diff --git a/tools/acrn-manager/Makefile b/tools/acrn-manager/Makefile
index cfdb0b1a8..0657beb84 100644
--- a/tools/acrn-manager/Makefile
+++ b/tools/acrn-manager/Makefile
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ $(OUT_DIR)/libacrn-mngr.a: acrn_mngr.c acrn_mngr.h
 	ar -cr $@ $(OUT_DIR)/acrn_mngr.o
 	cp ./acrn_mngr.h $(OUT_DIR)/
 
-$(OUT_DIR)/acrnctl: acrnctl.c
-	$(CC) -o $(OUT_DIR)/acrnctl acrnctl.c -I../../devicemodel/include -Wall -g
+$(OUT_DIR)/acrnctl: acrnctl.c acrn_mngr.h
+	$(CC) -o $(OUT_DIR)/acrnctl acrnctl.c acrn_vm_ops.c -I../../devicemodel/include -L$(TOOLS_OUT) -lacrn-mngr -lpthread -Wall -g
 
 .PHONY: clean
 clean:
diff --git a/tools/acrn-manager/acrn_vm_ops.c b/tools/acrn-manager/acrn_vm_ops.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..68403b850
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/acrn-manager/acrn_vm_ops.c
@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2018 Intel Corporation
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+ */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <time.h>
+#include <fcntl.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+#include "acrnctl.h"
+#include "acrn_mngr.h"
+
+/* List head of all vm */
+static LIST_HEAD(vmmngr_list_struct, vmmngr_struct) vmmngr_head;
+
+static struct vmmngr_struct *vmmngr_list_add(char *name)
+{
+	struct vmmngr_struct *s;
+
+	s = calloc(1, sizeof(struct vmmngr_struct));
+	if (!s) {
+		perror("alloc vmmngr_struct");
+		return NULL;
+	}
+
+	strncpy(s->name, name, MAX_NAME_LEN - 1);
+	LIST_INSERT_HEAD(&vmmngr_head, s, list);
+
+	return s;
+}
+
+struct vmmngr_struct *vmmngr_find(char *name)
+{
+	struct vmmngr_struct *s;
+
+	LIST_FOREACH(s, &vmmngr_head, list)
+	    if (!strcmp(name, s->name))
+		return s;
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+void get_vm_list(void)
+{
+	char cmd[128] = { };
+	char cmd_out[256] = { };
+	char *vmname;
+	char *pvmname = NULL;
+	struct vmmngr_struct *s;
+	size_t len = sizeof(cmd_out);
+
+	snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd),
+		 "find %s/add/ -name \"*.sh\" | "
+		 "sed \"s/\\/opt\\/acrn\\/conf\\/add\\///g\" | "
+		 "sed \"s/.sh//g\"", ACRNCTL_OPT_ROOT);
+	shell_cmd(cmd, cmd_out, sizeof(cmd_out));
+
+	/* Properly null-terminate cmd_out */
+	cmd_out[len - 1] = '\0';
+
+	vmname = strtok_r(cmd_out, "\n", &pvmname);
+	while (vmname) {
+		s = vmmngr_list_add(vmname);
+		if (!s)
+			continue;
+		s->state = VM_CREATED;
+		vmname = strtok_r(NULL, "\n", &pvmname);
+	}
+
+	pvmname = NULL;
+
+	snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd),
+			"find %s/ -name \"*monitor.*.socket\" | "
+			"sed \"s/\\/run\\/acrn\\/mngr\\///g\" | "
+			"awk -F. \'{ print $1 }\'", ACRN_DM_SOCK_ROOT);
+	shell_cmd(cmd, cmd_out, sizeof(cmd_out));
+
+	/* Properly null-terminate cmd_out */
+	cmd_out[len - 1] = '\0';
+
+	vmname = strtok_r(cmd_out, "\n", &pvmname);
