Known limitations of Scheduled Power Operations (SPO) policies
Scheduled Power Operations (SPO) policies automatically power on or off cloud resources according to defined schedules. These policies are commonly used to optimize cloud costs and enforce standard operating hours.
This article explains the known limitations of SPO policies so you can set accurate expectations and understand behavior you may see in your environment.
No guaranteed 100% reliability
SPO policies run on a best‑effort model. They don’t guarantee full consistency of scheduled start or stop actions. In some cases, an action may fail or be skipped, especially in large or complex environments.
Schedules don’t run at the exact minute
SPO policies run on fixed check‑in intervals, not in real time.
This means actions might not occur exactly at the scheduled time, but shortly after, depending on when the policy evaluation cycle runs.
Delays can happen in larger or busier environments
If there are many virtual machines, multiple schedules, or a lot of policy activity, the system can take longer to evaluate everything.
In those cases, start/stop times can be delayed or occasionally missed.
Tag setup is critical
SPO policies rely on tags to know which resources to start or stop and when.
If tags are missing, incorrect, or misspelled, policies may behave unexpectedly. For example, a VM might be powered off when you expected it to stay on.
Policy failures due to platform or API issues
Some failures occur due to cloud platform behavior, such as:
- API gateway errors (for example, HTTP 502)
- Temporary service interruptions
Notifications may not always trigger when this happens. You may need to review policy logs manually.
With this information, you’ll understand the expected behavior and known limitations of Scheduled Power Operations (SPO) policies. This helps you to choose the right combination of schedules, tags, and manual checks to manage your cloud resources effectively.
