VM sending message that it is shutting down in 30 minutes ...for that past 26 hours

Question

VM sending message that it is shutting down in 30 minutes ...for that past 26 hours

Pflipper 106

I have a VM operational for the past 3 years. Upon setting up the VM, I included an Auto Shutdown in Operations. It is set to occur at 7PM, with the "Send notification before auto-shutdown?" selected so I get messages when it is about to shut down. This process worked well, message was sent 30 minutes prior to the time on the Auto Shutdown. Worked for the past 3 years.

Until yesterday.

As of 5:32 AM yesterday, I am getting messages :

Your virtual machine in <redacted> will automatically shut down

Virtual machine <redacted> is scheduled to shut down in 30 minutes. You may postpone or skip this instance:

I've received 16 messages so far. 4 prior to yesterday's start of the VM, 12 since the VM was set to shut down yesterday.

Why is Azure doing this? I am not paying $30 a month just to call in to tell Microsoft that their software is not working. Anyone out there experiencing this issue with their VM and Auto Shutdown?

Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-05T01:37:43.0966667+00:00

Great. Getting the messages again, then noticing the Auto-shutdown is not working. WTF MS. Now what ? Delete the Auto-shutdown and reapply ? Seems like my next step at troubleshooting this. Anyone have other suggestions?
Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-05T13:46:25.14+00:00

Another evening. Still getting the messages. Anyone out there?
usama malik 5 Reputation points

2023-10-06T15:53:03.1966667+00:00
It seems like you're experiencing an issue with Azure's Auto Shutdown feature on your VM, where you're receiving notifications at unexpected times. While I can't provide an immediate solution, I can offer some troubleshooting steps and possible explanations for this problem:

Check Timezone Settings: Ensure that the timezone settings for your Azure resources, including your VM, are correctly configured. An incorrect timezone setting could lead to notifications being sent at the wrong times.

Verify Auto Shutdown Configuration: Double-check the settings for your Auto Shutdown feature. Ensure that the scheduled shutdown time is still correctly set to 7 PM and that the notification option is enabled.

Review Activity Logs: Check the Azure Activity Logs for your VM. These logs can provide insights into any changes or actions taken on your VM, which might help identify what triggered the unexpected notifications.

Azure Service Status: Occasionally, issues can arise due to service disruptions or updates on the Azure platform itself. It's a good idea to check the Azure Service Health Dashboard for any ongoing incidents that might be affecting your VM.

Contact Azure Support: If the issue persists and you've ruled out configuration errors or service disruptions, consider reaching out to Azure Support. While you prefer not to make a support call, they may be able to provide specific guidance or investigate the issue further.

Community Forums: As you mentioned, you don't want to spend extra money on support. Consider posting your issue on the Azure community forums. Sometimes, other Azure users who have faced similar problems can provide valuable insights or workarounds.

Review Recent Changes: Think about any recent changes or updates you made to your VM or Azure configuration. Sometimes, seemingly unrelated changes can affect VM behavior.

Remember to provide specific details about your VM configuration, such as the VM type, operating system, and any recent changes you made, when seeking help on forums or from Azure Support. This information can help others diagnose the issue more effectively.

Ultimately, it's important to resolve this issue to avoid any unnecessary disruptions and costs associated with your VM.
Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-06T21:05:50.7066667+00:00

Hi - thanks for weighing in on this. A synopsis regarding your suggestions:

1 & 2 - I never changed the settings, so why would the setting stop working after working for 3 years? In the interest of being thorough, I did eyeball this anyway. Nothing would indicate a change or a problem.

3 - nothing in the logs relating to auto-shutdown.

4 - no health incidents on the VM. I can say with certainty that it worked on 9/29 (Friday), then did not work the next time it should have (10/2, Monday). Is it possible Microsoft switched something up on 10/1?

5 - this seems to be humorous. Do you know Microsoft want s $30/month to report problems to them - ?

6 - on a community forum right now

7 - no changes as stated above.

Not sure what configuration you would want. It is a Standard B2, Windows (Windows Server 2019 Datacenter) at the Location West US 2. What else would help determine why the Auto Shutdown is not functioning? As I mentioned - no changes were made to the setup of Auto Shutdown. I find it highly suspect that this happened after 10/1, thinking that something was changed in the functionality as of 10/1, or something changed on the servers where this VM resides.
kobulloc-MSFT 26,801 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2023-10-11T01:26:54.8333333+00:00

Hello, @Pflipper !