+	while (vmname) {
+		s = vmmngr_find(vmname);
+		if (s)
+			s->state = VM_STARTED;
+		else {
+			s = vmmngr_list_add(vmname);
+			if (s)
+				s->state = VM_UNTRACKED;
+		}
+		vmname = strtok_r(NULL, "\n", &pvmname);
+	}
+}
+
+/* helper functions */
+int shell_cmd(const char *cmd, char *outbuf, int len)
+{
+	FILE *ptr;
+	char cmd_buf[256];
+	int ret;
+
+	if (!outbuf)
+		return system(cmd);
+
+	memset(cmd_buf, 0, sizeof(cmd_buf));
+	memset(outbuf, 0, len);
+	snprintf(cmd_buf, sizeof(cmd_buf), "%s 2>&1", cmd);
+	ptr = popen(cmd_buf, "re");
+	if (!ptr)
+		return -1;
+
+	ret = fread(outbuf, 1, len, ptr);
+	pclose(ptr);
+
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static int send_msg(char *vmname, struct mngr_msg *req,
+		    struct mngr_msg *ack, size_t ack_len)
+{
+	int fd, ret;
+
+	if (!vmname) {
+		printf("No vmname provided\n");
+		return -EINVAL;
+	}
+
+	fd = mngr_open_un(vmname, MNGR_CLIENT);
+	if (fd < 0) {
+		printf("%s: Unable to open %s. line %d\n", __FUNCTION__,
+		       vmname, __LINE__);
+		return -1;
+	}
+
+	ret = mngr_send_msg(fd, req, ack, ack_len, 1);
+	if (ret < 0) {
+		printf("%s: Unable to send msg\n", __FUNCTION__);
+		mngr_close(fd);
+		return ret;
+	}
+
+	mngr_close(fd);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int list_vm()
+{
+	struct vmmngr_struct *s;
+	int find = 0;
+
+	LIST_FOREACH(s, &vmmngr_head, list) {
+		printf("%s\t\t%s\n", s->name, state_str[s->state]);
+		find++;
+	}
+
+	if (!find)
+		printf("There are no VMs\n");
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int start_vm(char *vmname)
+{
+	char cmd[128];
+
+	snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), "bash %s/add/%s.sh $(cat %s/add/%s.args)",
+		 ACRNCTL_OPT_ROOT, vmname, ACRNCTL_OPT_ROOT, vmname);
+
+	return system(cmd);
+}
+
+int stop_vm(char *vmname)
+{
+	struct req_dm_stop req;
+	struct ack_dm_stop ack;
+
+	req.msg.magic = MNGR_MSG_MAGIC;
+	req.msg.msgid = DM_STOP;
+	req.msg.timestamp = time(NULL);
+	req.msg.len = sizeof(req);
+
+	send_msg(vmname, (struct mngr_msg *)&req,
+		       (struct mngr_msg *)&ack, sizeof(ack));
+	if (ack.err) {
+		printf("Error happens when try to stop vm. errno(%d)\n",
+			ack.err);
+	}
+
+	return ack.err;
+}
diff --git a/tools/acrn-manager/acrnctl.c b/tools/acrn-manager/acrnctl.c
index 78a3b8d6e..01d203e33 100644
--- a/tools/acrn-manager/acrnctl.c
+++ b/tools/acrn-manager/acrnctl.c
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@
 #include <sys/socket.h>
 #include <sys/un.h>
 #include "acrn_mngr.h"
+#include "acrnctl.h"
 
 #define ACRNCTL_OPT_ROOT	"/opt/acrn/conf"
-#define MAX_NAME_LEN            (128)
 
 #define ACMD(CMD,FUNC,DESC, VALID_ARGS) \
 {.cmd = CMD, .func = FUNC, .desc = DESC, .valid_args = VALID_ARGS}
@@ -41,166 +41,12 @@ struct acrnctl_cmd {
 	int (*valid_args) (struct acrnctl_cmd * cmd, int argc, char *argv[]);
 };
 
