Avvi can restart a server that has a connector on it with the ServerOps module. The request is confirmed first, and you choose whether people on the machine are warned.

A restart cannot be called back once you confirm it. Open work on the machine is force-closed, so the decision to warn people is the one that matters.

Once the machine goes down, Avvi watches for it to come back and reports success when it does rather than assuming.

Before you begin

Know which machine. Naming it exactly avoids a round trip, and a client with several servers will produce a list otherwise.

Decide whether people on the machine should be warned. Choosing to warn them gives a one-minute countdown on their screen; choosing not to starts the restart immediately.

Check who is using the server before you ask. Avvi does not warn you that somebody is connected.

Check the connector for that machine is reachable. A restart cannot be sent to a machine that is not checking in.

Ask for the restart

1. Open chat and check the client.
2. Say what you want, naming the machine. For example: restart SRV-FILE01 tonight at 10pm.
3. Answer whether to restart now or at a set time, and whether people on the machine should be warned.
4. Read the confirmation, checking the machine name and the timing, then confirm.

Avvi reports progress as it goes, and confirms once the machine has come back online.

Good to know

A restart can be scheduled for later rather than run now, which is the usual choice for anything in hours.

A restart cannot be cancelled once confirmed. Scheduling it for later leaves you the option of cancelling the schedule, which is a reason to prefer a time over now.

Verify it worked

Wait for Avvi to report the machine back online. It watches for the reconnect rather than reporting success at the moment the command was sent.

Check the connector for that machine shows ONLINE afterwards.

If something doesn’t look right

If the machine does not come back, that is now an offline connector and a machine to look at physically or through your own tooling.

If somebody was working on the server, expect them to lose unsaved work. Warning them is what the notification option is for, and Avvi will not tell you they were there.

If the request is refused because the connector is not reachable, the machine is already not contactable and a restart through Avvi is not available.

To report a problem, open a support conversation from the Help drawer with the client, the machine, and what Avvi last reported.

FAQ

Q: Can I cancel a restart?

A: No. Once confirmed it runs. A scheduled restart can be cancelled before its time.

Q: Will people on the server be warned?

A: Only if you ask for it, and then they get about a minute. Avvi does not tell you whether anybody is connected.

Q: Can I restart several servers at once?

A: Yes. Name them and Avvi confirms the set together.