Chapter 6. Shutting down virtual machines

To shut down a running virtual machine hosted on RHEL 9, use the command line interface or the web console GUI.

6.1. Shutting down a virtual machine using the command-line interface

To shut down a responsive virtual machine (VM), do one of the following:

  • Use a shutdown command appropriate to the guest OS while connected to the guest.

  • Use the virsh shutdown command on the host:

    • If the VM is on a local host: 

      # virsh shutdown demo-guest1
Domain 'demo-guest1' is being shutdown

    • If the VM is on a remote host, in this example 10.0.0.1: 

      # virsh -c qemu+ssh://root@10.0.0.1/system shutdown demo-guest1

root@10.0.0.1's password:
Domain 'demo-guest1' is being shutdown

To force a VM to shut down, for example if it has become unresponsive, use the virsh destroy command on the host: 

# virsh destroy demo-guest1
Domain 'demo-guest1' destroyed
Note

The virsh destroy command does not actually delete or remove the VM configuration or disk images. It only terminates the running VM instance of the VM, similarly to pulling the power cord from a physical machine. As such, in rare cases, virsh destroy may cause corruption of the VM’s file system, so using this command is only recommended if all other shutdown methods have failed.

6.2. Shutting down and restarting virtual machines using the web console

Using the RHEL 9 web console, you can shut down or restart running virtual machines. You can also send a non-maskable interrupt to an unresponsive virtual machine.

6.2.1. Shutting down virtual machines in the web console

If a virtual machine (VM) is in the running state, you can shut it down using the RHEL 9 web console.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. In the Virtual Machines interface, find the row of the VM you want to shut down.

  2. On the right side of the row, click Shut Down.

    The VM shuts down.

Troubleshooting

  • If the VM does not shut down, click the Menu button ⋮ next to the Shut Down button and select Force Shut Down.
  • To shut down an unresponsive VM, you can also send a non-maskable interrupt.

Additional resources

6.2.2. Restarting virtual machines using the web console

If a virtual machine (VM) is in the running state, you can restart it using the RHEL 9 web console.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. In the Virtual Machines interface, find the row of the VM you want to restart.

  2. On the right side of the row, click the Menu button ⋮.

    A drop-down menu of actions appears.

  3. In the drop-down menu, click Reboot.

    The VM shuts down and restarts.

Troubleshooting

  • If the VM does not restart, click the Menu button ⋮ next to the Reboot button and select Force Reboot.
  • To shut down an unresponsive VM, you can also send a non-maskable interrupt.

Additional resources

6.2.3. Sending non-maskable interrupts to VMs using the web console

Sending a non-maskable interrupt (NMI) may cause an unresponsive running virtual machine (VM) to respond or shut down. For example, you can send the Ctrl+Alt+Del NMI to a VM that is not responding to standard input.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. In the Virtual Machines interface, find the row of the VM to which you want to send an NMI.

  2. On the right side of the row, click the Menu button ⋮.

    A drop-down menu of actions appears.

  3. In the drop-down menu, click Send non-maskable interrupt.

    An NMI is sent to the VM.

Additional resources