<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Device Settings
On a device's details page, click on the Settings tab to change settings.
The Add Device dialog appears when adding a new device to a group. It only shows the setting fields that are imperative for creating the device. Therefore, you will not see all setting fields in this dialog. For example, the Device Status option is not available in this step.
You can change all settings in the device's Settings tab later.
The following settings are available in the Settings tab of every device. As you may not need all of these for every device, just regard those settings you really need, ignoring the others.
We recommend defining as many settings as possible in the Root group, so you can inherit them to all other objects further down in the tree hierarchy.
For device settings, there is also multi-edit available. This enables you to change properties of many devices at a time. For more details, please see Multi-Edit Lists section.
Note: This documentation refers to the PRTG System Administrator user accessing the Ajax interface on a master node. For other user accounts, interfaces, or nodes, not all of the options might be available as described. When using a cluster installation, failover nodes are read-only by default.
Basic Device Settings |
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Device Name |
Enter a meaningful name to identify the device. The name will be shown by default in the device tree and in all alarms. |
Status |
Choose if monitoring for this device is started or paused.
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IP Version |
Define which IP protocol PRTG will use to connect to this device. The setting is valid for all sensors created on this device. Choose between:
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IP Address/DNS Name |
Enter the IP address (either v4 or v6, depending on your selection above) or DNS name for the device. Most sensors created on this device will inherit this setting and they will try to connect to this address for monitoring. (However, some sensor types still have their own setting for IP address/DNS name.) |
Parent Tags |
Shows Tags that this device inherits from its parent group and probe. This setting is shown for your information only and cannot be changed here. |
Tags |
Enter one or more Tags. Confirm each tag by hitting space, comma, or enter key. You can use tags to group sensors and use tag–filtered views later on. Tags are not case sensitive. We recommend that you use the default value. You can add additional tags to it, if you like. |
Priority |
Select a priority for the sensor. This setting determines where the sensor will be placed in sensor lists. Top priority will be at the top of a list. You can choose from one star (low priority) to five stars (top priority). |
Additional Device Information |
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Device Icon |
Choose a device icon from the list. It will be shown in the device tree. For information on how to add your custom icons, please see the link in the More section below. |
Service URL |
Specify a URL you would like to open directly when choosing Device Tools | Go To Service URL from the device's context menu. For example, you can configure this option to call the address http://www.example.com/service.html. Enter a valid URL or leave the field empty. |
Device Type |
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Sensor Management |
Select which type of auto-discovery you would like to perform for this device. Choose between:
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Discovery Schedule |
This option is only visible if one of the auto-discovery options is selected above. Define when the auto-discovery will be run. Choose between:
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Device Template(s) |
This option is only visible if using specific device templates (last option) is enabled above. Please choose one or more templates by adding a check mark in front of the respective template name. You can also select and deselect all items by using the check box in the table head. These will be used for auto-discovery on the current device. Choose from:
Once the auto-discovery is finished, PRTG will create a new ticket and list the device templates which were actually used to create new sensors. Templates which were not applied will not be shown in the ticket. |
By default, all following settings are inherited from objects higher in the hierarchy and should be changed there, if necessary. Often, best practice is to change them centrally in the Root group's settings. To change a setting only for this object, disable inheritance by clicking on the check mark before the corresponding setting name. You will then see the options described below.
