Manage VM Instances | Virtual Machine Control and Monitoring Guide

This guide covers all the operations you can perform to manage your virtual machine instances in Nife.

Dashboard Overview#

The VM Management dashboard provides a unified view of all your VM instances with rich filtering and search capabilities.

Main Components#

Search and Filters

  • Search by instance name or organization
  • Filter by instance status (Running, Stopped, Paused)
  • Filter by cloud provider type (AWS, GCP, Azure)
  • Real-time search results

Action Buttons

  • Create VM: Add a new instance
  • Refresh: Manually refresh the instance list
  • Export: Export instance data as CSV or JSON

Instance Cards Each instance is displayed as a card showing:

  • Instance name and provider
  • Current status with visual indicator
  • Zone/region information
  • Organization ownership
  • Instance ID and creation details
  • Quick action buttons

Instance Operations#

Viewing Instance Details#

Selecting an Instance

  1. Click on any instance card in the list
  2. A detail panel opens on the right side showing:
    • Complete instance information
    • Resource metrics
    • Activity log
    • Configuration details
    • Volumes and storage

Closing the Detail Panel

  • Click the close button in the detail panel
  • Click elsewhere on the page
  • Press the escape key

Starting a VM Instance#

Use this operation when your instance is currently stopped.

From the Instance Card

  1. Locate the instance in the list
  2. Click the Play (Start) button
  3. A confirmation message will appear
  4. The instance will transition to "Running" status

From the Detail Panel

  1. Open the detail panel for the instance
  2. Look for the Start button
  3. Click to start the instance
info

You can only start instances that are currently in a "Stopped" status. Running instances will show a disabled Start button.

Stopping a VM Instance#

Use this operation to gracefully shut down a running instance.

From the Instance Card

  1. Locate the instance in the list
  2. Click the Pause (Stop) button
  3. A confirmation message will appear
  4. The instance will transition to "Stopped" status

From the Detail Panel

  1. Open the detail panel for the instance
  2. Look for the Stop button
  3. Click to stop the instance
warning

Stopping an instance will halt all services running on it. Ensure no critical operations are in progress.

Restarting a VM Instance#

Restart an instance to reload all services and clear memory.

From the Instance Card

  1. Locate the instance in the list
  2. Click the Refresh (Restart) button
  3. Confirmation message will appear
  4. The instance will restart

When to Restart

  • After updating system configuration
  • To clear memory issues
  • When services become unresponsive
  • After security patches
  • During troubleshooting

Configuring VM Instance#

Access instance settings and configuration options.

From the Instance Card

  1. Locate the instance in the list
  2. Click the Settings button
  3. Configuration panel opens
  4. Adjust settings as needed

Configuration Options

  • Resource allocation (CPU, memory)
  • Network settings
  • Storage configuration
  • Performance tuning
  • Security settings

Accessing Instance Console#

Access the instance console for direct terminal access.

From the Instance Card

  1. Locate the instance in the list
  2. Click the Console button in the actions section
  3. Browser-based console opens
  4. Execute commands directly on the instance

SSH Access#

Connect to your instance via SSH for secure remote access.

From the Instance Card

  1. Locate the instance in the list
  2. Click the SSH button in the actions section
  3. SSH connection string is provided
  4. Use your preferred SSH client to connect

Managing Snapshots#

Create and manage snapshots of your instance for backup and recovery.

From the Instance Card

  1. Locate the instance in the list
  2. Click the Snapshots button
  3. View existing snapshots
  4. Create new snapshots
  5. Restore from snapshots

Snapshot Operations

  • Create point-in-time backups
  • Schedule regular snapshots
  • Restore to previous states
  • Clone instances from snapshots
  • Manage snapshot retention

Monitoring Instance Performance#

Monitor real-time metrics and historical performance data.

From the Instance Card

  1. Locate the instance in the list
  2. Click the Monitoring button
  3. Performance metrics dashboard opens
  4. View CPU, memory, network, and storage usage

Key Metrics

  • CPU utilization percentage
  • Memory usage (GB)
  • Network throughput (Mbps)
  • Disk I/O operations
  • Network latency

Deleting VM Instances#

Before Deletion#

danger

Deleting a VM instance is a permanent action. All data on the instance will be lost unless backed up.

