diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/ignore-start-if-running-c9a8f6c0514624a1.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/ignore-start-if-running-c9a8f6c0514624a1.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6004c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/ignore-start-if-running-c9a8f6c0514624a1.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    Ignores instance "start" command if instance appears to be running. This
+    helps preserving backward-compatible behaviour, as previous implementation
+    has required the user to explicitly "start" enabled instances. With current
+    virtualbmc, only the master process needs to be started.
diff --git a/virtualbmc/manager.py b/virtualbmc/manager.py
index 974a081..0994562 100644
--- a/virtualbmc/manager.py
+++ b/virtualbmc/manager.py
@@ -286,8 +286,14 @@ class VirtualBMCManager(object):
             return 1, str(ex)
 
         if domain_name in self._running_domains:
-            return 1, ('BMC instance %(domain)s '
-                       'already running' % {'domain': domain_name})
+
+            self._sync_vbmc_states()
+
+            if domain_name in self._running_domains:
+                LOG.warning(
+                    'BMC instance %(domain)s already running, ignoring '
+                    '"start" command' % {'domain': domain_name})
+                return 0, ''
 
         try:
             self._vbmc_enabled(domain_name,