A reference for diagnosing and resolving common issues across VM creation, management, access, and snapshots.

VM Creation

Kernel or Rootfs Dropdown is Empty

Problem: No options appear in the kernel or rootfs selection dropdowns during VM creation.

Solution:

  1. Go to Image Registry in the sidebar
  2. Upload the required kernel and rootfs images (see Upload Images)
  3. Return to VM creation — dropdowns will now be populated

Not Enough Resources

Problem: Error message “Insufficient resources available” when creating a VM.

Solution:

  • Reduce the vCPU or memory allocation
  • Stop unused VMs to free host resources
  • Go to Hosts page to check available capacity
  • Contact your administrator to provision additional capacity

VM Stuck in “Creating” State

Problem: VM shows “Creating” for more than 30 seconds.

Solution:

  1. Refresh the browser page
  2. Go to Hosts and verify the agent is Online (green indicator)
  3. If still stuck, delete the VM and recreate it
  4. Contact your administrator if the problem persists

VM Management

Can’t Start VM

Symptoms: Start button doesn’t respond, VM is stuck in a transitioning state, or an error notification appears.

Solutions:

  1. Check host resources — go to Hosts and verify the host has available CPU and memory; stop other VMs if the host is overloaded
  2. Verify images exist — go to Registry → Images and confirm the kernel and rootfs are present; re-upload if missing
  3. Check agent status — on the Hosts page, confirm the agent is Online; if offline, contact your administrator
  4. Recreate the VM — delete the problematic VM and create a new one with the same settings

Delete Button is Disabled

Symptoms: Delete button is greyed out; tooltip reads “Cannot delete running VM”.

Disabled delete button with tooltip

Solution: This is expected behavior — running VMs cannot be deleted.

  1. Click Stop and wait for the state to change to “Stopped”
  2. The Delete button will now be enabled

This restriction prevents accidental deletion of active services and protects data integrity.

VM Won’t Stop

Symptoms: Clicked Stop but the VM still shows “Running” after 30 seconds.

Solutions:

  1. Refresh the page (Ctrl+R / F5) and check if the state has updated
  2. Wait 60 seconds and click Stop again
  3. Gracefully shut down from inside the VM first:
      shutdown now
    Then click Stop after ~10 seconds
  4. Open the VM detail page and check for displayed errors

Paused VM Can’t Resume

Symptoms: Resume button has no effect, or an error message appears.

Solutions:

  1. Refresh the browser and try Resume again
  2. Stop the paused VM, wait for “Stopped” state, then Start it
  3. Open browser DevTools (F12 → Console) and look for error messages to share with your administrator
  4. If a snapshot exists, delete the VM and restore from snapshot

Console & SSH Access

Can’t Connect to Console

Problem: Console shows “Connection failed” or a blank screen.

Solutions:

  1. Verify the VM is in Running state
  2. Refresh the browser page
  3. Check the browser console (F12) for JavaScript errors
  4. Try a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge)
  5. Confirm WebSocket connections are not blocked by a firewall or proxy
  6. Disable browser extensions temporarily

SSH Connection Refused

Problem: ssh: connect to host <ip> port 22: Connection refused

Solutions:

  1. Verify the VM is running and has an IP address
  2. Ping the IP: ping <vm-ip>
  3. Check that the SSH service is running inside the VM (via the console):
      # Alpine
rc-service sshd status

# Ubuntu/Debian
systemctl status sshd
  4. Check firewall rules inside the VM

SSH Permission Denied

Problem: Permission denied (publickey)

Solutions:

  1. Confirm the SSH key was configured during VM creation
  2. Check you are using the correct key:
      ssh -v root@<vm-ip>
  3. Try password authentication (if enabled):
      ssh -o PreferredAuthentications=password root@<vm-ip>
  4. Recreate the VM with the correct SSH key

Console is Slow or Laggy

Problem: Noticeable input delay in the web console.

Solutions:

  • Use SSH instead of the web console for better performance
  • Check your network latency to the server
  • Close other browser tabs to free resources
  • Try the console in private/incognito mode

Can’t Paste in Console

Problem: Ctrl+V does not work in the web console.

Solution: Use Ctrl+Shift+V, or right-click and select Paste. Some browsers also support middle-click to paste.

Snapshots

Snapshot Creation Fails

Problem: An error appears when attempting to create a snapshot.

Solutions:

  1. Check available disk space on the host
  2. Ensure the VM is in a stable state (not mid-boot or transitioning)
  3. Try stopping the VM before taking the snapshot
  4. Contact your administrator if disk space is exhausted

Restore Takes Too Long

Problem: Restoration appears stuck or is very slow.

Solutions:

  1. Wait — large VMs can take several minutes to restore
  2. Check your network connection to the server
  3. Refresh the browser after 5 minutes and check VM status
  4. Contact your administrator if the operation exceeds 10 minutes

Can’t Delete Snapshot

Problem: Delete button is greyed out.

Solutions:

  1. Check if the snapshot is currently in use
  2. Stop any VMs dependent on the snapshot
  3. Wait for other operations to complete, then refresh the page
  4. Verify you have the required permissions

Snapshot Missing

Problem: An expected snapshot is not visible in the list.

Solutions:

  1. Refresh the browser page
  2. Confirm you are viewing the correct VM
  3. Check the All Snapshots page
  4. Verify the snapshot was not auto-deleted or removed by a team member

Getting Help

If none of the solutions above resolve your issue:

  1. Check the Hosts page to confirm all agents are online
  2. Review browser DevTools (F12) for errors
  3. Contact your platform administrator with the VM name, error message, and browser console output