A first message from a first state transition queue is obtained by a first task executor of a virtual machine (VM) pooling service node. The operation to be performed on the VM is triggered. Whether the operation to be performed on the VM is successfully performed is determined. If it is determined that the operation to be performed on the VM is successfully performed, a second message is placed into a second state transition queue, and the second message represents the VM that is in a transitional state, the second message is obtained by a second task executor of the VM pooling service node, and whether the VM reaches a target state is determined by performing a check on the VM. Otherwise, the first message is returned to the first state transitional queue.