Suspending multiple virtual machines executed simultaneously a hypervisor a data processing system, including: sending, by a control instance, a request to the hypervisor to suspend virtual machines at a given future first point in time; the hypervisor determining if its virtual machines can be suspended at the first point in time, and, if the suspending is possible, returning a suspend handle to the control instance and storing the suspend handle, otherwise returning an invalid handle; when receiving a suspend handle from the hypervisor in return to the request to suspend virtual machines, the control instance sending a suspend command to the hypervisor, wherein the respective suspend handle is provided to the corresponding hypervisor; the hypervisor determining if the received suspend handle is equal to its stored handle and, if yes, suspending its virtual machines at the first point in time.