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azlin storage unmount

Unmount NFS storage from a VM and restore the local home directory.

Description

The azlin storage unmount command removes the NFS storage mount from a VM and restores the original local home directory from backup. This is useful when you want to:

  • Work with local storage instead of shared storage
  • Disconnect a VM from team workspace
  • Troubleshoot storage issues
  • Prepare a VM for snapshot or cloning

The original home directory is restored from the backup created during the mount operation.

Usage

azlin storage unmount --vm VM_NAME [OPTIONS]

Options

Option Description Required
--vm TEXT VM name or identifier Yes
--resource-group, --rg TEXT Azure resource group No
-h, --help Show help message No

Examples

Basic Unmount

# Unmount storage from VM
azlin storage unmount --vm my-dev-vm

Output: 

Unmounting storage from VM 'my-dev-vm'...
  Stopping processes using mounted storage...
  Unmounting NFS share...
  Restoring local home directory from backup...
  Removing auto-mount configuration...

Storage unmounted successfully!

Local home directory restored from:
  ~/.azlin-backup-2025-11-24-143022/

VM is now using local storage.

Unmount from Multiple VMs

# Disconnect all VMs from shared storage
for vm in dev-vm-1 dev-vm-2 dev-vm-3; do
    azlin storage unmount --vm $vm
done

Unmount with Different Resource Group

# Unmount from VM in different resource group
azlin storage unmount --vm staging-vm --rg azlin-staging-rg

Common Use Cases

Switch from Shared to Local Storage

# 1. Unmount shared storage
azlin storage unmount --vm my-vm

# 2. Work with local files
azlin connect my-vm
# Files are now local - changes won't affect other VMs

# 3. Re-mount later if needed
azlin storage mount vm team-shared --vm my-vm

Troubleshoot Storage Issues

# Unmount and remount to fix issues
azlin storage unmount --vm problematic-vm
azlin storage mount vm team-shared --vm problematic-vm

Prepare for Snapshot

# Unmount before creating snapshot
azlin storage unmount --vm my-vm
azlin snapshot create my-vm

Decommission Shared Workspace

# 1. Unmount from all VMs
azlin storage unmount --vm alice-vm
azlin storage unmount --vm bob-vm
azlin storage unmount --vm carol-vm

# 2. Delete storage
azlin storage delete team-workspace

What Happens During Unmount

  1. Process Check: Verifies no active processes are using mounted files
  2. Unmount: Removes NFS mount from /home/azureuser
  3. Restore: Copies backup directory back to home
  4. Cleanup: Removes /etc/fstab auto-mount entry
  5. Metadata: Updates VM tags to reflect unmounted state

Backup Location

Original home directories are backed up during mount to: 

~/.azlin-backup-{timestamp}/

Example: ~/.azlin-backup-2025-11-24-143022/

The most recent backup is restored during unmount.

Troubleshooting

Device Busy Error

Error: "umount: target is busy"

Solution: Stop processes using mounted files: 

azlin connect my-dev-vm

# Find processes using mount
lsof +D /home/azureuser

# Stop processes
kill <pid>

# Retry unmount
exit
azlin storage unmount --vm my-dev-vm

No Backup Found

Error: "No backup directory found for restore"

Solution: Backup might have been deleted: 

# Check for backups on VM
azlin connect my-dev-vm
ls -la ~/.azlin-backup-*/

# If no backup, unmount will create empty home directory
# You may need to reconfigure your environment

Permission Denied

Error: "Permission denied during unmount"

Solution: Ensure VM has proper access: 

# Reconnect and try again
azlin connect my-dev-vm --admin
sudo umount /home/azureuser

# Then complete unmount via azlin
exit
azlin storage unmount --vm my-dev-vm

Important Notes

Data Safety

  • Before unmount: Ensure important data is backed up
  • After unmount: Original backed-up files are restored
  • Shared changes lost: Any changes made while mounted are NOT restored
  • Other VMs: Other VMs still using the storage are not affected

Data Flow

Mount: Local Home → Backup → NFS Mount
Unmount: Backup → Local Home (NFS changes lost)

Changes made while NFS was mounted stay in NFS storage and won't appear in restored local home.

Save Important Data

If you have important data in the mounted storage:

# 1. Before unmounting, copy data from mounted home
azlin connect my-vm
cp -r ~/important-data /tmp/save-this/
exit

# 2. Unmount (restores old local home)
azlin storage unmount --vm my-vm

# 3. Copy data back to local home
azlin connect my-vm
cp -r /tmp/save-this/* ~/

See Also