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azlin stop

Stop or deallocate Azure VMs to save costs

Description

The azlin stop command stops a running Azure VM, optionally deallocating it to eliminate compute charges. By default, VMs are deallocated (--deallocate) to maximize cost savings. Use --no-deallocate to keep resources allocated for faster restarts.

Key distinction: - Deallocated (default): No compute billing, storage charges only - Stopped (--no-deallocate): Full billing continues, faster restart

Usage

azlin stop [OPTIONS] VM_NAME

Arguments

Argument Description
VM_NAME Required. Name of the VM to stop

Options

Option Type Description
--resource-group, --rg TEXT Name Resource group containing the VM (default: from config)
--config PATH File Path to custom config file (default: ~/.azlin/config.toml)
--deallocate / --no-deallocate Flag Deallocate VM to save costs (default: yes)
-h, --help Flag Show command help and exit

Examples

Basic Usage

# Stop and deallocate VM (default - saves costs)
azlin stop my-vm

# Stop VM with explicit resource group
azlin stop my-vm --rg my-resource-group

# Stop without deallocation (keeps billing, faster restart)
azlin stop my-vm --no-deallocate

Cost Optimization Workflows

# End of day: Deallocate all dev VMs
azlin stop dev-vm1 --deallocate
azlin stop dev-vm2 --deallocate
azlin stop test-vm --deallocate

# Weekend: Stop VMs to save costs
azlin list --tag environment=dev | grep Running | while read vm _; do
    azlin stop $vm --deallocate
done

# Lunchtime: Quick stop (no deallocation for fast resume)
azlin stop my-vm --no-deallocate
# Later: Quick start
azlin start my-vm

Scripting and Automation

# Stop multiple VMs in parallel
for vm in vm1 vm2 vm3; do
    azlin stop $vm --deallocate &
done
wait
echo "All VMs stopped"

# Conditional stop (only if running)
if azlin status --vm my-vm | grep -q "Running"; then
    azlin stop my-vm --deallocate
    echo "VM stopped"
else
    echo "VM already stopped"
fi

# Scheduled shutdown (cron job)
# Add to crontab: 0 18 * * 1-5 /path/to/script.sh
#!/bin/bash
azlin stop dev-vm --deallocate
azlin stop test-vm --deallocate

Emergency Shutdown

# Immediate stop (don't wait for graceful shutdown)
azlin stop runaway-vm --deallocate

# Stop and verify
azlin stop my-vm --deallocate
azlin status --vm my-vm  # Should show "Deallocated"

Deallocated vs. Stopped

Deallocated (Default)

Pros: - No compute billing - Only pay for storage (~90% cost reduction) - Maximum cost savings - Ideal for off-hours, weekends - Same data preserved - All disks and configurations intact

Cons: - Slower restart - 2-5 minutes (resource re-allocation) - IP may change - Dynamic public IPs are released (unless reserved) - No quota hold - vCPUs freed for other workloads

Best for: - Overnight shutdowns - Weekend/holiday periods - Development VMs not in active use - Cost-sensitive workloads

Stopped (--no-deallocate)

Pros: - Faster restart - 30-60 seconds (resources still allocated) - IP preserved - Public IP stays assigned - Quota held - vCPUs remain allocated to you

Cons: - Full billing continues - Compute charges still apply - Minimal cost savings - Only save during brief stops - Wastes quota - Blocks vCPUs from other uses

Best for: - Short breaks (lunch, meetings) - Testing restart behavior - Troubleshooting scenarios

Cost Impact Analysis

Example: Standard_E32as_v5 (128GB RAM)

State Hourly Cost Daily Cost (24h) Monthly Cost (730h)
Running $1.50 $36.00 $1,095
Stopped (not deallocated) $1.50 $36.00 $1,095
Deallocated $0.10 (storage) $2.40 $73

Savings from deallocation: - Per day: $33.60 (93% reduction) - Per month: $1,022 (93% reduction)

Typical work schedule (8h/day, 5 days/week): - Running: 40 hours/week = $60/week - Deallocated: 128 hours/week = $12.80/week - Weekly savings: \(47.20 - **Monthly savings**: ~\)188

Stop Time Expectations

Operation Typical Duration
Stop (no deallocation) 30-60 seconds
Stop with deallocation 1-3 minutes

Troubleshooting

Stop Operation Hangs

Symptoms: azlin stop command doesn't complete after 5+ minutes.

