VM states (running, stopped, deallocated) in Azure - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Virtual machines (VMs) in Azure can be in different states that affect billing and availability. Understanding these states helps you manage costs and know when your VM is ready to use.

When you want to temporarily stop a VM but keep its resources reserved for quick restart.

When you want to stop a VM and avoid charges for compute resources by fully deallocating it.

When you need to check if a VM is running before connecting to it.

When you want to save costs by stopping VMs that are not in use.

When you want to restart a VM to apply updates or fix issues.

Commands

This command starts the VM named 'example-vm' in the resource group 'example-rg'. Starting a VM changes its state to running, making it ready to use.

Terminal

az vm start --resource-group example-rg --name example-vm

Expected Output

Starting VM 'example-vm'...

Succeeded

→

--resource-group - Specifies the resource group where the VM exists

→

--name - Specifies the name of the VM to start

This command stops the VM but does not deallocate it. The VM state changes to stopped, but compute resources are still reserved and billed.

Terminal

az vm stop --resource-group example-rg --name example-vm

Expected Output

Stopping VM 'example-vm'...

Succeeded

→

--resource-group - Specifies the resource group where the VM exists

→

--name - Specifies the name of the VM to stop

This command stops and deallocates the VM. The VM state changes to deallocated, releasing compute resources and stopping billing for them.

Terminal

az vm deallocate --resource-group example-rg --name example-vm

Expected Output

Deallocating VM 'example-vm'...

Succeeded

→

--resource-group - Specifies the resource group where the VM exists

→

--name - Specifies the name of the VM to deallocate

This command retrieves the current state of the VM. The output shows if the VM is running, stopped, or deallocated.

Terminal

az vm get-instance-view --resource-group example-rg --name example-vm --query instanceView.statuses[1]

Expected Output

{

  "code": "PowerState/running",

  "displayStatus": "VM running",

  "level": "Info",

  "time": null

}

→

--resource-group - Specifies the resource group where the VM exists

→

--name - Specifies the name of the VM

→

--query - Filters the output to show only the VM power state

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: stopping a VM keeps billing, deallocating a VM stops billing and frees resources.

Common Mistakes

Using 'az vm stop' expecting to stop billing for the VM.

Stopping a VM does not release compute resources, so billing continues.

Use 'az vm deallocate' to stop billing by releasing compute resources.

Trying to start a VM that is deallocated without specifying the resource group or name correctly.

The command fails because Azure cannot find the VM without correct identifiers.

Always specify the correct resource group and VM name with --resource-group and --name flags.

Assuming the VM is running without checking its state before connecting.

Connecting to a stopped or deallocated VM will fail because it is not available.

Use 'az vm get-instance-view' to check the VM state before connecting.

Summary

Use 'az vm start' to power on a VM and make it ready for use.

Use 'az vm stop' to stop a VM but keep billing active by reserving resources.

Use 'az vm deallocate' to stop billing by releasing the VM's compute resources.

Check VM state with 'az vm get-instance-view' to know if it is running, stopped, or deallocated.