Location |
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Location (for geo maps) |
When using geo maps using Google's API please enter a location in the first line. Objects will then be displayed on a geographical map with a flag, showing the current status using a color code similar to the sensor status icons (green - yellow - orange - red). You can enter a full postal address, city and country only, or latitude and longitude. It is possible to enter any text before, between, and after the coordinates, PRTG will parse latitude and longitude automatically; for example: 49.452778 11.077778 or enter 49.452778 any 11.077778 text A minus sign (-) in the first line will hide an object from geo maps. In this case you can enter location information in line two and following. You can define a specific label for each location: enter a string denoting the label in the first line and provide geo coordinates in the second line. This object will be displayed then with the label in PRTG's geo map. |
Credentials for Windows Systems |
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Domain or Computer Name |
Define the authority for Windows access. This is used for Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and other Windows sensors. If you want to use a Windows local user account on the target device, please enter the computer name here. If you want to use a Windows domain user account (recommended), please enter the (Active Directory) domain name here. If not explicitly defined, PRTG will automatically add a prefix in order to use the NT LAN Manager (NTLM) protocol. Please do not leave this field empty. |
Username |
Enter the username for Windows access. Usually, you will use credentials with administrator privileges. |
Password |
Enter the password for Windows access. Usually, you will use credentials with administrator privileges. |
Credentials for Linux/Solaris/Mac OS (SSH/WBEM) Systems |
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Username |
Enter a login name for the access via SSH and WBEM. Usually, you will use credentials with administrator privileges. |
Login |
Define which authentication method will be used for login. Choose between:
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Password |
This field is only visible if password login is selected above. Enter a password for the Linux access via SSH and WBEM. Usually, you will use credentials with administrator privileges. |
Private Key |
This field is only visible if private key login is selected above. Paste a private key into the field (OpenSSH format, unencrypted). Usually, you will use credentials with administrator privileges. Note: If you do not insert a private key for the first time, but change the private key, you need to restart your PRTG core server service in order for the private key change to take effect! For details, please see Monitoring via SSH. |
For WBEM Use Protocol |
Define the protocol that will be used for WBEM. This setting is only relevant when using WBEM sensors. Choose between:
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For WBEM Use Port |
Define the port that will be used for WBEM. This setting is only relevant when using WBEM sensors. Choose between:
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WBEM Port |
This setting is only visible if manual port selection is enabled above. Enter the WBEM port number. |
SSH Port |
Define the port number which will be used for SSH connections. Note: By default, this setting is automatically used for all SSH sensors, unless you define a different port number in the sensor settings. |
SSH Rights Elevation |
Define with which rights the command will be executed on the target system. Choose between:
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Target Username |
This field is only visible if sudo or su is enabled above. Enter a username to run the specified command as another user than root. If you leave this field empty, the command will be run as root. Ensure that you set the Linux password even you use a public/private key for authentication. This is not necessary if the user is allowed to execute the command without a password. |
Password Target User |
This field is only visible if su is enabled above. Enter the password for the specified target user. |
Credentials for VMware/XenServer |
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User |
Enter a login name for access to VMware and XEN servers. Usually, you will use credentials with administrator privileges. |
Password |
Enter a password for access to VMware and XEN servers. Usually, you will use credentials with administrator privileges. |
VMware Protocol |
Define the protocol used for the connection to VMware and XenServer. Choose between:
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Credentials for SNMP Devices |
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SNMP Version |
Select the SNMP version that will be used for device connection. Choose between:
Note for SNMP v3: Due to internal limitations you can only monitor a limited number of sensors per second using SNMP v3. The limit is somewhere between 1 and 50 sensors per second (depending on the SNMP latency of your network). This means that using an interval of 60 seconds you are limited to between 60 and 3000 SNMP v3 sensors for each probe. If you experience an increased "Interval Delay" or "Open Requests" reading of the probe health sensor, you need to distribute the load over multiple probes. SNMP v1 and v2 do not have this limitation. |
Community String |
This setting is only visible if SNMP version v1 or v2c are enabled above. Enter the community string of your devices. This is a kind of "clear-text password" used for simple authentication. We recommend that you use the default value. |
Authentication Type |
This setting is only visible if SNMP version v3 is enabled above. Choose between:
The type you choose has to match the authentication type of your device. Note: If you do not want to use authentication, but you need SNMP v3, for example, because your device requires context, you can leave the field password empty. In this case, SNMP_SEC_LEVEL_NOAUTH will be used and authentication will be deactivated entirely. |
User |
This setting is only visible if SNMP version v3 is enabled above. Enter a username for secure authentication. This value has to match the username of your device. |
Password |
This setting is only visible if SNMP version v3 is enabled above. Enter a password for secure authentication. This value has to match the password of your device. |
Encryption Type |
This setting is only visible if SNMP version v3 is enabled above. Select an encryption type. Choose between:
The type you choose has to match the encryption type of your device. |
Data Encryption Key |
This setting is only visible if SNMP version v3 is enabled above. Enter an encryption key here. If you provide a key in this field, SNMP data packets will be encrypted using the encryption algorithm selected above, providing increased security. The key provided here has to match the encryption key of your device. Note: If the key entered in this field does not match the key configured on the target SNMP device, you will not get an error message! Please enter a string or leave the field empty. |
