Shutdown actions

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SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 LPAR mode z/VM guest KVM guest

Several triggers can cause Linux® to shut down. For each shutdown trigger, you can configure a specific shutdown action to be taken as a response.

Table 1. Shutdown triggers and default action overview
Trigger Command or condition Default shutdown action
halt Linux chshut command stop
poff Linux poweroff or chshut command stop
reboot Linux reboot or chshut command reipl
restart Depending on the hyperisor environment:
LPAR
A PSW restart on the HMC
z/VM®
A CP system restart command
KVM
A virsh command on the KVM host
 stop
panic Linux dumpconf command stop
The available shutdown actions are summarized in Table 2.
Table 2. Shutdown actions
Action Explanation See also
stop For panic or restart, enters a disabled wait state. For all other shutdown triggers, stops all CPUs.

For Linux on KVM, frees the resources that were used by the Linux instance. Depending on your virtual server configuration, the memory might be preserved.

 n/a
ipl Performs an IPL according to the specifications in /sys/firmware/ipl. Displaying current IPL parameters
reipl Performs an IPL according to the specifications in /sys/firmware/reipl. Rebooting from an alternative source
dump For Linux in LPAR mode and Linux on z/VM, creates a dump according to the specifications in /sys/firmware/dump. Using the Dump Tools on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15, SC34-2785
dump_reipl For Linux in LPAR mode and Linux on z/VM, performs the dump action followed by the reipl action. Using the Dump Tools on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15, SC34-2785
vmcmd For Linux on z/VM, issues one or more z/VM CP commands according to the specifications in /sys/firmware/vmcmd. Configuring z/VM CP commands as a shutdown action

Use lsshut to find out which shutdown action is configured for each shutdown trigger.

Use the applicable command for setting the actions to be taken on shutdown:
  • For halt, power off, and reboot use chshut.
  • For panic on Linux in LPAR mode or Linux on z/VM, use dumpconf, see Using the Dump Tools on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15, SC34-2785

kdump for restart and panic

If kdump is set up for a Linux instance, kdump is started to create a dump, regardless of the shutdown actions that are specified for restart and panic. With kdump, these settings act as a backup that is used only if kdump fails.
Note: kdump is not a shutdown action that you can set as a sysfs attribute value for a shutdown trigger. See Using the Dump Tools on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15, SC34-2785 about how to set up kdump.