Skip to content

How to Restart or Reprovision a Virtual Machine

What's the difference between Restarting and Wiping/Reprovisioning an Exercise Environment?

Cyber Range users occasionally encounter technical problems that make interacting with their Cyber Range Virtual Machines (VMs) difficult. Sometimes these problems exist within your web browser, but other times the issue is with the VM or environment on our side. There are several ways to troubleshoot the issue and regain control of your VM quickly, and each has its own unique impact on your VM(s) and the time it takes to resolve. The methods for troubleshooting VMs in the Cyber Range Exercise Area are listed below, from the quickest and least drastic to the lengthiest and most drastic.

Tip

If you're having problems getting into a VM, you can try the first two steps below. Additionally, it may be helpful to review our Knowledge Base article that includes a troubleshooting guide on Browser Troubleshooting that deals with some of the client side settings that can prevent you from logging into a VM.

Before restarting, wiping, and reprovisioning, please try the options listed here. These are the quickest and easiest troubleshooting methods:

  • Web Tab Reload (10 sec): Reloading the browser tab you are using to access the VM is the easiest and quickest troubleshooting method and is the first step you should take if you are experiencing issues with your VM login session. For example, if you encounter a black screen when booting up a VM, please try reloading your browser tab ( Ctrl+Shift+R or F5 ), as this usually resolves the issue without losing your open work.

  • Close Web Tab and Rejoin (10 sec): If reloading a VM web tab does not work, your VM session token may have expired. In some cases, you may need to close the VM tab, and re-Join using the Join (play) button in the Cyber Range user interface. With this close and re-join option, you usually retain all your work and open files.

  • VM/OS Reboot (1-2 min): Rebooting a VM from within the operating system itself may be one of the quickest and simplest troubleshooting methods you can perform if you are encountering issues with a single VM. You can do this from either the user desktop run menu or via the terminal. Typically, rebooting your VM will take about 30-60 seconds. From the Linux terminal, type the sudo reboot command, or on Windows hit Win+R (or Ctrl+Esc+R ) and type shutdown -f -r -t 0 to reboot a VM. This type of reboot closes most open files before rebooting and is considered “graceful,” as it is less likely to corrupt databases or filesystems than a restart (below).

If the actions listed above do not resolve the issue while troubleshooting your environment, then the two options listed below, which are performed from the Cyber Range user interface, might be more effective in helping regain control of a user's VM:

  • User Environment Soft Restart (2-4 min): Restarting (or pressing stop and start in the user interface) is like virtually pressing the "powering off and on" button for a student’s exercise environment and is done using the Cyber Range web interface. This is similar to powering down and back on any regular computer device when the device is locked up or too sluggish to use. When the machine boots up again after being power cycled, any previously saved documents and work are still accessible to you, and previous work is preserved. This solution is recommended when applications freeze, the keyboard/mouse becomes “glitchy”, or your VM becomes too slow to interact with. For more information, please see the section titled How to Perform an Exercise Environment Soft Restart.

  • User Environment Wipe and Reprovision (5-40 min): A full wipe and reprovision of an exercise environment is different from restarting a virtual machine (above). When a virtual machine is wiped and reloaded in the Virginia Cyber Range, the VM operating system is deleted and reloaded from scratch. This means all data stored on the VM is lost. Wipe and reprovisioning is effective when VMs have become damaged beyond repair, the student has locked themselves out of the VM due to firewall or password changes, or the VM no longer boots properly. This option should only be used as a last resort because it can take 30 to 40 minutes for the VM to be wiped and reprovisioned and all of the student’s work on the VM is lost. For more information, please see the section titled How to Reset, Wipe, and Reprovision an Exercise Environment.

How to Perform a VM/OS Reboot

Another troubleshooting method you can perform is a VM/OS Reboot from within the operating system using the terminal or the run prompt. Below are examples of rebooting on both Linux and Windows VMs.

How to Perform a Linux VM Reboot

  1. First, please open a terminal in the virtual machine you wish to perform a reboot on. You should then type sudo reboot and hit Enter on the keyboard.

    The user, student@kali, is shown in the terminal with the typed-out command of 'sudo reboot'.

