How to manage machines

Find machines

Discover active machines

MAAS detects devices via network traffic.

UI
Networking > Network discovery

CLI

maas $PROFILE discoveries read

Find a machine’s ID

Everything in MAAS revolves around the system ID. Get it:

UI
Machines > [machine] (Check browser URL: ...machine/<SYSTEM_ID>/summary)

CLI

maas admin machines read | jq -r '(["HOSTNAME","SYSID"] | (., map(length*"-"))),(.[] | [.hostname, .system_id]) | @tsv' | column -t

List machines

UI
Machines (View list)

CLI

maas $PROFILE machines read | jq -r '(["HOSTNAME","SYSID","STATUS"] | join(","))'

Search for machines

Use MAAS search syntax to find specific machines.

UI
Hardware > Machines > [Search bar] and enter a search term; MAAS updates the list dynamically.

For exact matches, prefix the value with =; for partial matches, omit it; and for negation, use !:

Exact: pod:=able-cattle
Partial: pod:able,cattle
Negated: pod:!cattle

CLI

maas $PROFILE machines read | jq -r '(["HOSTNAME","SYSID","STATUS"] | join(","))'

Filter machines by parameters

UI
Hardware > Machines > Filters dropdown > [Select parameters]

MAAS builds the search term dynamically and updates the list. You can copy and save these terms for reuse.

Add & configure machines

Add a machine

Provide architecture, MAC address, power type, and parameters.

UI
Machines > Add hardware

CLI

maas $PROFILE machines create architecture=$ARCH mac_addresses=$MAC_ADDRESS \
  power_type=$POWER_TYPE power_parameters_power_id=$POWER_ID \
  power_parameters_power_address=$POWER_ADDRESS power_parameters_power_pass=$POWER_PASSWORD

Clone a machine

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Clone

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine clone $SOURCE_SYSTEM_ID new_hostname=$NEW_HOSTNAME

Set power type

Without this, MAAS can’t control the machine.

UI
Machines > [machine] > Configuration > Power > Edit

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine update $SYSTEM_ID power_type="$POWER_TYPE"

Verifying Redfish activation

You can check if a machine communicates via Redfish with the command:

dmidecode -t 42

Additionally, you can review the 30-maas-01-bmc-config commissioning script’s output if the machine is already enlisted in MAAS.

Add LXD for VM hosts

LXD setup is straightforward.

Remove old LXD versions

sudo apt-get purge -y *lxd* *lxc*
sudo apt-get autoremove -y

Install & initialize LXD

sudo snap install lxd
sudo snap refresh
sudo lxd init

Clustering: no
Storage: dir
MAAS Connection: no
Existing Bridge: yes (br0)
Trust Password: Provide a password

Disable DHCP for LXD’s bridge

lxc network set lxdbr0 dns.mode=none
lxc network set lxdbr0 ipv4.dhcp=false
lxc network set lxdbr0 ipv6.dhcp=false

Add a VM HOST

KVM > LXD > Add LXD host > Enter Name, LXD address and select Generate new certificate
Run the provided command in the terminal to add trust.
Check authentication > Add new project | Select existing project > Save LXD host.

CLI

maas $PROFILE vm-hosts create type=lxd power_address=$LXD_ADDRESS project=$PROJECT_NAME

Add VMs

UI
KVM > VM host name > Add VM > Name > Cores > RAM > Disks > Compose machine

CLI

maas $PROFILE vm-host compose $VM_HOST_ID cores=4 memory=8G disks=1:size=20G

Move VMs between projects

lxc move $VM_NAME $VM_NAME --project default --target-project $PROJECT_NAME

Remove VMs

UI
Machine > (Select machines) > Delete > Delete machine

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine delete $SYSTEM_ID

Control machine power

Turn on

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Power on

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine start $SYSTEM_ID

Turn off

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Power off

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine stop $SYSTEM_ID

Soft power-Off

maas $PROFILE machine stop $SYSTEM_ID force=false

Commission & test machines

Commission a machine

Required before deployment.

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Commission

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine commission $SYSTEM_ID

Run tests

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Test

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine test $SYSTEM_ID tests=cpu,storage

View test results

UI
Machines > [machine] > Test results

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine read $SYSTEM_ID | jq '.test_results'

Override failed tests

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Override test results

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine set-test-result $SYSTEM_ID result=passed

Deploy machines

Allocate a machine

Locks ownership to the user who allocates it.

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Allocate

CLI

maas $PROFILE machines allocate system_id=$SYSTEM_ID

Deploy a machine

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Deploy

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine deploy $SYSTEM_ID

Deploy as a VM host

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Deploy > Install KVM

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine deploy $SYSTEM_ID install_kvm=True

Deploy with cloud-init config

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Deploy > Configuration options

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine deploy $SYSTEM_ID cloud_init_userdata="$(cat cloud-init.yaml)"

Configure machine settings

Set kernel version

System-wide default:
UI
Settings > Configuration > Commissioning > Default minimum kernel version

CLI

maas $PROFILE maas set-config name=default_min_hwe_kernel value=$KERNEL

Per-machine kernel:
UI
Machines > [machine] > Configuration > Edit > Minimum kernel

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine update $SYSTEM_ID min_hwe_kernel=$HWE_KERNEL

Deploy with a specific kernel:
UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Deploy > Choose kernel

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine deploy $SYSTEM_ID distro_series=$SERIES hwe_kernel=$KERNEL

Set boot options

System-wide default:
UI
Settings > Kernel parameters

CLI

maas $PROFILE maas set-config name=kernel_opts value='$KERNEL_OPTIONS'

Configure storage layout

Default layout for all machines:
UI
Settings > Storage > Default layout

CLI

maas $PROFILE maas set-config name=default_storage_layout value=$LAYOUT_TYPE

Per-machine layout:
UI
Machines > [machine] > Storage > Edit layout

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine set-storage-layout $SYSTEM_ID storage_layout=$LAYOUT_TYPE

Rescue & recovery

Enter rescue mode

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Enter rescue mode

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine enter-rescue-mode $SYSTEM_ID

SSH into a machine

ssh ubuntu@$MACHINE_IP

Exit rescue mode

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Exit rescue mode

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine exit-rescue-mode $SYSTEM_ID

Mark a machine as broken

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Mark broken

CLI

maas $PROFILE machines mark-broken $SYSTEM_ID

Mark a machine as fixed

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Mark fixed

CLI

maas $PROFILE machines mark-fixed $SYSTEM_ID

Release or remove machines

Release a machine

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Release

CLI

maas $PROFILE machines release $SYSTEM_ID

Erase disks on release

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Release > Enable disk erasure options

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine release $SYSTEM_ID erase=true secure_erase=true quick_erase=true

Delete a machine

UI
Machines > [machine] > Take action > Delete

CLI

maas $PROFILE machine delete $SYSTEM_ID

Force delete a stuck machine

maas $PROFILE machine delete $SYSTEM_ID force=true

Verify everything

Check all machines

UI
Machines (View list or search)

CLI

maas $PROFILE machines read | jq -r '.[].hostname'

Last updated a day ago.

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