Node states

A node is always in one main state, usually Running or Powered off. It can also carry extra flags, like locked or in recovery mode, on top of that state. Every action you can take, from a reboot to a plan change, checks both the main state and those flags before it lets you proceed.

Running, Powered off, and Stopped

Every node starts Running once it finishes creating. From there:

• Power Off is available only while a node is Running, and turns it into Powered off.
• Start brings a node back from Powered off, on every family. E1-series nodes have a third state, Stopped, and Start also brings them back from there.
• Stop is offered only for E1-series nodes, from Running or Powered off; other families show Not allowed to stop node. if you try.

On an E1-series node, the difference between Powered off and Stopped is what happens to its reserved resources. A powered-off node keeps them reserved, so starting it again is quick. A stopped node’s resources are freed and have to be reallocated, so starting it again takes longer. Once an E1 node is Stopped, no other action is available on it until you start it again.

Choose Power Off when you expect to start the node again soon and want that restart quick. Choose Stop when you can wait a little longer to start back up, in exchange for pausing compute charges while the node sits idle.

A powered-off node is still billed until it is Terminated, or, for E1-series, until you stop it. Once stopped, an E1 node’s compute charges pause, but you still pay for its storage and any attached add-ons, like volumes or reserved IPs.

See Power off and start a node and Stop a node for the steps.

Locked or in recovery mode

On top of its main state, a node can be locked or in recovery mode. These flags sit alongside Running or Powered off rather than replacing it. Turning on recovery mode, for example, changes only what the node boots from; its state stays the same. Every action checks all of these together with the main state. A node can look Running and still refuse an action because it is locked or recovering. If an expected action is greyed out and the main state looks right, one of these flags is almost always why.

See Lock a node and Enable recovery mode on a node for what each one does and how to turn it on or off.