High Level steps to Decommission a virtual machine (VM)

Decommissioning a virtual machine (VM) involves removing it from production and taking steps to ensure that it can no longer be used or accessed. Here are some of the general steps and precautions that can provide general guidance on high-level steps needed when decommissioning a virtual machine:

Please note that these steps are not specific to any cloud vendor.

1. Backup the virtual machine: Before decommissioning, verify if you need to keep a backup of the virtual machine’s data and configuration. This will allow you to restore the data if needed in the future.

2. Remove the virtual machine from any Monitoring solution

3. Remove the virtual machine from Backup Process

4. Remove the virtual machine from any integration/middleware process etc.

5. Remove the virtual machine from the production environment: Shutting down the virtual machine, and then removing it from the virtualization platform.

6. Remove the virtual machine’s storage: Remove the virtual machine’s storage. This includes any virtual disks, snapshots, or backups that were associated with the virtual machine.

7. Delete the virtual machine’s configuration: Delete the virtual machine’s configuration. This includes removing any references to the virtual machine from the virtualization platform, such as from the inventory/CMDB or from any templates.

8. Security and compliance: Before decommissioning the VM make sure you have taken the necessary steps to meet compliance requirements and delete any sensitive data that the VM might have.

9. Review network and firewall rules: Review any network and firewall rules that were associated with it to ensure that no ports or services are still open that could allow unauthorized access.

10. Test the decommissioning process: It’s important to test the decommissioning process to make sure that everything is working as expected, this will also help you identify any issues that may arise after the virtual machine has been decommissioned.

Note that in a cloud environment, the process may differ and you should consult the provider’s documentation.

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Brijesh Gogia

I’m an experienced Cloud/Oracle Applications/DBA Architect with more than 15 years of full-time DBA/Architect experience. I have gained wide knowledge on Oracle and Non-Oracle software stack running on-prem and on Cloud and have worked on several big projects for multi-national companies. I enjoy working with leading-edge technology and have a passion for Cloud architecture, automation, database performance, and stability. Thankfully my work allows me time for researching new technologies (and to write about them).

High Level steps to Decommission a virtual machine (VM)

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