  2. Next, you will receive a notification that you have been disconnected from the virtual machine. This is expected when rebooting from the terminal. Please wait a few moments and then click Reconnect.

    A dialog box is shown that says "You have been disconnected. If this persists try restarting the exercise from the exercise area, or informing your instructor."

  3. Once you have clicked Reconnect, you will encounter a black screen with a message notifying you that your browser is attempting to connect to the remote system. Please wait for the connection to be established. This could take around 30-60 seconds and will automatically place you back in the virtual machine when finished.

    A dialog box is shown that says "Connected to the Cyber Range. Waiting for response from the remote system..."

  4. After your virtual machine has established a connection, you will be placed back into your rebooted virtual machine.

    Once your machine has rebooted and your connection has been established, you will see the VM desktop or login screen.

How to Perform a Windows VM Reboot

  1. First, please open a Run prompt in the Windows virtual machine you wish to perform a reboot on. To open a Windows Run prompt, you can type the keyboard combination Win+R (or Ctrl+Esc+R ).

    The Windows Run prompt will appear in the bottom left-hand corner of the desktop environment.

  2. Once you have opened the Windows Run prompt, please type shutdown -f -r -t 0 and hit Enter. This will reboot the machine.

    Warning

    If doing this from a Windows laptop/PC, please confirm that the Run popup is not your own Windows Run window, as this will cause your local/physical computer to reboot.

    The windows Run prompt is shown, with the **shutdown -f -r -t 0** commands highlighted. Below are the OK, cancel, and browse buttons.

  3. Next, you will receive a notification saying that your browser is attempting to reconnect to the virtual machine. Please wait while your machine reboots until your connection is re-instated.

    A dialog box is shown that says "Connected to the Cyber Range. Waiting for response from the remote system..."

  4. After your virtual machine has established a connection, you will be placed back into your rebooted virtual machine.

    Once your machine has rebooted and your connection has been established, you will see the VM desktop or login screen.

How to Perform an Exercise Environment Soft Restart

The easiest way to restart an exercise environment is by using the VM control buttons in the Cyber Range exercise area to power off/on the environment completely.

  1. First, click the Stop button located to the right of the play button, as shown in the image below.

    Highlights the stop button, which is located below the environment details and to the right of the start button.

  2. Next, wait a few moments while your VM is powered off.

    A stop message is shown below the environment details, replacing the start and stop buttons.

  3. Once your virtual machine has been completely powered off, you can click the Start button, as shown in the image below.

    Highlights the start button, which is located below the environment details and to the left of the copy button.

  4. Once you have clicked the Start button, your VM will power back on, and you will have successfully restarted your virtual machine.

How to Reset, Wipe, and Reprovision an Exercise Environment

While operating within an exercise environment, it may be desired or become necessary to reset the environment. The alert This exercise needs a reset indicates that the environment has become broken or unusable and needs a reset before the user can access it. This issue is often caused by commands that corrupt and crash the environment or remove essential components of our exercise environments. An instructor must reset the environment to its stock state for the user to access their VM again. If you would like to learn about how to avoid broken virtual machines, please see Tips to Avoid Breaking Your VMs.

Warning

Please keep in mind that resetting a virtual machine cannot be undone. Once you reset a virtual machine, all data on the virtual machine will be lost. Please proceed with caution.

To reset a virtual machine as an instructor, you must first ensure that it has been completely powered off. The Reset button will not be visible if the VM is still powered on.

  1. Once the VM has been completely powered off, the Reset button will become visible. Please click on the Reset button, as shown in the image below.

    Highlights the reset button, which is located below the environment details and to the right of the copy button.

  2. You will receive a popup message asking you to confirm the VM reset. If you are certain that you would like to proceed with resetting the VM, please click Confirm.

    A reset confirmation dialog box is shown, with a cancel and confirm button in the bottom right.

  3. Once you have successfully confirmed the virtual machine reset, you will need to wait a few minutes while the VM is rebuilt.

  4. After a few minutes, you can power on the virtual machine and access your new exercise environment.

Have a Question? Contact Support

Note

Students: Please reach out to your Instructor who can submit a ticket to our Support Team on your behalf.

We're here to help you. If you still have questions after reviewing the information above, please feel free to submit a ticket with our Support Team and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.