To preserve a configured instance to use later and not continually pay for the on-demand CPU and RAM usage costs associated with running a live instance, you can "shelve" the instance. Please note there is a difference between shelving and saving a persistent copy of the instance. It's highly recommended to save a snapshot of the instance if the instance needs to be restored after unexpected termination due to user error or any other cause.
Note: Any applicable disk usage is still incurred when an instance is shelved.
How to Shelve an Instance
You can "shelve" an instance from the main instance tab in the web dashboard interface. The option to shelve the instance is in the drop-down menu on the right of the instance's line in the list of instances.
How to Unshelve an Instance
You can "unshelve" an instance when you are ready to use it again. The option to unshelve the instance is in the drop-down menu on the right of the instance's line in the list of instances.
The unshelved instance will keep all the same IP addresses and any floating IPs associated with it.
