The Cloud Datalab Auto Shutdown feature will shut down the user's Cloud Datalab Virtual Machine (VM) instance after the VM has been idle for a user-configurable period (the default idle timeout period is 90 minutes). Shutting down the VM when it is no longer needed can help reduce Google Cloud console usage charges (see Cloud Datalab Pricing).
Auto Shutdown operation
As a default, the Auto Shutdown timer starts counting down with a value of 90 minutes. The Cloud Datalab Account menu shows the approximate amount of time remaining before the Cloud Datalab VM will be shut down.
Activity in the Cloud Datalab window will reset the timer to its starting value, such as:
- scrolling in a notebook window
- using the tree-list window, including when the tree list auto-refreshes (e.g., when returning to the window)
- running a command in a Cloud Datalab terminal tab
The timer remains reset while a notebook is open and busy (running code in a cell).
Disabling the Auto Shutdown timer
You can disable the timer by clicking on the idle timeout message in the Cloud Datalab Account menu. To reactivate the timer, click on the message again. If you disable the timer, it will remain disabled until the VM is shutdown by other means, then rebooted. You can also disable the timer as explained in Changing the idle timeout period).
Changing the idle timeout period
The default idle timeout period is 90 minutes. You can change this value by opening the Cloud Datalab Account menu, selecting Settings, then filling in a new value for the idle timeout period and clicking Update. The updated value is saved, and is preserved when the VM re-boots.
The interval in the Settings dialog can be specified using time units of seconds, minutes, hours, or days, in singular or plural form, or using only the first letter of these units. Values are integers, and multiple units can be mixed—examples of valid interval values: "30m", "2h45m", "3 days", "1 day 10 h 30min". The minimum valid interval (other than 0, to disable the timer as explained below) is 60 seconds.
You can disable the timer by entering a 0 value (the timer stays disabled after a VM reboot). Note that when the timer is disabled from the Settings dialog, the idle timeout message in the Cloud Datalab Account menu will not appear (you will not be able to re-enable the timer from the Account menu as explained in Disabling the Auto Shutdown timer). To re-enable the timer, you must re-open the Settings dialog, then update the idle timeout interval with a non-zero value.