-/* helper functions */
-static int shell_cmd(const char *cmd, char *outbuf, int len)
-{
-	FILE *ptr;
-	char cmd_buf[256];
-	int ret;
-
-	if (!outbuf)
-		return system(cmd);
-
-	memset(cmd_buf, 0, sizeof(cmd_buf));
-	memset(outbuf, 0, len);
-	snprintf(cmd_buf, sizeof(cmd_buf), "%s 2>&1", cmd);
-	ptr = popen(cmd_buf, "re");
-	if (!ptr)
-		return -1;
-
-	ret = fread(outbuf, 1, len, ptr);
-	pclose(ptr);
-
-	return ret;
-}
-
-static void process_msg(struct mngr_msg *msg)
-{
-	if (msg->len < sizeof(*msg))
-		return;
-
-	switch (msg->msgid) {
-	case MSG_STR:
-		printf("%s\n", msg->payload);
-		break;
-	default:
-		printf("Unknown msgid(%d) received\n", msg->msgid);
-	}
-}
-
-/* vm states data and helper functions */
-
-#define ACRN_DM_SOCK_ROOT	"/run/acrn/mngr"
-
-struct vmm_struct {
-	char name[MAX_NAME_LEN];
-	unsigned long state;
-	LIST_ENTRY(vmm_struct) list;
-};
-
-enum vm_state {
-	VM_STATE_UNKNOWN = 0,
-	VM_CREATED,		/* VM created / awaiting start (boot) */
-	VM_STARTED,		/* VM started (booted) */
-	VM_PAUSED,		/* VM paused */
-	VM_UNTRACKED,		/* VM not created by acrnctl, or its launch script can change vm name */
-};
-
-static const char *state_str[] = {
-	[VM_STATE_UNKNOWN] = "unknown",
-	[VM_CREATED] = "stopped",
-	[VM_STARTED] = "started",
-	[VM_PAUSED] = "paused",
-	[VM_UNTRACKED] = "untracked",
-};
-
-static LIST_HEAD(vmm_list_struct, vmm_struct) vmm_head;
-
-static struct vmm_struct *vmm_list_add(char *name)
-{
-	struct vmm_struct *s;
-
-	s = calloc(1, sizeof(struct vmm_struct));
-	if (!s) {
-		perror("alloc vmm_struct");
-		return NULL;
-	}
-
-	strncpy(s->name, name, MAX_NAME_LEN - 1);
-	LIST_INSERT_HEAD(&vmm_head, s, list);
-
-	return s;
-}
-
-static struct vmm_struct *vmm_find(char *name)
-{
-	struct vmm_struct *s;
-
-	LIST_FOREACH(s, &vmm_head, list)
-		if (!strcmp(name, s->name))
-			return s;
-	return NULL;
-}
-
-static void vmm_update(void)
-{
-	char cmd[128] = { };
-	char cmd_out[256] = { };
-	char *vmname;
-	char *pvmname = NULL;
-	struct vmm_struct *s;
-	size_t len = sizeof(cmd_out);
-
-	snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd),
-		 "find %s/add/ -name \"*.sh\" | "
-		 "sed \"s/\\/opt\\/acrn\\/conf\\/add\\///g\" | "
-		 "sed \"s/.sh//g\"", ACRNCTL_OPT_ROOT);
-	shell_cmd(cmd, cmd_out, sizeof(cmd_out));
-
-	/* Properly null-terminate cmd_out */
-	cmd_out[len - 1] = '\0';
-
-	vmname = strtok_r(cmd_out, "\n", &pvmname);
-	while (vmname) {
-		s = vmm_list_add(vmname);
-		if (!s)
-			continue;
-		s->state = VM_CREATED;
-		vmname = strtok_r(NULL, "\n", &pvmname);
-	}
-
-	pvmname = NULL;
-
-	snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd),
-			"find %s/ -name \"*monitor.*.socket\" | "
-			"sed \"s/\\/run\\/acrn\\/mngr\\///g\" | "
-			"awk -F. \'{ print $1 }\'", ACRN_DM_SOCK_ROOT);
-	shell_cmd(cmd, cmd_out, sizeof(cmd_out));
-
-	/* Properly null-terminate cmd_out */
-	cmd_out[len - 1] = '\0';
-
-	vmname = strtok_r(cmd_out, "\n", &pvmname);
-	while (vmname) {
-		s = vmm_find(vmname);
-		if (s)
-			s->state = VM_STARTED;
-		else {
-			s = vmm_list_add(vmname);
-			if (s)
-				s->state = VM_UNTRACKED;
-		}
-		vmname = strtok_r(NULL, "\n", &pvmname);
-	}
-}
-
 /* There are acrnctl cmds */
 /* command: list */
 static int acrnctl_do_list(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	struct vmm_struct *s;
-	int find = 0;
-
-	vmm_update();
-	LIST_FOREACH(s, &vmm_head, list) {
-		printf("%s\t\t%s\n", s->name, state_str[s->state]);
-		find++;
-	}
-
-	if (!find)
-		printf("There are no VMs\n");
-
-	return 0;
+	get_vm_list();
+	return list_vm();
 }
 
