant costs:

VM Size Hourly Cost Monthly Cost (24/7) Monthly Savings (12h/day)
Standard_D2s_v5 $0.096 ~$70 ~$35
Standard_E16as_v5 $1.008 ~$730 ~$365
Standard_E32as_v5 $2.016 ~$1,460 ~$730

Source Code

See Also