Manage a VM pool in Lab Services
The Virtual machine pool page of a lab allows educators to set how many VMs are available for use and manage the state of those VMs.
- Start and stop all the VMs at once.
- Start and stop specific VMs.
- Reset a VM.
- Connect to a student's VM.
- Change the lab capacity.
VMs can be in one of a few states.
- Unassigned. These VMs aren't assigned to students yet. These VMs won't be started when a schedule runs.
- Stopped. VM is turned off and not available for use.
- Starting. VM is starting. It's not yet available for use.
- Running. VM is running and available for use.
- Stopping. VM is stopping and not available for use.
Warning
Turning on a student VM will not affect the quota for the student. Make sure to stop all VMs manually or use a schedule to avoid unexpected costs.
Manually starting VMs
You can start all VMs in a lab by selecting the Start all button at the top of the page.
Individual VMs can be started by clicking the state toggle. The toggle will read Starting as the VM starts up, and then Running once the VM has started. You can also select multiple VMs using the checks to the left of the Name column. Once the VMs are checked, select the Start button at the top of the screen.
Manually stopping VMs
You can select the Stop all button to stop all of the VMs.
Individual VMs can be stopped by clicking the state toggle. The toggle will read Stopping as the VM shuts down, and then Stopped once the VM has shutdown. You can also select multiple VMs using the checks to the left of the Name column. Once the VMs are checked, select the Stop button at the top of the screen.
Reset VMs
To reset one or more VMs, select them in the list, and then select Reset on the toolbar.
On the Reset virtual machine(s) dialog box, select Reset.
Redeploy VMs
In the April 2022 Update, redeploying VMs replaces the previous reset VM behavior. In the Lab Services web portal: https://labs.azure.com, the command is named Troubleshoot and is available in the student's view of their VMs. For more information and instructions on how students can redeploy their VMs, see: Redeploy VMs.
Connect to VMs
Educators can connect to a student VM as long as it's turned on. Verify the student isn't connected to the VM first. By connecting to the VM, you can access local files on the VM and help students troubleshoot issues.
To connect to the student VM, hover the mouse on the VM in the list and select the Connect button. For further instructions based on the operating system you're using, see Connect to a lab VM.
Set lab capacity
To change the lab capacity (number of VMs in the lab), select Lab capacity on the toolbar and update number of VMs on the Lab capacity window on the right.
If using Teams or Canvas integration, lab capacity will automatically be updated when Azure Lab Services syncs the user list.
Export list of VMs
Switch to the Virtual machine pool tab.
Select ... (ellipsis) on the toolbar and then select Export CSV.
Next steps
See the following articles:
Feedback
Submit and view feedback for