In XenServer 6.0, it is still possible to achieve automatic startup of virtual machines. You just need to follow the 4 steps, then you can configure auto-start for VMs in XenServer 6.0.
Updated by Iris Lee on 2025/02/18
In earlier versions of XenServer (before 6.0), when starting XenServer, you can choose to automatically start the virtual machines installed in it. Citrix discontinued this feature in XenServer 6.0 due to potential compatibility issues with XenServer HA and failover functionality. However, if you are running only one XenServer host, this feature can still be very useful.
In XenServer 6.0, it is still possible to achieve automatic startup of virtual machines. This requires enabling the autostart feature at the Pool Level, and then setting the autostart for individual virtual machines using command-line settings.
Here are the steps to set up auto-start for virtual machines in XenServer 6.0:
Open the console and enter the following command:
xepool-list
The result will be similar to the following:
uuidRO: b99e3b3f-ea7a-9484-4827-87271b4b016b name-labelRW: TestPool name-descriptRW: masterRO: 74fc086b-8c89-4918-b69e-369fcb19847d default-SRRW: bebb142a-d986-acac-d4f4-636de937d28b
"b99e3b3f-ea7a-9484-4827-87271b4b016b" is the PoolUUID.
Copy the UUID and enter the following command:
xpool-param-setuuid=b99e3b3f-ea7a-9484-4827-87271b4b016bother-config:auto_poweron=true
For example, if the virtual machine is named "W2K08," enter the following command:
xevm-list name-label="W2K08"
The result will be similar to the following:
uuidRO: 5ac81c4e-3d4c-bd70-355e-d1a1c2d7716d name-labelRW: W2K08 power-stRO: run
From the output, you can see that the UUID for the virtual machine named "W2K08" is "5ac81c4e-3d4c-bd70-355e-d1a1c2d7716d."
Note: To obtain a concise result (i.e., only the UUID output), you can use the following command:
xevm-listname-label="W2K08"params=uuid--minim
This command will retrieve the UUID of the virtual machine with the name label "W2K08".
Copy the UUID from the third step and enter the following command:
xvm-param-setuuid=5ac81c4e-3d4c-bd70-355e-d1a1c2d7716dother-config:auto_poweron=true
By following these four steps, you can configure auto-start for virtual machines in XenServer 6.0.
The auto start feature is disabled because of a HA environments. If you are using a standalone XenServer, this allows you to configure settings in Xen for auto start up. Don't forget to backup of your VMs. Vinchin Backup & Recovery is an agentless backup solution certified by XenServer as a partner. More than that, it is a multi-hypervisor management tool for VMware, XCP-ng, RHV, oVirt, etc., and databases.
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To setup Xenserver 6.0 to enable auto-start VMs, you just need to get the UUID and set the virtual machine for autostart according to the command mentioned above.
It's widely acknowledged that a specialized backup solution can provide more complete capabilities to preserve your XenServer VMs. If you're looking for a high quality, reasonably-priced backup software, consider Vinchin Backup & Recovery with VM backup, migration, and recovery.
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