Paessler Blog
Archive for Category "PRTG 8"
2011-Jun- 8
Paessler Monitors World IPv6 Day Websites
On the "World IPv6 Day", June 8th, some of the biggest sites on the Internet, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, and others, are enabling their web servers for IPv6 at the same time.
2011-Jun- 1
Paessler’s PRTG is Now Even Stronger in Monitoring of Virtual Environments
Our network monitoring software, PRTG includes 10 different sensor types specifically designed to monitor virtual systems and can provide information about the requirements for future virtual systems.
2011-May- 2
PRTG Now Supporting Pingdom Integration
With PRTG version 8.4, we present a new sensor type which can integrate Pingdom "checks" into your central network monitoring.
2011-Apr-18
Rewrite of PRTG’s Map Editor—Now Supporting Drag & Drop
With PRTG version 8.4 (download) we're excited to introduce a complete rewrite of the Map Editor allowing to create maps in your browser in even more straightforward manner! It has never been easier: Simply select an object and drop it directly onto the map!
2011-Apr-12
Hosting a Website Through Amazon CloudFront
In yesterday's post I mentioned that we are now hosting our corporate website through the Amazon Cloudfront content delivery network (CDN). Today I would like to share some observations we made while creating our new setup.
2011-Mar-28
Page Load Times of PRTG for Large Installations
We recently conducted a series of performance tests of PRTG's web interface using the built-in web page speedtest.
The following results compare the performance of Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 on the same hardware for installations with 1000, 5000, 10,000, and 20,000 sensors. Additionally we wanted to measure the effects of the "Speed Mode" switch.
2011-Mar-27
Measure the Page Load Times of Your PRTG Installation
We recently added a hidden and experimental feature that allows you to measure the page load times of your PRTG installation (it was added in version 8.3). These measurements can be quite helpful when you try to optimize your server for optimal speed. You simply run the test, make a note of the measurements, then reconfigure your server and re-run the test to get a comparative measurement.
2011-Mar-27
How to Lower Web Page Load Times of PRTG by 80%-90% in 4 Easy Steps
According to Jacob Nielsen, the usability guru for web based applications, the page load time of websites should stay below 1 second to make a website "feel fast" (see: Response Times: The 3 Important Limits, an excerpt of his book "Usability Engineering").
Of course this rule also applies to PRTG's web interface. As long as you stay below 1,000-2,000 sensors you will get page load times below 1 second on most systems. Even our super-slow netbook test installation of PRTG with 1,400 sensors (running on an Atom based DELL Inspirion Mini netbook) achieves an average page load time below 500ms.
But when your PRTG installation has several thousand sensors you can run into slow page loads even when PRTG runs on high performance hardware. Some pages of the web interface are especially problematic as far as this is concerned: Unfiltered sensor lists, log data tables, top 10 lists.
It is completely normal that a PRTG installation becomes slower with an increasing number of sensors, in fact page load times are becoming linearly slower with the number of sensors. But there are still various things that you can do to speed up PRTG. In this blog article I want to compile a list of actions you can take!
2011-Mar-24
Freeware Android App "PRTGdroid" V1.0 Released
We are happy to introduce the first version of PRTGdroid, the Android app that connects to your PRTG installation. This new app is available in the Android Market as of today and enables Android users to monitor their PRTG installation while on the go. We offer this first version for free!
2011-Mar- 8
Revisited: Monitoring CDN Services and Cloud Servers Using a Globally Distributed PRTG Cluster (March 2011)
One of our test and demo websites for PRTG is a 5-way cluster which has cluster nodes in California, Texas, Ireland, Singapore, and Australia. We use this cluster to monitor a selected set of cloud servers and CDN services for uptime and request times. See my blog post from January for more technical details about the setup.
In January we found that CacheFly CDN and Google AppEngine followed by CloudFront, Rackspace Cloudfiles and SoftlayerCDN were the best performers. Did these 5 continue to outperform the others? Let us look at the data from the last 30 days!
2011-Mar- 2
sFlow Tester: A New Testing Tool from Paessler (Freeware)
Today we released a new free testing tool for system administrators, the “sFlow Tester” which helps to analyze and debug sFlow monitoring setups. This freeware tool accepts sFlow data packets (which are usually sent by switches/routers) and displays data about it. It helps you to test the configuration of your sFlow capable routers.
Just configure a sFlow device to send data to the computer running the sFlow tester, and you can see the received packets including all important property information, such as sFlow version, IP source and version, sample and data format, or Ethernet and protocol type.