Context Name |
This setting is only visible if SNMP version v3 is enabled above. Enter a context name only if it is required by the configuration of the device. Context is a collection of management information accessible by an SNMP device. Please enter a string. |
SNMP Port |
Enter the port used for SNMP communication. We recommend that you use the default value. |
SNMP Timeout (sec.) |
Enter a timeout in seconds for the request. If the reply takes longer than the value you enter here, the request is aborted and an error message is triggered. |
Credentials for Database Management Systems |
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The settings you define in this section apply to the following sensors: |
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For Databases Use Port |
Define which ports PRTG will use for connections to the monitored databases. Choose between:
If you choose the automatic port selection, PRTG uses the following default ports:
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Port |
Enter the number of the port that PRTG will use for database connections. Please enter an integer value. Note: All your database sensors will use this port to connect! |
Authentication |
Select the authentication method for the connection to the SQL database. Choose between:
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User |
This field is only visible if you select SQL server authentication above. Enter the username for the database connection. |
Password |
This field is only visible if you selected SQL server authentication above. Enter the password for the database connection. |
Timeout (Sec.) |
Enter a timeout in seconds for the request. Please enter an integer value. If the reply takes longer than this value defines, the sensor cancels the request and triggers an error message. The maximum timeout value is 300 seconds (15 minutes). |
Windows Compatibility Options |
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When experiencing problems while monitoring via Windows sensors, you can set some compatibility options for trouble shooting. |
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Preferred Data Source |
Define the method Windows sensors will use to query data. This setting is valid only for hybrid sensors offering performance counter and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) technology. The setting will be ignored for all other sensors! Choose between:
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Timeout Method |
Specify the time the sensor will wait for the return of its WMI query before aborting it with an error message. Choose between:
We recommend that you use the default value. Only if you experience ongoing timeout errors, try increasing the timeout value. |
Timeout Value (Sec.) |
This field is only visible if the manual timeout method is selected above. Specify the time the sensor will wait for the return of its WMI query before aborting with an error message. Please enter an integer value. |
SNMP Compatibility Options |
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When experiencing problems while monitoring via Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) sensors, you can set some compatibility options for trouble shooting. |
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SNMP Delay (ms) |
Add a time in milliseconds that will be waited between two SNMP requests. This can help increase device compatibility. Please enter an integer value. We recommend that you use the default value. If you experience SNMP connection failures, please increase it. You can define a delay between 0 and 100, higher delays are not supported and will be discarded. |
Failed Requests |
Define if an SNMP sensor will try again after a request fails.
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Overflow Values |
Define how PRTG will handle overflow values. Some devices do not handle internal buffer overflows correctly. This can cause false peaks.
We recommend that you use the default value. If you experience problems, change this option. |
Zero Values |
Define how PRTG will handle zero values. Some devices send incorrect zero values. This can cause false peaks.
We recommend that you use the default value. If you experience problems, change this option. |
32-bit/64-bit Counters |
Define which kind of traffic counters PRTG will search for on a device.
We recommend that you use the default value. If you experience problems, change this option. |
Request Mode |
Define which kind of request method PRTG uses for SNMP sensors.
We recommend that you use the default value. If you experience problems, change this option. |
Port Name Template |
Define how the name of SNMP sensors created on a device will be put together. Enter a template using several variables. When adding new sensors, PRTG scans the interface for available counters at certain OIDs. At each OID usually several fields are available with interface descriptions. They are different for every device/OID. PRTG will use the information in these fields to name the sensors. If a field is empty or not available, an empty string is added to the name. As default, ([port]) [ifalias] is set as port name template, which will create a name such as (001) Ethernet1, for example. You can use any field names available at a certain OID of your device, among which are:
Combine them as you like to obtain suitable sensor names. See the More section below for more information about SNMP sensor names. |
Port Name Update |
Define how PRTG will react if you change port names in your physical device (e.g. a switch or router). Choose between:
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Port Identification |
Define which field will be used for SNMP interface identification. Choose between:
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Start Port |
For SNMP Traffic sensors, define at which port number PRTG will start to create sensors. Use 0 for automatic. We recommend that you use the default value. |
End Port |
For SNMP Traffic sensors, define at which port number PRTG will stop to create sensors. Use 0 for automatic. We recommend that you use the default value. |
SNMP Debug Log |
Define if you want to create an SNMP log file for debugging purposes. This is only recommended for debugging low level SNMP issues. Choose between:
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Proxy Settings for HTTP Sensors |
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HTTP Proxy Settings |
The proxy settings determine how a sensor connects to a given URL. You can enter data for a proxy server that will be used when connecting via HTTP or HTTPS. Note: This setting is valid for the monitoring only and determines the behavior of sensors. In order to change proxy settings for the core server, please see System Administration—Core & Probes. |
Name |
Enter the IP address or DNS name of the proxy server to use. If you leave this field empty, no proxy will be used. |
Port |
Enter the port number of the proxy. Often, port 8080 is used. Please enter an integer value. |
User |
If the proxy requires authentication, enter the username for the proxy login. Note: Only basic authentication is available! Please enter a string or leave the field empty. |
