How to work with VMs

A virtual machine (VM) created in the VMmanager platform is called a virtual server in BILLmanager. These terms are used interchangeably in this article.

In BILLmanager, you can work with virtual machines both as a provider (platform administrator) and as a client.

Managing VMs from BILLmanager
VM operations	Provider	Client	Notes
Create a new VM
Change VM resources within the set quotas			The quota is defined by tariff settings set by the provider and determined by the client balance.
Delete VM
Turn on VM			Available to clients only if the provider has added them to a client group , for which these features are allowed.
Turn off VM			Available to clients only if the provider has added them to a client group , for which these features are allowed.
Change VM password			Group operations are supported.
Forced stop of VM			Available only for services in the "Active" status. Group operations are not supported.
Reboot VM
Forced reboot of VM			Available only for services in the "Active" and "Processing" statuses. Group operations are not supported.
VM protection setup			Available only for services in the "Active" and "Stopped" statuses. Group operations are supported.
Enable recovery mode			Available only for services in the "Active" and "Stopped" statuses. Group operations are supported.
VM cloning			Available only for services in the "Active" and "Stopped" statuses. Group operations are supported.
Go to VMmanager 6 platform
VM snapshots management			VM snapshots management is available only if the feature is included in the tariff and the snapshot limit has not been exceeded.
Connect via VNC			Available only for services in the "Active" status. Group operations are not supported.
Connect via SPICE			Available only for services in the "Active" status if the SPICE protocol is enabled in VMmanager 6. Group operations are not supported.

On the provider’s side

The provider can manage virtual machines ordered by users in BILLmanager. The BILLmanager administrator has access to all management options except creating new virtual machines.

Changing VM resources

To change a virtual machine's resources:

1. Go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the service → click Edit.
2. Increase or decrease the resource amount within the limits set in the tariff settings for each resource type. When resources are increased, money for these changes is deducted from the client's account balance or linked card. When resources are decreased, money is returned to the client's account balance or linked card. Ordering and refusing additional resources are defined by the corresponding tariff policies. For details, see How to create and configure a tariff plan.
3. To change resources without financial operations, enable the Do not perform financial operations option.
4. Click Ok to save the changes.

Deleting a VM

To delete a virtual machine:

1. Go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the service → click Delete.
2. Confirm the deletion. BILLmanager will delete the service and send a request to delete the VM in VMmanager 6.

Enabling a VM

To turn on a virtual machine on the BILLmanager platform:

1. Go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the service → click Enable.
2. Confirm turning on the VM.

Disabling and forced stop of a VM

To turn off a virtual machine on the BILLmanager platform:

1. Go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the service → click Disable.
2. If needed, select the Perform forced stop option. In this case, the VM will be turned off immediately, but you may lose unsaved data.
3. Confirm turning off the VM.

Changing the VM password

To change the virtual machine password on the BILLmanager platform:

1. Go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the service → click Change password.
2. Enter or generate a new password for connecting to the VM.
3. Confirm the new VM password.
4. Click Ok.

Rebooting a VM

To reboot a virtual machine on the BILLmanager platform:

1. Go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the service → click Reboot.
2. If needed, select the Perform forced reboot option. In this case, the VM will be rebooted immediately, but you may lose unsaved data.
3. Confirm the VM reboot.

Connecting via VNC

To connect to a virtual machine via VNC:

1. Go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the service → click Web-console.
2. Enter the login and password to connect.

Connection settings management (address, port, password) is done in the VMmanager 6 platform. For more details, see the VMmanager documentation in the article VNC.

Connecting via SPICE

To connect to a virtual machine via SPICE:

1. Go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the service → click Web-console → click SPICE console.
2. A SPICE window will open in a separate browser tab. Enter the login and password to connect.

Connection settings management (address, port, password) is done in the VMmanager 6 platform. For more details, see the VMmanager documentation in the article SPICE.

VM protection settings

You can protect a VM from deletion or prohibit main actions:

1. Go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the service → click Protection.
2. Select the required options:
   • Protect from deletion;
   • Prohibit main actions on the VM — when this option is selected, the Protect from deletion option is automatically enabled and locked.
3. Click Ok.

After these actions, the changes are passed to VMmanager 6 and recorded in the service history. If only the Protect from deletion option is enabled, the Delete button becomes unavailable. If the Prohibit main actions on the VM option is enabled, the service card becomes view-only, and only password change and note editing are allowed.
For more details, see the VMmanager documentation in the article Protection of virtual machines.

VM cloning

To create a full copy (clone) of a VM:

1. Go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the service → click Clone.
2. Click Ok.

After confirmation:

• the "Virtual machine cloning" operation starts. For details, see the VMmanager documentation in the article Cloning virtual machines;
• the source VM is restarted in VMmanager 6;
• a new service is created for the same client with the same parameters, including payment method and password;
• a new VM appears in the "Stopped" status. 

No payment is charged when cloning. Funds are deducted during the next service renewal.

Switching to VMmanager 6

To go from the BILLmanager platform to the VMmanager6 platform:

1. Go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the service → click To panel.
2. VMmanager will open in a separate browser tab.