Solutions: 

# Check VM status in Azure portal
# VM may be stuck in "Stopping" state

# Force stop via Azure CLI
az vm stop --name my-vm --resource-group my-rg --force

# Check for Azure service issues
az vm get-instance-view --name my-vm --resource-group my-rg

VM Not Found

Symptoms: "VM not found" or "Resource not found" error.

Solutions: 

# List all VMs to verify name
azlin list --all

# Check if using correct resource group
azlin stop my-vm --rg correct-resource-group

# Verify VM exists
azlin status --vm my-vm

Cannot Deallocate

Symptoms: "Cannot deallocate VM" or "Operation not allowed" error.

Possible causes: - VM is part of availability set with specific constraints - VM has extensions that prevent deallocation - Azure policy restrictions

Solutions: 

# Try stop without deallocation
azlin stop my-vm --no-deallocate

# Check VM constraints
az vm show --name my-vm --resource-group my-rg --query "[availabilitySet, extensions]"

# Contact Azure support if persistent

Data Loss Concerns

Question: Will I lose data when stopping/deallocating a VM?

Answer: No! All data is preserved: - OS disk: Fully preserved - Data disks: Fully preserved - VM configuration: Fully preserved - Network settings: Fully preserved - Only lost: Ephemeral (temporary) disk data if using temp storage

# Safe to stop - no data loss
azlin stop my-vm --deallocate

# Later: Start and resume exactly where you left off
azlin start my-vm

Best Practices

Daily Development Workflow

# Morning: Start VMs
azlin start dev-vm
azlin start test-vm

# Evening: Stop VMs (save costs overnight)
azlin stop dev-vm --deallocate
azlin stop test-vm --deallocate

Weekend/Holiday Savings

# Friday evening: Stop all development VMs
azlin list --tag environment=dev | while read vm status _; do
    if [ "$status" = "Running" ]; then
        azlin stop $vm --deallocate
    fi
done

# Monday morning: Start what you need
azlin start my-dev-vm

Production VMs

Caution: Do NOT stop production VMs unless intentional:

# Always check environment tag before stopping
azlin list --vm my-vm
# Verify tag shows environment=dev or environment=test

# Production VMs should stay running
azlin list --tag environment=production  # These should NOT be stopped

Cost Monitoring

# Check which VMs are costing money
azlin list  # Running VMs = billing

# Review stopped VMs for potential deletion
azlin list --all | grep Deallocated

# Cost savings calculation
# Stopped (deallocated) VMs = ~93% savings vs. running

Automation Examples

Cron Job for Scheduled Shutdown

# /etc/cron.d/azlin-shutdown
# Stop dev VMs at 6 PM on weekdays
0 18 * * 1-5 user azlin stop dev-vm1 --deallocate
0 18 * * 1-5 user azlin stop dev-vm2 --deallocate

# Start dev VMs at 8 AM on weekdays
0 8 * * 1-5 user azlin start dev-vm1
0 8 * * 1-5 user azlin start dev-vm2

GitHub Actions Workflow

name: Stop Dev VMs Nightly

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 2 * * *'  # 2 AM UTC daily

jobs:
  stop-vms:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Stop development VMs
        run: |
          azlin stop dev-vm-1 --deallocate
          azlin stop dev-vm-2 --deallocate
        env:
          AZURE_CREDENTIALS: ${{ secrets.AZURE_CREDENTIALS }}

Azure Automation

# Use Azure Automation + azlin for scheduled start/stop
# 1. Create Azure Automation account
# 2. Install azlin in automation runbook
# 3. Schedule daily start/stop

Source Code

See Also