Before deleting, ensure:

  1. All important data is backed up
  2. No critical services depend on this instance
  3. You have snapshots if needed for recovery
  4. Database connections are severed
  5. Load balancers are reconfigured if applicable

Deletion Process#

From the Instance Card

  1. Locate the instance to delete
  2. Click the Trash (Delete) button
  3. Confirmation dialog appears
  4. Review the warning message
  5. Confirm deletion

In the Detail Panel

  1. Open the instance detail panel
  2. Scroll to the bottom
  3. Click Delete Instance button
  4. Confirm in the dialog

Confirmation Dialog#

The confirmation dialog shows:

  • Instance name being deleted
  • Warning about data loss
  • Permanent nature of the action
  • Cancel and Delete buttons

After Deletion#

Once deleted:

  • The instance is removed from your cloud provider
  • All associated resources are released
  • Billing for the instance stops
  • The instance disappears from the dashboard
  • Recovery is only possible from backups

Bulk Operations#

Exporting Instance Data#

Export your complete VM inventory for reporting and analysis.

CSV Export

  1. Click Export button
  2. Select Export as CSV
  3. File downloads with columns:
    • Instance Name
    • Type (AWS, GCP, Azure)
    • Status
    • Zone/Region
    • Organization
    • Instance ID
    • Created Date
    • Created By

JSON Export

  1. Click Export button
  2. Select Export as JSON
  3. File downloads with complete instance data
  4. Includes all metadata and configuration

Filtering and Searching#

Search Operations

  • Type instance name to search
  • Search includes organization names
  • Results update in real-time
  • Clear search with the X button

Status Filtering

  • All Status (default)
  • Running - Active instances
  • Stopped - Idle instances
  • Paused - Temporarily paused instances

Type Filtering

  • All Types (default)
  • AWS - EC2 instances
  • GCP - Compute Engine instances
  • Azure - Virtual Machines

Instance Status#

Running#

  • Instance is active and operational
  • Green status badge with pulse animation
  • Can perform: Stop, Restart, Configure, Console, SSH, Snapshots, Monitoring

Stopped#

  • Instance is powered off
  • Gray status badge
  • Can perform: Start, Delete, Configure
  • Cannot access: Console, SSH, real-time monitoring

Paused#

  • Instance is temporarily paused
  • Yellow status badge
  • Can perform: Resume, Delete, Configure
  • Limited resource usage

Terminated#

  • Instance has been deleted or terminated
  • Red status badge
  • No operations available
  • Cannot be recovered

Keyboard Shortcuts#

  • Escape: Close detail panel or dialogs
  • Ctrl/Cmd + F: Focus search field
  • Enter: Submit forms or confirm actions

Troubleshooting#

Instance Won't Start#

  1. Check instance status in cloud provider console
  2. Verify organization has required permissions
  3. Check cloud provider's status page
  4. Review error messages in detail panel
  5. Try manual refresh with Refresh button

Cannot Access Console/SSH#

  1. Verify instance is in Running status
  2. Check network and firewall rules
  3. Verify security groups allow access
  4. Confirm cloud provider credentials
  5. Check instance logs for errors

Operation Timeout#

  1. Refresh the instance list
  2. Check instance status in cloud provider console
  3. Try operation again
  4. Contact Nife support if issue persists

Deletion Failed#

  1. Ensure no dependencies exist
  2. Check instance isn't in use
  3. Verify organization permissions
  4. Try again from detail panel
  5. Contact support if still failing

Best Practices#

  1. Regular Backups: Create snapshots regularly
  2. Monitor Metrics: Check performance metrics weekly
  3. Clean Up: Delete unused instances promptly
  4. Security: Keep instances patched and updated
  5. Documentation: Document instance purposes and configurations
  6. Cost Management: Monitor instance costs regularly
  7. Naming Convention: Use consistent naming patterns
  8. Organization Structure: Organize instances by organization

Next Steps#