Compute / Power, rebuild and destroy
Managing a virtual machine
The machine's page, tab by tab, and how to reboot and power off, rename, rebuild from a clean image, or destroy it for good.
The machine's page
Open a machine from Virtual machines. Its name and status sit at the top with Reboot, Power off (or Power on) and Console beside them. Below are six tabs:
| Tab | What is on it |
|---|---|
| Overview | The last 24 hours of CPU, memory, disk and network, and the machine's details: ID, addresses, security group, vCPUs, memory, SSH key, disk, when it was created and what it costs |
| Networking | Its addresses and the firewall in front of it. See security groups or, in a VPC, network ACLs |
| Storage | The root disk and any attached volumes, and Attach a volume. See volumes |
| Snapshots | Take snapshot now and the machine's snapshots. See VM snapshots |
| Metrics | CPU, memory, disk and network over 1 hour, 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days |
| Settings | Rename, resize, SSH key, deletion protection, rebuild and destroy |
Each action asks you to confirm first. While one is running, the status shows it (Rebooting, Stopping) and the other actions wait until it finishes.
Reboot
Reboot restarts the machine in place. Running processes stop and anything held only in memory is lost; the disk and its data are kept.
Power off and on
Power off shuts the machine down. It stops answering until you power it on again, and its disk, data and addresses are kept.
A stopped machine is billed less, not nothing: its disk costs the If it’s stopped all month price you saw when you created it, by the hour. To stop paying for it entirely, destroy it; the unused part of its upfront payment goes back to your credit balance.
Power on boots it again from its disk, with the same size, image and network.
Connect
The machine's address is on Overview and, with a copy button, on Networking. Connect with the key you chose when you created it. The quickstart shows the command.
If SSH does not answer, perhaps because of a broken network setting or a security group that shuts you out, Console opens the serial console, which reaches the machine without the network.
Rename
On Settings, change the name under Name and press save. Renaming changes only the label; the address, ID and everything on the disk stay the same.
Rebuild
Rebuild reinstalls the operating system from a clean image. Everything on the root disk goes, including your files, databases and installed packages, and there is no undo.
What survives: the machine's name, its IP address, its security group and any volumes attached to it.
- Take a snapshot first if there is anything on the disk you might want back.
- On Settings, under Danger zone, press Rebuild. The machine must be running.
- Keep the current image, or choose another. The dialog shows the change, like Ubuntu 22.04 LTS → Debian 12.
- Type the machine's name to confirm.
Destroy
Destroying deletes the machine and its root disk permanently. There is no restore and no grace period, and nobody at Pantech can bring back the data or the address. Snapshots you have already taken are kept, and keep billing until you delete them.
Destroy takes two deliberate steps:
- On Settings, turn Deletion protection off. It is on every time you open the page.
- Press Destroy and type the machine's name.
You can also destroy a machine from its ⋯ menu on the list, or several at once by ticking them.
A VM in a VPC that a static IP still points at cannot be destroyed until the address is off it; the API answers 409 INSTANCE_HAS_PUBLIC_IP. Detach the address to keep it for another machine, or release it, then destroy the VM. Port forwards to the VM have to be deleted first too (409 INSTANCE_HAS_PORT_FORWARDS).
A VM that is one of a load balancer's targets cannot be destroyed until you remove it from the targets; the API answers 409 INSTANCE_BEHIND_LOAD_BALANCER.
Change size
The Settings tab's Resize moves the machine to a bigger size, with a reboot. See resizing.
Change SSH key
The Settings tab's SSH key card moves the machine to another key on your account, with a restart of about two minutes. Afterwards only the new key logs in. See change a machine's key.