Managing VM snapshots

You can manage VM snapshots without going to the VMmanager 6 interface. To do this, go to Products/Services →  Virtual private servers and select the required virtual machine.

To create a virtual machine snapshot:

1. Click Snapshots.
2. Click Add and enter the snapshot name.

To delete a virtual machine snapshot:

1. Click Snapshots and select the required VM snapshot.
2. Click Delete and confirm the deletion.

To restore the state of a virtual machine:

1. Click Snapshots and select the required VM snapshot.
2. Click Restore and confirm the restore.

Recovery mode

You can enable or disable VM recovery mode on the VMmanager 6 platform. To do this, go to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → select the required VM → click Restore. For more details, see the VMmanager documentation in the article Recovery mode.

To enable VM recovery mode:

1. Select the Recovery mode option.
2. Click Ok.

To disable VM recovery mode:

1. Clear the Recovery mode option.
2. Click Ok.

In recovery mode, the following are unavailable for the VM:

• connections via VNC and SPICE;
• password changes;
• configuration changes;
• tariff changes;
• cloning;
• script execution.

The mode status is synchronized with VMmanager 6.

On the client side

The client can work with a virtual machine in the BILLmanager client area and can also go from the billing platform interface to the VMmanager 6 platform.

Creating a VM

To create a virtual machine, the client orders it in the client area. To do this, they go to Products/Services →  Virtual private servers → Order.

The client selects a virtual server with the required amount of resources or configures the amount themselves if the provider has enabled this option. Next, the client clicks Order and specifies the other VM settings. For example:

• Platform license;
• Operating system;
• Number of cores;
• RAM;
• Disk space;
• Public IPv4 addresses;
• Domain name;
• etc. The parameters may vary depending on how the provider has configured the tariff plan and its contents.

After configuring all VM parameters, the client clicks Pay and pays for the order.

Changing VM resources within the set quotas

To manage a virtual machine's resources, the client goes to Products/Services →  Virtual private servers and selects the required virtual machine. Information about the selected virtual machine opens.

To change resources, the client goes to the Configuration section. Within the limits set by the provider for the tariff for this service and depending on the balance on the account, the client can increase or decrease the amount of resources. For example, the size of disk space or the amount of RAM can be increased. 

When resources are increased, the client pays an additional amount; when resources are decreased, depending on the tariff settings, the money is returned to their account balance. Ordering and refusing additional resources are determined by the corresponding tariff policies. For details, see How to create and configure a tariff plan.

For the resource changes to take effect, the virtual machine must be rebooted. This can be done:

• at the change stage — before payment, enable the Reboot server option;
• manually in the VMmanager 6 platform. For details, see the VMmanager documentation in the article Operations with virtual machines.

Deleting a VM

To delete a virtual machine, the client goes to Products/Services →  Virtual private servers → selects the required virtual machine → menu → Delete server and confirms the deletion.

BILLmanager deletes the service and sends a request to delete the VM in VMmanager 6.

Disabling and forced stop of a VM

To turn off a virtual machine, the client goes to Products/Services →  Virtual private servers → selects the required virtual machine → clicks Disabled. and performs one of the following actions:

• selects the Perform forced stop option and confirms turning off the VM;
• confirms turning off the VM.

Rebooting a VM

From BILLmanager, the client can reboot a virtual machine without going to the VMmanager platform. To do this, they go to Products/Services →  Virtual private servers → select the required virtual machine → click Reboot and perform one of the following actions:

• selects the Perform forced reboot option and confirms the reboot;
• confirms the reboot.

Connecting via VNC

To connect to a virtual machine via VNC, the client goes to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → selects the required virtual machine → click Web-console.

Connection settings management (address, port, password) is done in the VMmanager 6 platform.

Connecting via SPICE

To connect to a virtual machine via SPICE, the client goes to Products/Services → Virtual private servers → selects the required virtual machine → click Web-console → click SPICE console.

A SPICE window will open in a separate browser tab. Enter the password to connect.

Connection settings management (address, port, password) is done in the VMmanager 6 platform.

Go to VMmanager 6

From the BILLmanager client area, the client can go to the VMmanager 6 platform. To do this, the client goes to the Products/Services → Virtual private servers → selects the virtual machine → menu → click To panel.

Managing VM snapshots

The client can manage snapshots without going to the VMmanager 6 platform.

To create a virtual machine snapshot, the client in Products/Services →  Virtual private servers → selects the required virtual machine:

1. Clicks Snapshots.
2. Clicks Add and enters the snapshot name.

To delete a virtual machine snapshot, the client:

1. Clicks Snapshots and selects the required VM snapshot.
2. Clicks Delete and confirms the deletion.

To restore the state of a virtual machine, the client:

1. Clicks Snapshots and selects the required VM snapshot.
2. Clicks Restore and confirms the restore.

Recovery mode

The client can enable or disable VM recovery mode without going to the VMmanager 6 platform. To do this, they go to the Products/Services → Virtual servers → select the required VM → click Restore and perform one of the following actions:

• select the Recovery mode option and confirm the action;
• clear the Recovery mode option and confirm the action;