Stopped Virtual Machines

Description

Virtual Machines can be in three different power states: "Running", "Stopped" and "Stopped (Deallocated)". Only when they are in the "Stopped (Deallocated)" state do they stop incurring costs. When shutting down a VM from the Azure portal, they are automatically deallocated. However, when shutting them down from a Remote Desktop session or by using PowerShell, they simply transition to the "Stopped" state and still incur costs needlessly.

Criteria

To trigger this recommendation, a Virtual Machine must fill the following criteria:

• Power State must be "Stopped"
• Resource is not on a Free tier

How to apply

Step 1: To apply this recommendation, click on "View in Portal" to open the Azure Portal on the correct resource.

Step 2: Click on "Overview" in the menu then click on "Stop" in the top header.