2011-Feb-16
New Languages
With version 8.3 our network monitoring software PRTG now supports English, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, Japanese, and Chinese out of the box.
2011-Feb-15
PRTG Advances Beyond 100 Types of Sensors
With version 8.3 our software, PRTG Network Monitor, now offers more than one hundred different sensor types. A total number of 112 different types of sensors enable users to monitor their networks and servers with an impressive depth. The new sensor types are:
2011-Jan-31
Billing Tool for PRTG Released as Open Source Project
Hosting companies and Managed Service Providers (MSP) not only use PRTG to monitor their networks but also to measure their clients' resource and bandwidth usage. Finally, at the end of the month, the data is used for billing purposes. There are many good reasons to build a billing component that can send invoices to customers from PRTG. But there is a major obstacle: We found that we got at least 8 different answers when we asked 10 PRTG users how they would want their billing system to work. Every billing method looks and works differently. It was obvious that we would not be able to develop a solution that would fit all needs. So we chose a different approach: We created a billing tool that can be customized by the user in every aspect imaginable: It includes a scripting interface for smaller alterations and we will also release the sources (C#/.NET) for those users that need even more flexibility. Today we are excited to announce the stand-alone billing tool application for PRTG. It is able to retrieve monitoring data through PRTG's built-in API and generate variable billing reports in the PDF format.
2011-Jan-20
Monitoring CDN Services and Cloud Servers Using a Globally Distributed PRTG Cluster
One of our test and demo websites for PRTG is a 5-way cluster which has cluster nodes in California, Texas, Ireland, Singapore, and Australia. With this cluster we are continuously monitoring 20 URLs of cloud servers and CDN services (one monitoring request every 5 minutes from each cluster node). Today I would like to share some of our results from the last 30 days.The PRTG Cluster
All measurements shown below were created using a 5-way cluster of our software PRTG Network Monitor.
The 5 cluster nodes are running on:
2011-Jan-17
PRTG 8.2 Released
After weeks of feature programming and implementing new ideas, we released a new version of PRTG. Since the final release of PRTG 8 in September, we have already added many extensions and fixes. With this new release, we additionally introduce a new database format, a massive upgrade to the auto-discovery and device template systems, new sensor types, and many other improvements. The new database can access log files, ToDos, and Toplists up to 300 times faster than previous versions. The new auto-discovery functionalities include template support for almost all devices, as well as a new way to define IP ranges for discovery. There are also three new sensor types: You can now check DHCP servers, monitor VMware disks via SSH, and monitor the traffic of Juniper jFlow-capable devices.2010-Nov-22
More Options to use iPhone Push Notifications with PRTG
iPhone Push Notifications are a fast and cost effective way to send alarms from your PRTG server to your iPhone/iPad. Due to Apple’s design of the push notification system we cannot easily implement our own push notification interface into PRTG or iPRTG. The main reason is that each PRTG user runs his own server which would need to sign up and authenticate with Apple’s servers and stay connected to them using a two-way connection (see KB article "Why is there no support for Push Notifications in PRTG and/or iPRTG?"). The whole setup would be quite complex. Fortunately there are a couple of apps for the iPhone that fill this gap. I already wrote about Prowl last year , which works fine but we heard from a couple of users that had trouble setting up the API calls between their PRTG and the Prowl servers. Recently I came across two other interesting options:2010-Nov-17
And The Winner Is...
During the beta testing phase of PRTG 8, many users tested our new software and contributed with useful hints and feature requests, and helped fixing bugs. It’s our user feedback that makes PRTG a strong and customer-oriented piece of software. Thank you to everybody who sent in feedback! Meanwhile, PRTG 8 is out and we’re very happy to get a lot of feedback from users who tell us they love it.
To say “thank you” to everybody who took part in the Beta test, we promised to raffle off a brand new iPad among the testers.