If an answer has been helpful, please consider accepting the answer to help increase visibility of this question for other members of the Microsoft Q&A community. If not, please let us know what is still needed in the comments so the question can be answered. Thank you for helping to improve Microsoft Q&A!
Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-11T14:00:54.7466667+00:00

Hi @kobulloc-MSFT ,

No answers have been helpful to date. I did respond @usama malik and @dashanan13 , but did not see a return response from them. I did not try the redeployment @dashanan13 suggested, but I think I have moved on from testing this broken functionality.

My current solution was to create Logic App to handle the shutdown since Microsoft's Auto Shutdown in my VM stopped working. I included "Power Off" and "Deallocate" steps, then after Deallocate made sure to email myself upon success or failure of the Deallocate step. Deallocate was needed in order to make sure I didn't run the VM still and incur Microsoft's ever increasing need to fill its coffers with more money.

Auto-shutdown in my view seems to be deprecated by Microsoft, and with the current solution doing what I need it to do I don't think I'll be going back to that even to test it out. Microsoft should try creating software functionality that reduces management workload, not increase it. With the shut down in logic app working I am able to get back to the work I should have been doing instead of chasing down Microsoft's broken VM functionality.

2 answers

Your answer

Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-05T01:37:43.0966667+00:00

Great. Getting the messages again, then noticing the Auto-shutdown is not working. WTF MS. Now what ? Delete the Auto-shutdown and reapply ? Seems like my next step at troubleshooting this. Anyone have other suggestions?
Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-05T13:46:25.14+00:00

Another evening. Still getting the messages. Anyone out there?
Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-06T21:05:50.7066667+00:00

Hi - thanks for weighing in on this. A synopsis regarding your suggestions:

1 & 2 - I never changed the settings, so why would the setting stop working after working for 3 years? In the interest of being thorough, I did eyeball this anyway. Nothing would indicate a change or a problem.

3 - nothing in the logs relating to auto-shutdown.

4 - no health incidents on the VM. I can say with certainty that it worked on 9/29 (Friday), then did not work the next time it should have (10/2, Monday). Is it possible Microsoft switched something up on 10/1?

5 - this seems to be humorous. Do you know Microsoft want s $30/month to report problems to them - ?

6 - on a community forum right now

7 - no changes as stated above.

Not sure what configuration you would want. It is a Standard B2, Windows (Windows Server 2019 Datacenter) at the Location West US 2. What else would help determine why the Auto Shutdown is not functioning? As I mentioned - no changes were made to the setup of Auto Shutdown. I find it highly suspect that this happened after 10/1, thinking that something was changed in the functionality as of 10/1, or something changed on the servers where this VM resides.
kobulloc-MSFT 26,801 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2023-10-11T01:26:54.8333333+00:00

Hello, @Pflipper !

If an answer has been helpful, please consider accepting the answer to help increase visibility of this question for other members of the Microsoft Q&A community. If not, please let us know what is still needed in the comments so the question can be answered. Thank you for helping to improve Microsoft Q&A!
Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-11T14:00:54.7466667+00:00

Hi @kobulloc-MSFT ,

No answers have been helpful to date. I did respond @usama malik and @dashanan13 , but did not see a return response from them. I did not try the redeployment @dashanan13 suggested, but I think I have moved on from testing this broken functionality.

My current solution was to create Logic App to handle the shutdown since Microsoft's Auto Shutdown in my VM stopped working. I included "Power Off" and "Deallocate" steps, then after Deallocate made sure to email myself upon success or failure of the Deallocate step. Deallocate was needed in order to make sure I didn't run the VM still and incur Microsoft's ever increasing need to fill its coffers with more money.

Auto-shutdown in my view seems to be deprecated by Microsoft, and with the current solution doing what I need it to do I don't think I'll be going back to that even to test it out. Microsoft should try creating software functionality that reduces management workload, not increase it. With the shut down in logic app working I am able to get back to the work I should have been doing instead of chasing down Microsoft's broken VM functionality.

Answer 1

dashanan13 930

Hei Pflipper,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Community.

As i understand the "Auto Shutdown" feature is misbehaving and sending messages for shutdown multiple time and at wrong hours.

Assuming that this is on just one machine and is not a wider issue with multiple machines.

There inst any specific troubleshooting steps dedicated to this feature are it is managed by Azure.

