---
title: "Start/stop virtual machines workflow"
slug: "stop-virtual-machines-workflow"
updated: 2026-09-03T11:07:01Z
published: 2026-09-03T11:07:01Z
canonical: "docs.turbo360.com/stop-virtual-machines-workflow"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.turbo360.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Start/stop virtual machines workflow

## Overview

The **Start/stop virtual machines workflow** runs as a recurring background job that manages a set of virtual machines automatically, either by shutting them down when they meet configured metric thresholds or by powering them on and off on a defined schedule.

### Business value

Automatically powering virtual machines on and off, by usage metrics or by a fixed schedule, reduces Azure compute spend without requiring manual monitoring or shutdown effort from your team.

## Prerequisites

### Required permissions

| Role | Permission level | Access |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Account owner, Owner, Contributor | - | Full access to Workflows |
| Custom role | Optimization feature enabled + Workflows: Read | View workflows |
| Custom role | Optimization feature enabled + Workflows: Manage | Full access to Workflows (create, update, delete, run) |

## How it works

The workflow evaluates your targeted virtual machines using one of two trigger types you configure:

- **Shut down by metrics:** VMs are shut down when they drop below a configured utilization threshold (e.g. CPU) during the active window you define.
- **Power on/off schedule:** VMs are stopped at a configured power-off time and started at a configured power-on time, on the days you schedule.

Regardless of trigger type:

- **Machine targeting:** target all VMs in a resource group, VMs matching specific tags, or individually selected machines.

With **Shut down by metrics**, restarting machines afterward (e.g. the next morning) requires a separate Turbo360 **Schedule**; this trigger type only handles shutdown. With **Power on/off schedule**, both shutdown and restart are handled automatically by the workflow itself, based on the power-off and power-on times you configure.

## Steps

Use the following steps to create and run a Start/stop virtual machines workflow. Navigate to **Optimization > Workflows** within a Cost Management group to get started.

### Create a workflow

Creating a workflow defines the machine targeting, trigger type, active window or schedule, and notification settings that control automatic VM power management. The wizard walks you through four configuration screens in sequence: machine identification filters, trigger type and metric or schedule settings, job timing and recurrence, and notification channels.

1. Configure the filters for machine identification: target all machines in a resource group, machines matching specific tags, or specific machines.
2. Choose the trigger type for the workflow: **Shut down by metrics** or **Power on/off schedule**.
  - For **Shut down by metrics**, set the metric filters that determine when a machine meets the criteria to power down.
  - For **Power on/off schedule**, set the **Power off time** and **Power on time**. Matching VMs are stopped at the power-off time and started at the power-on time on the scheduled days.
3. Configure when the job runs.
  - For **Shut down by metrics**, configure the active window and recurrence.
  - For **Power on/off schedule**, configure the time zone, start date and time, schedule days, and termination (**Never end**, **End after** a number of occurrences, or **End by date**).
4. Choose how you want to receive notifications for this job.

### Run a workflow on demand

Running a workflow on demand lets you immediately trigger the configured action without waiting for the next scheduled execution or metric evaluation.

1. Go to **Optimization > Workflows** in a Cost group.
2. Click the **Actions menu** next to the workflow.
3. Select one of the following:
  - **Run:** triggers the workflow's configured evaluation immediately.
  - **Power on:** powers on the target VMs immediately, independent of the schedule.
  - **Power off:** powers off the target VMs immediately, independent of the schedule.

## Example scenario

A customer has several non-production virtual machines that are occasionally used outside business hours but are generally shut down in the evening. Their workflow is configured as follows using **Shut down by metrics**:

1. The job is active from 6 PM to 6 AM every day.
2. It targets all VMs within a specific resource group.
3. Any VM that drops below 10% CPU utilization during the active window is shut down.
4. The job runs on a recurring basis every 30 minutes.
5. Each run looks back at VM usage over the last hour.

To restart these VMs in the morning, the customer uses a standard Turbo360 **Schedule** to power them back on.

A second customer wants specific development VMs running only during business hours. Their workflow is configured as follows using **Power on/off schedule**:

1. Power off time is set to `19:00` and power on time to `08:00`.
2. The schedule runs on **All Days**.
3. Termination is set to **Never end**, so the schedule continues indefinitely.

The workflow automatically stops the targeted VMs each evening and starts them again each morning, with no separate Schedule required.

## Limitations

- When using **Shut down by metrics**, the workflow only powers VMs **down**; it does not restart them. Use a Turbo360 **Schedule**, or switch to the **Power on/off schedule** trigger type, to bring VMs back up.
- Shutdown evaluation under **Shut down by metrics** only occurs during the active window you configure. VMs are not evaluated (and won't be shut down) outside that window.
- The lookback period for usage data under **Shut down by metrics** is fixed to what you configure at setup; a VM that briefly exceeds the utilization threshold within that window may still be shut down even if its current usage is higher.
- Under **Power on/off schedule**, VMs are powered on and off strictly according to the configured times and schedule days. There is no metric-based condition for this trigger type.

## Troubleshooting

1. **A virtual machine isn't shutting down even though it meets the criteria** Cause: The Service Principal used by Turbo360 doesn't have sufficient Azure-level access (e.g. Contributor) on the target subscription or resource group. Fix: Grant the required Azure role to the Service Principal, then wait for the next recurrence.
2. **A virtual machine shuts down unexpectedly** Cause: The job evaluates average utilization over the configured lookback window, not just the current value. A brief dip below the threshold during that window can still trigger shutdown. Fix: Review the lookback window and utilization threshold in the workflow's metric filter configuration and adjust if the window is too permissive.
3. **Notifications for workflow runs aren't being received** Cause: The notification channel wasn't configured, or the wrong channel/recipient was selected during setup. Fix: Reopen the workflow configuration and confirm the correct notification channel is selected under the notification step.
4. **A virtual machine doesn't restart automatically after being shut down** Cause: If the workflow uses the **Shut down by metrics** trigger, this is expected. That trigger type only handles shutdown. Fix: Create a separate Turbo360 **Schedule**, or reconfigure the workflow to use the **Power on/off schedule** trigger, to power the VM back on at the required time. If the workflow already uses **Power on/off schedule**, verify the power-on time and scheduled days are configured correctly.
5. **The workflow shuts down machines I didn't intend to target** Cause: The resource group, tag, or machine-level filter configured in the workflow is broader than intended. Fix: Review and narrow the filter configuration in the machine identification step.

## FAQs

1. **Does the Start/stop virtual machines workflow restart VMs automatically after shutdown?** Depends on the trigger type. With **Power on/off schedule**, VMs are automatically powered back on at the configured time. With **Shut down by metrics**, they are not; that trigger type only handles shutdown. Create a separate Turbo360 **Schedule** to restart VMs.
2. **Can I target specific virtual machines instead of an entire resource group?** Yes. You can filter by resource group, by tag, or select specific machines individually when configuring the workflow.
3. **How often does the job check whether a VM meets the shutdown criteria?** On the recurrence interval you configure (for example, every 30 minutes), and it evaluates usage over the lookback window you set. This applies to the **Shut down by metrics** trigger type only.
4. **Can I power a VM on or off immediately without waiting for the schedule or metric evaluation?** Yes. Use the **Actions menu** next to the workflow and select **Power on** or **Power off** to trigger it on demand.

## Related articles

- [Storage account workflow](https://docs.turbo360.com/docs/storage-account-workflow)
- [Understanding optimization schedules](https://docs.turbo360.com/docs/understanding-optimization-schedules)