2010-Nov- 9
Consuming RESTful HTTP/XML APIs With a PRTG Sensor
With a new custom sensor (created by our friend Gerard Feijth) it is now possible to use data from REST-like APIs as sensor data in PRTG. The sensor requests data from an HTTP or HTTPS URL (using GET), parses the XML results and uses selected data from the XML as sensor value in PRTG. With this technique you can import data from many APIs into PRTG, as long as they are offering an interface that works with simple HTTP GETs and replies with XML data. Services like these are often called “REST APIs or RESTful APIs”. This type of API is becoming more and more common, PRTG's own API is a RESTful API, too. Here are a few samples what we can do with this sensor:2010-Nov- 3
Beta Testers Wanted: PRTG's Database for Logs, Todos and Toplists is Now 50-300 Times Faster
During the next weeks we will officially introduce a new database system for log entries, ToDos, and Toplists. The old system (based on SQLite) was sufficient for small to medium installations, but for installations with thousands of sensors it could cause performance bottlenecks. In the past weeks we have implemented a complete rewrite of this storage system. The new engine is up to 300 times faster when writing data and up to 100 times faster when reading data. Furthermore, the writing speed is not affected by the size of the database at all; you can now store a whole year of log data without affecting the performance—regardless of the size of your installation! This is a major breakthrough! You will be amazed at how fast log data is displayed in the web interface when browsing through the logs of the system (main menu item “Logs”) or when viewing logs of a single monitoring object.2010-Oct-27
Guess what! "Sensor" is Our Favorite Word
With PRTG 8, we have released the most extensive PRTG manual up to date. The PDF version now has more than 800 pages. It’s not that PRTG became more complicated, we just wanted to make sure that our users find instructions on how to perform all everyday tasks when working with our Network Monitor. For example, the new documentation contains details about every single sensor, every setting field, and provides many useful links to resources in our Knowledge Base.
Just out of curiosity, we created a “Wordle” for our new manual document. Wordle is an Internet based service, describing itself as “a toy for generating ‘word clouds’”. It counts the frequency of all words used in a given text and displays the result as a word cloud. Unsurprisingly, we as a monitoring company used the word “sensor” most, followed by “object,” “settings,” and “device”.
2010-Oct-17
iPRTG 2.1 Now Supports iPad Resolution and iPhone 4
iPRTG for PRTG is available in a brand new version. As a 'Universal App' it now supports iPhone, iPod, and even the iPad with its higher resolution.
iPRTG is the iPhone application for network monitoring while on the go. It enables you to quickly connect to your PRTG installation and review all monitoring results as well perform simple actions such as acknowledge alarms, pause and resume monitoring, add favorites, etc.
The new version is now available for download at iTunes store. If you have already purchased iPRTG, you can download the update for free.
2010-Sep-23
Showing up-to-date weather information, webcam images and radar images in PRTG's maps
If you are running a "dashboard" for your NOC, e.g. by using a big screen on the wall that displays PRTG monitoring information, you can also add webcam images, weather data, current radar maps and other external information. Here is a sample map which embeds various external sources with live data:
View sample map in full size
2010-Sep-22
Revisited: Don't Use Windows Vista And Windows 2008 R1 for Network Monitoring via WMI!
In June last year we published our test results for WMI monitoring performance for various combinations of Windows versions (Don't Use Windows Vista And Windows 2008 for Network Monitoring via WMI!). We found that Vista and Windows 2008 (release 1 at that time) were completely unsuitable to perform network monitoring using WMI. Our QA team recently repeated these tests, now including Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2. And the results are still the same:2010-Sep-14
Introducing the New All-In License Model
With the release of PRTG 8, Paessler takes a revolutionary step and completely simplifies its licensing model. Using our new add-on-free software product PRTG 8 you monitor your network without worrying about paying extra money for additional features. Everything is included in one license because we are confident this makes your work easier. Simply choose an installation size for your setup and benefit from the new functionalities PRTG brings to your network.
2010-Sep- 9
New Features in PRTG 8 - Part 5: New Sensor Types
While the beta test of PRTG 8 is running we are posting a series of blog articles about new features! The release date of PRTG is coming closer! In addition to many new features already mentioned in earlier posts, the new version comes with a lot of new sensor types that enable you to monitor even more devices and services. Many of them arose from user requests. Today, we want to give you an overview of these new sensor types.2010-Sep- 2
New Features in PRTG 8 - Part 5: A Little Slideshow
While the beta test of PRTG 8 is running we are posting a series of blog articles about new features! In the last blog entries, a lot of new features have already been introduced. To give you an extensive insight into the new Ajax web interface, we've compiled a series of screenshots so you can directly dive into the new look & feel of PRTG.
2010-Aug-16
New Features in PRTG 8 - Part 4: New Graph Types
While the beta test of PRTG 8 is running we are posting a series of blog articles about new features!