 static int check_name(const char *name)
@@ -283,7 +129,7 @@ static int write_tmp_file(int fd, int n, char *word[])
 
 static int acrnctl_do_add(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	struct vmm_struct *s;
+	struct vmmngr_struct *s;
 	int fd, fd_tmp, ret = 0;
 	char *buf;
 	char *word[MAX_WORD], *line;
@@ -419,8 +265,8 @@ static int acrnctl_do_add(int argc, char *argv[])
 	snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), "mkdir -p %s/add", ACRNCTL_OPT_ROOT);
 	system(cmd);
 
-	vmm_update();
-	s = vmm_find(vmname);
+	get_vm_list();
+	s = vmmngr_find(vmname);
 	if (s) {
 		printf("%s(%s) already exist, can't add %s%s\n",
 		       vmname, state_str[s->state], argv[1], args);
@@ -462,78 +308,14 @@ static int acrnctl_do_add(int argc, char *argv[])
 	return ret;
 }
 
-/* command: stop */
-static int send_stop_msg(char *vmname)
-{
-	int fd, ret;
-	struct sockaddr_un addr;
-	struct mngr_msg msg;
-	struct timeval timeout;
-	fd_set rfd, wfd;
-	char buf[128];
-
-	fd = socket(AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
-	if (fd < 0) {
-		printf("%s %d\n", __FUNCTION__, __LINE__);
-		ret = -1;
-		goto sock_err;
-	}
-
-	addr.sun_family = AF_UNIX;
-	snprintf(addr.sun_path, sizeof(addr.sun_path), "%s/%s-monitor.socket",
-		 ACRN_DM_SOCK_ROOT, vmname);
-
-	ret = connect(fd, (struct sockaddr *)&addr, sizeof(addr));
-	if (ret < 0) {
-		printf("%s %d\n", __FUNCTION__, __LINE__);
-		goto connect_err;
-	}
-
-	msg.magic = MNGR_MSG_MAGIC;
-	msg.msgid = DM_STOP;
-	msg.len = sizeof(msg);
-
-	timeout.tv_sec = 1;	/* wait 1 second for read/write socket */
-	timeout.tv_usec = 0;
-	FD_ZERO(&rfd);
-	FD_ZERO(&wfd);
-	FD_SET(fd, &rfd);
-	FD_SET(fd, &wfd);
-
-	select(fd + 1, NULL, &wfd, NULL, &timeout);
-
-	if (!FD_ISSET(fd, &wfd)) {
-		printf("%s %d\n", __FUNCTION__, __LINE__);
-		goto cant_write;
-	}
-
-	ret = write(fd, &msg, sizeof(msg));
-
-	/* wait response */
-	select(fd + 1, &rfd, NULL, NULL, &timeout);
-
-	if (FD_ISSET(fd, &rfd)) {
-		memset(buf, 0, sizeof(buf));
-		ret = read(fd, buf, sizeof(buf));
-		if (ret <= sizeof(buf))
-			process_msg((void *)&buf);
-	}
-
- cant_write:
- connect_err:
-	close(fd);
- sock_err:
-	return ret;
-}
-
 static int acrnctl_do_stop(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	struct vmm_struct *s;
+	struct vmmngr_struct *s;
 	int i;
 
-	vmm_update();
+	get_vm_list();
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
-		s = vmm_find(argv[i]);
+		s = vmmngr_find(argv[i]);
 		if (!s) {
 			printf("can't find %s\n", argv[i]);
 			continue;
@@ -543,7 +325,7 @@ static int acrnctl_do_stop(int argc, char *argv[])
 			       state_str[s->state]);
 			continue;
 		}
-		send_stop_msg(argv[i]);
+		stop_vm(argv[i]);
 	}
 
 	return 0;
@@ -552,13 +334,13 @@ static int acrnctl_do_stop(int argc, char *argv[])
 /* command: delete */
 static int acrnctl_do_del(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	struct vmm_struct *s;
+	struct vmmngr_struct *s;
 	int i;
 	char cmd[128];
 
-	vmm_update();
+	get_vm_list();
 	for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
-		s = vmm_find(argv[i]);
+		s = vmmngr_find(argv[i]);
 		if (!s) {
 			printf("can't find %s\n", argv[i]);
 			continue;
@@ -581,11 +363,10 @@ static int acrnctl_do_del(int argc, char *argv[])
 
 static int acrnctl_do_start(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	struct vmm_struct *s;
-	char cmd[128];
+	struct vmmngr_struct *s;
 
-	vmm_update();
-	s = vmm_find(argv[1]);
+	get_vm_list();
+	s = vmmngr_find(argv[1]);
 	if (!s) {
 		printf("can't find %s\n", argv[1]);
 		return -1;
@@ -596,10 +377,7 @@ static int acrnctl_do_start(int argc, char *argv[])
 		return -1;
 	}
 
-	snprintf(cmd, sizeof(cmd), "bash %s/add/%s.sh $(cat %s/add/%s.args)",
-		 ACRNCTL_OPT_ROOT, argv[1], ACRNCTL_OPT_ROOT, argv[1]);
-
-	system(cmd);
+	start_vm(argv[1]);
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/tools/acrn-manager/acrnctl.h b/tools/acrn-manager/acrnctl.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..df117d64a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/acrn-manager/acrnctl.h
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2018 Intel Corporation
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+ */
+
+#ifndef _ACRNCTL_H_
+#define _ACRNCTL_H_
+
+#include <sys/queue.h>
+
+#define ACRNCTL_OPT_ROOT        "/opt/acrn/conf"
+#define ACRN_DM_SOCK_ROOT       "/run/acrn/mngr"
+
+#define MAX_NAME_LEN            (16)
+
+enum vm_state {
+	VM_STATE_UNKNOWN = 0,
+	VM_CREATED,		/* VM created / awaiting start (boot) */
+	VM_STARTED,		/* VM started (booted) */
+	VM_PAUSED,		/* VM paused */
+	VM_UNTRACKED,		/* VM not created by acrnctl, or its launch script can change vm name */
+};
+
+static const char *state_str[] = {
+	[VM_STATE_UNKNOWN] = "unknown",
+	[VM_CREATED] = "stopped",
+	[VM_STARTED] = "started",
+	[VM_PAUSED] = "paused",
+	[VM_UNTRACKED] = "untracked",
+};
+
+/**
+ * @brief search all vm and store it in vmmngr_head
+ */
+void get_vm_list(void);
+
+/**
+ * @brief search vm indentified by vm from vmmngr_head
+ *
+ * @return vmmngr_struct * if find, NULL not find
+ */
+struct vmmngr_struct *vmmngr_find(char *vmname);
+
+/* Per-vm vm managerment struct */
+struct vmmngr_struct {
+	char name[MAX_NAME_LEN];
+	unsigned long state;
+	LIST_ENTRY(vmmngr_struct) list;
+};
+
+int shell_cmd(const char *cmd, char *outbuf, int len);
+
+/* vm life cycle ops */
+int list_vm(void);
+int stop_vm(char *vmname);
+int start_vm(char *vmname);
+
+#endif				/* _ACRNCTL_H_ */