I suggest you to try an recreate the Auto shutdown setting, just to make sure the service is registered with Microsoft and is in sync.

auto-shutdown

If this still misbehaves, you can give runbooks via Azure automation to achive this activity too.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automation/automation-solution-vm-management

Please accept this as answer if it helped.

select_answer

Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-06T15:26:47.9466667+00:00

<"recreate the Auto shutdown setting, just to make sure the service is registered with Microsoft and is in sync.">

Not sure what you mean by this suggestion. There is really only one option in the Auto Shutdown setting, aside from changing it and re-saving it, and that is to disable it. That's what I've done.

To me, that's not much of a solution to the problem. Clearly something is broke in the Microsoft Azure app, because I did nothing to the setting yet it stopped working. Has Microsoft deprecated this feature? Why would they? I suppose I'm left with no solution but to just not use it : hardly a solution.
Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-06T15:28:27.9266667+00:00

There is no delete post in this Q&A comment section, that is why this comment is still here.
Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-06T15:46:43.6433333+00:00

Already had a Start VM Logic App. Now created an Stop Logic App. I suppose it should work, but why no better notification to customers that the thing they relied upon for the past three years is all of a sudden going to stop working? I suppose just ram changes into the software and keep billing your customers to get that $1 quintillion market cap. Damn the customers - full speed ahead!
dashanan13 930 Reputation points

2023-10-06T15:56:50.8666667+00:00
Hei Pflipper,

The feature is not removed, it is still available.

It is most likely an issue with the underlying host for the VM (actual machine hosting the VM in MS data centers) or an Azure API issue.

Try a few things

Does the VM give any errors during/after shutdown (check notifications)?

Try shutting it down via powershell/Azure cli to check if there is a problem with VM?

Try shutting it down via OS task scheduler to check if there is a problem with VM?

Does the resource health show any issues (mostly around when you received notification)?

Check if there is any issues listed under "Diagnose and solve problems" > "Common problems"

(Mostly the how problems get discovered with suggestions) Under "Diagnose and solve problems" , try "Azure Features", "Cant start or stop VM" and "VM restarting or stopping unexpectedly"

(with preparation) try ReDeploy and then if the problem still persists Reapply. Redeploy will change the underlying host.

None of these will ideally delete or mess with the VM and are relatively easy to test.
Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-06T21:08:42.3166667+00:00

Resource Health - There aren't any known Azure platform problems affecting this virtual machine.

Performance diagnostics - 1 Low priority item, Some speculation control settings are enabled.

Redeployment and Reapply - can't do this until clients are out of the VM. Will have to try this over the weekend.

Answer 2

Hello, @Pflipper !

Why is my VM giving me multiple shut down notifications after working normally for an extended period of time?

It looks like you've gone through extensive troubleshooting here and from the description, it sounds like we may need to investigate the VM resource that is causing this issue. This would determine the cause and give us insight into what has gone wrong so we can avoid it in the future. In addition, I'll provide your feedback to the Virtual Machine team.

From Pflipper:

No answers have been helpful to date. I did respond @usama malik and @dashanan13 , but did not see a return response from them. I did not try the redeployment @dashanan13 suggested, but I think I have moved on from testing this broken functionality.

We'd be happy to investigate what is going on at the resource level if you would like. I'd just need you to email the following to AzCommunity@microsoft.com and we'll get back to you promptly:

Subject: "Attn: kobulloc - VM shutdown issue"
Email body: Your Subscription ID
Email body: A link to this thread so we can validate and expedite the request

If you don't receive a response within 24 hours, please reply to the thread so we can investigate.

I'm sorry you ran into this but hopefully this has been helpful! Your feedback is important so please take a moment to accept answers.

If you still have questions, please let us know what is needed in the comments so the question can be answered. Thank you for helping to improve Microsoft Q&A!

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Pflipper 106 Reputation points

2023-10-11T18:14:23.1033333+00:00

Hi @kobulloc-MSFT

I emailed you just now to AzCommunity@microsoft.com. Let me know what you find. I cannot accept answers until I get one that works, so looking forward to a response to the email. Thanks!
kobulloc-MSFT 26,801 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2023-10-11T18:57:33.72+00:00

No worries, @Pflipper ! I completely understand. Please do follow up here on the forums when the issue is resolved. Thank you!
kobulloc-MSFT 26,801 Reputation points Microsoft Employee Moderator

2023-10-13T18:41:49.2066667+00:00

Hello, @Pflipper ! Your initial email got caught in a filter but I've responded and everything should be in order. If you need to reach out, please use the comments in this thread to make sure I don't miss any messages. Thank you!

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VM sending message that it is shutting down in 30 minutes ...for that past 26 hours

2 answers

Your answer