One frequently requested feature was the possibility to show filled and stacked graphs. Here you go: With PRTG 8, we introduce an optional new appearance for our data graphs! You can now set graphs to be “filled” or “stacked”, and you can even display data using the positive/negative y-axis, which is quite handy for showing traffic in and traffic out in one graph.
The new graph types can be used when displaying live data as well as when generating reports. See some examples below. By the way, you can find the radio buttons to enable these features in the system settings and the sensor settings.
2010-Aug-10
Vintage Browsers and PRTG: Why We Do Not Support IE6/IE7 Any More
There is an obvious trend for application design nowadays: Everybody wants web based applications! They offer three big advantages: 1. web based applications only require a web browser on the end-users’ computers 2. usage is, in most cases, easy to learn 3. they can be centrally managed by the administrators We anticipated this trend in 2006 when we designed the architecture of PRTG 7 which completely relies on a web based user interface.2010-Aug- 4
News from the PRTG Community
Enabling its users to write their own custom sensors, PRTG offers a powerful option to extend existing network monitoring to make it even more convenient. Although PRTG offers out-of-the-box monitoring for a huge variety of devices and systems, sometimes system administrators have special requirements in very specific setups. These can be met using own script or EXE files that can be easily integrated in the central monitoring solution.Sensors at Google Code Project
At a Google Code Project Hosting website for PRTG7 Add-ons, users share their home-made scripts and EXE files that can be used as PRTG sensors. For example, one of our most active users, Gerard Feijth, released several custom sensors during the last months, all implementing features which users had asked for in the Paessler Knowledge Base:2010-Aug- 3
New Features in PRTG 8 - Part 3: Introducing "The PRTG Cluster"
While the beta test of PRTG 8 is running we are posting a series of blog articles about new features! With version 8, we introduce a completely new and up-to-date feature: PRTG’s failover clustering. It is included in all licenses and enables you to set up a fail-safe monitoring system with seamless data—no more data gaps when a system crashes or when you have to restart your server (not even a software upgrade of PRTG will stop monitoring). I want to give you a little insight into what our clustering does and how to configure it easily.Simple Failover Cluster
The most common setup is two PRTG servers running “side-by-side” in a single failover cluster. The first node is the Master Node and is responsible for the configuration, management, alerting, and reporting. If this PRTG instance should fail, e.g. due to a server crash or connectivity issues, the second node (i.e. the Failover Node) takes over the master role and continues the monitoring until the original Master Node is back online.
2010-Jul-27
New Features in PRTG 8 - Part 2: New Native Linux and Mac OS Sensors
While the beta test of PRTG 8 is running we are posting a series of blog articles about new features! Monitoring Linux systems was already possible in earlier versions of PRTG (an “SNMP daemon”, like net-snmp had to be installed on the machines). In version 8, PRTG now monitors Linux systems using dedicated sensors supporting Linux/Unix and also Mac OS X without the need to install or change anything on the target machines.
SSH, WBEM, or SNMP
Using the technologies SSH or WBEM, PRTG requests information about CPU load, memory status or hard disks directly from the systems. When SSH is used, the data is sent via a secure connection, ensuring you do not compromise the security of your systems while transferring monitoring data via the network.2010-Jul-22
New Features in PRTG 8 - Part 1: Enhanced Web Interface
While the beta test of PRTG 8 is running we are posting a series of blog articles about new features! For version 8, we have refurbished the web interface, making it even more intuitive and easy to use. The new interface reveals a cleaner look, has seen numerous improvements (many of them were suggested by PRTG users), integrates Google Maps, and displays helpful monitoring data information on mouse over, enabling the system administrator to gain an overview of his network even more quickly.A New Look and a New Sensor Status
Flat icons and a restructured interface define the web interface of PRTG 8, which remains the vital part for the usage of PRTG for all monitoring and configuration tasks. We have kept a lot of established and popular functionalities, such as the intelligent auto-folding function in the device tree view or the arrangement of sensor information in different tabs.
2010-Jul-13
The First Public Beta of PRTG 8 Is Here
Two years and 14 days ago, on June 30th 2008, we released the last new major version: version 7 of PRTG Network Monitor. Since then PRTG has seen numerous improvements, new features and enhancements. Now, the next major version is getting close to completion. With version 8 PRTG takes another big leap forward with hundreds of improvements and many new features.Clustering and More
With this new version we introduce a unique new feature that allows PRTG users to create fail-safe, distributed monitoring systems: The "PRTG Cluster" where up to 5 PRTG instances ("nodes") work together to create a fail-safe monitoring system.
We have implemented numerous new features: