Starting and stopping VM's from the command line

[Viperman]

Power Options on a VM
Note
• If you use trysoft, the Guest OS will be shutdown gracefully.
• The trysoft is a “mode” option – it tries to run the normal scripts but uses
a hard shutdown/startup if the VM is not behaving properly.
• There are two other “modes” – soft which runs scripts but never does a
hard start or stop or “hard” which powers off/on a VM as if you had hit the
power switch. Sometimes people use trysoft first, and then if the VM
refuses to power of, they follow it with hard power off

1. To start a virtual machine type:
vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/<UUID>/instructor1/instructor1.vmx start
trysoft

2. To stop a virtual machine type:
vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/<UUID>/instructor1/instructor1.vmx stop
trysoft

3. To suspend a virtual machine type:
vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/<UUID>/instructor1/instructor1.vmx
suspend

Note:
There isn’t much in the way of status/progress here. The old-style
“Remote Console” from ESX 2.x days used to give you dialog box with a
status bar

4. To reset a virtual machine type
vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/<UUID>/instructor1/instructor1.vmx reset
trysoft
Note:
This a soft reboot of the virtual machine

5. To find out the Power Status of a VM use:
vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/<UUID>/instructor1/instructor1.vmx
getstate
Note:
It will return “On”; “Off”; “Suspend” and “Stuck” if the VM is waiting for
interaction

Finding the Heartbeat
1. Type:
vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/<UUID>/instructor1/instructor1.vmx
getheartbeat
Note:
You should see a number. Repeat the command. If the number increments
the machine is alive. It stays the same it is dead. It doesn’t have a heart
beat!