Password |
If the proxy requires authentication, enter the password for the proxy login. Note: Only basic authentication is available! Please enter a string or leave the field empty. |
Scanning Interval |
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Scanning Interval |
Select a scanning interval (seconds, minutes, or hours) from the list. The scanning interval determines the time the sensor waits between two scans. You can change the available intervals in the system administration. |
When a Sensor Reports an Error |
Define the number of scanning intervals that a sensor has time to report an error before the sensor will be set to a Down status. The sensor can try to reach a device several times, depending on the setup you can specify here, to help avoid false alarms if the monitored device has only temporary issues. For previous scanning intervals with failed requests, the sensor will show a Warning status. Choose between:
Note: Sensors that monitor via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) always wait at least one scanning interval until they show an error. It is not possible to set a WMI sensor "down" immediately, so the first option will not apply to these sensor types (all other options can apply). Note: If a sensor has defined error limits for channels, this sensor will always be set to a Down status immediately, so no "wait" option will apply. Note: If a channel uses lookup values, the sensor will always be set to a Down status immediately, so no "wait" options will apply. |
Cluster Usage |
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Scanning Distribution |
This box is only visible if you're running a PRTG cluster. Sometimes you want to exclude a certain node from monitoring the sensors running on this probe, group, or device, for example, if a device is not reachable from every node configured in your cluster. In the list of cluster nodes, please select the nodes that will not be included in sensor scans. By default, this setting is inherited to all objects underneath. |
Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window |
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Note: Inheritance for schedules, dependencies, and maintenance windows cannot be interrupted; the according settings from the parent objects will always be active. However, you can define additional settings here. They will be active in parallel to the parent objects' settings. |
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Schedule |
Select a schedule from the list. Schedules can be used to pause monitoring for a certain time span (days, hours) throughout the week. You can create new schedules and edit existing ones in the account settings. Note: Schedules are generally inherited. New schedules will be added to existing ones, so all schedules are active. |
Maintenance Window |
Specify if you want to set-up a one-time maintenance window. During a maintenance window this object and all child objects will not be monitored. They will enter a paused state then. Choose between:
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Maintenance Begins At |
This field is only visible if maintenance window is enabled above. Use the date time picker to enter the start date and time of the maintenance window. |
Maintenance Ends At |
This field is only visible if maintenance window is enabled above. Use the date time picker to enter the end date and time of the maintenance window. |
Dependency Type |
Define a dependency type. Dependencies can be used to pause monitoring for an object depending on the status of another. You can choose between:
Note: Testing your dependencies is easy! Simply choose Simulate Error Status from the context menu of an object that other objects depend on. A few seconds later all dependent objects should be paused. You can check all dependencies in your PRTG installation by selecting Devices | Dependencies from the main menu bar. |
Dependency |
This field is only visible if the select object option is enabled above. Click on the reading-glass symbol and use the object selector to choose an object on which the current object will be dependent on. |
Delay (Seconds) |
Define a time span. After the master object for this dependency comes back to an Up status, monitoring of the depending objects will be additionally delayed by the defined time span. This can help avoid false alarms, for example, after a server restart, by giving systems more time for all services to start up. Please enter an integer value in seconds. |
Access Rights |
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User Group Access |
Define which user group(s) will have access to the object you're editing. A table with user groups and types of access rights is shown: It contains all user groups from your setup. For each user group you can choose from the following access rights:
You can create new user groups in the System Administration—User Groups settings. To automatically set all objects further down in the hierarchy to inherit this object's access rights, set a check mark for the Revert children's access rights to inherited option. For more details on access rights, please see the section User Access Rights. |
Channel Unit Configuration |
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Channel Unit Types |
For each type of sensor channel, define the unit in which data is displayed. If defined on probe, group, or device level, these settings can be inherited to all sensors underneath. You can set units for the following channel types (if available):
Note: Custom channel types can be set on sensor level only. |
Automatic Monitoring Data Analysis |
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Unusual Detection |
Define if unusual detection is enabled for sensors. You can configure the behavior of unusual detection (or disable it completely) in the system settings.
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Similar Sensors Detection |
Define if similar sensors detection is enabled for sensors. You can configure the depth of analysis of similar sensors detection (or disable it completely) in the system settings.
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Click Save to store your settings. If you change tabs or use the main menu, all changes to the settings will be lost!
The status or the data of a sensor can trigger notifications. Using this mechanism, you can configure external alerting tailored to you needs. In an object's detail page, click on the Notifications tab to change sensor notification triggers. The defined triggers will be inherited down to sensor level. For detailed information, please see Sensor Notifications Settings section.
For more general information about settings, please see Object Settings section.
Knowledge Base: How does PRTG compute CPU Index, Traffic Index and Response Time Index?
Knowledge Base: How can I add my own device icons for use in the PRTG web interface?
Knowledge Base: How can I change the defaults for names automatically generated for new SNMP sensors?
Knowledge Base: Automatically update port name and number for SNMP Traffic sensors when the device changes them
Other Ajax Web Interface Sections |
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Keywords: Configure,Configure Device