Nutanix VM Power Management Script

A Python script for powering on, powering off, rebooting, or checking the power state of a Nutanix VM through Prism Central.

Features

• Finds a VM by name
• Shows the current VM power state
• Powers on a VM
• Powers off a VM
• Reboots a VM by powering it off and then powering it on again
• Waits for Nutanix Prism Central tasks to finish
• Requires --force for power-off and reboot actions
• Uses only the Python standard library

Requirements

• Python 3.8 or newer
• Network access to Nutanix Prism Central
• A valid Nutanix Prism Central API token
• Permission to read and update VMs

No external Python packages are required.

Configuration

Before running the script, update these values in nutanix_vm_power.py:

NTNX_PRISMCENTRAL_IP = "YOUR_IP:9440"
PC_TOKEN = "YOUR GENERATED TOKEN FROM nutanix_auth.py"

Usage

Show VM power status:

python nutanix_vm_power.py --vm my-vm01 --action status

Power on a VM:

python nutanix_vm_power.py --vm my-vm01 --action on

Power off a VM:

python nutanix_vm_power.py --vm my-vm01 --action off --force

Reboot a VM:

python nutanix_vm_power.py --vm my-vm01 --action reboot --force

Use custom task polling settings:

python nutanix_vm_power.py \
  --vm my-vm01 \
  --action on \
  --timeout 600 \
  --interval 10

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description
--vm	Yes	VM name
--action	Yes	status, on, off, or reboot
--force	No	Required for off and reboot
--timeout	No	Task timeout in seconds, default 300
--interval	No	Task polling interval in seconds, default 5

Safety Notes

Power-off and reboot actions require --force to reduce the chance of accidental shutdowns.

Security Notes

Do not commit real API tokens, passwords, Prism Central addresses, or internal infrastructure details to a public GitHub repository.

The script currently disables SSL certificate verification by using:

ssl._create_unverified_context()

This may be useful in lab environments, but it is not recommended for production. For production use, configure proper certificate validation.

Disclaimer

This script is provided as an example. Test it in a safe environment before using it against production Nutanix infrastructure.