Articles on: ggRock

⏰ Scheduling a Reboot in Advance on Debian Linux (Using shutdown)

To schedule a reboot for 5:30 PM today (based on the number of minutes from now), with a time check, follow these steps.

Check Server Time:

Open a terminal and log in.
Execute the date command to display the current date and time:

root@ggRock:~# date
Thu 13 Mar 12:56:36 GMT 2025

Verify that the displayed time and date are accurate. If they are not, adjust the server's time using timedatectl or ntpd.

For Example: sudo timedatectl set-time 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS' or ensure your ntp client is running.

Calculate the Time Difference:

Current time: (Obtain from the date command output)
Desired reboot time: 5:30 PM
Time difference: Calculate the difference in hours and minutes, then convert it to total minutes.
For example, if the current time is 1:00 PM, the time difference would be 4 hours and 30 minutes, or 270 minutes.

Schedule the Reboot:

Log in as root or use sudo.
Execute the shutdown command, replacing [minutes] with your calculated time difference:
Example (using the previous calculation of 270 minutes):

root@MediaCityGG:~# shutdown -r +270
Reboot scheduled for Thu 2025-03-13 17:31:35 GMT, use 'shutdown -c' to cancel.

Cancel the Reboot (if needed):

To cancel the scheduled reboot, execute shutdown -c.

Important Considerations:Time Accuracy: The date command check is crucial. If the server's time is incorrect, the reboot will occur at the wrong time, potentially causing significant disruptions.Minute Calculation: Double-check your minute calculation to ensure accuracy.Shut down all machines: Ensure all machines are shut down before the server reboot to avoid an I/O storm.

Updated on: 10/12/2025

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