How to configure Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 to cleanly shut down any guest OS

Tagged: Windows

Each guest OS environment runs under the Virtual Server service (vssrvc.exe), which stops when the host OS shuts down. You can configure each guest OS with a default action in the event that the Virtual Server service is closed as follows:

1. Connect to the Virtual Server Web interface
2. Select the Virtual Server name you want to configure and select Edit Configuration.
3. Under Guest OS configuration, click “General properties.”
4. You can now modify the “Action when Virtual Server stops” drop- down list, which the figure at by selecting from the list of options (e.g., to shut down the OS, select the “Shut down guest OS” option). Click OK.

Now when the host server shuts down, the guest OS will be cleanly closed first. If, however, the host OS simply crashes or is powered off, the guest OSs can’t close cleanly. Event ID 1074 will be written in the guest OS System log, notifying the user that the system was powered off by the vmsrvc.exe service.

If you require more control over this functionality, you can shut down the guest OS via the shutdown.exe command-line tool before performing a shutdown of the active host OS, typically as part of a script.