You can configure the start and stop order of virtual machines within your vApp. Configure the start and stop order in case you have applications installed in the virtual machines that must start and stop in a particular order.

These settings are useful if you need to start and stop your virtual machines in a particular order. For example, one virtual machine houses a database server, another houses an application server, and the last houses a web server. In order for the related functions to work properly, the database server must start first, the application server must start second, and the web server must start last.

Prerequisites

Verify that the vApp is powered off.

Procedure

  1. On the Virtual Data Center dashboard screen, click the card of the virtual data center you want to explore, and from the left panel, select vApps.
  2. Click Card Icon to view the vApps in a card view.
  3. In the card of the selected vApp, click Details.
  4. Click the Start and Stop Order tab and click Edit.
  5. Edit the start and stop order properties for each virtual machine, and click OK.
    Option Action
    Start Order Enter the order in which you want the virtual machine to start. You must enter a value for each machine in the sequence. For example, enter 0 for the VM you want to start first, 1 for the VM that you want to start second, and so on.
    Start Action Select a start action.

    The start action determines what happens to a virtual machine when you start the vApp that contains it. By default, this option is set to Power On.

    Start Wait Enter the start wait time.

    The start wait time is the amount of time (in seconds) that you want to wait before VMware Cloud Director starts the next machine in the sequence.

    Stop Action Select the stop action.

    The stop action is the action the virtual machine takes when you stop the vApp that contains it. If you select Power Off, the VM powers off without performing shutdown actions that ensure stability (which is the equivalent of pulling a plug out of a socket). Select this action if you have not installed VMware Tools. Otherwise, select Shut Down, which ensures stability upon shutting down.

    Stop Wait Enter the stop wait time.

    The stop wait time is the amount of time (in seconds) that you want to wait before VMware Cloud Director shuts down the next virtual machine in the sequence.