Channel Definition for Custom Packet Sniffing or Netflow Sensors Under PRTG Network Monitor 7, 8, or 9

When adding Custom Netflow sensors or Custom Packet Sniffing sensors in PRTG Network Monitor 7, you will notice a field entitled "Channel Definition". In this field you need to provide the channel definitions in the following manner (one entry per channel):

#<id>:<Name>
<Rule>

For example:

#5:HTTP
Protocol[TCP] and
(SourcePort[80] or DestinationPort[80] or SourcePort[8080] or
DestinationPort[8080])

• the <id> needs to be 1 or greater and must be unique for the sensor (i.e. each channel definition must have a unique id)
• the <id> is linked to the historic data: as soon as the ID has been changed, the history for this particular channel is lost
• a rule can span multiple lines
• the next rule starts with a # as first character in a line
• <name> is the channel's display name
• the rules are processed top to bottom (the number doesn't matter) and the data is accounted to the first match
• one "other" channel is added automatically
• behind the name a optional [<unit>] can be used to override the automatic unit based on the source sensors

For the specific rule syntax please see What filter rules can be used for custom Packet Sniffing or xFlow (NetFlow/sFlow) sensors?

Since data is accounted to the first match make sure to start with the most specific rule at the top getting less specific to the bottom.

Recommendation: Write the rule list in an external editor and paste it into the respective PRTG field. Otherwise, if the rules contain an error, the entries will be removed when adding the rules in case!

Channel definition example for differentiating by protocol:

#1:TCP
Protocol[TCP]

#2:UDP
Protocol[UDP]

#3:ICMP
Protocol[ICMP]

See also

• Can I add custom channels to Packet Sniffer and NetFlow sensors?
• Custom Netflow Sensor - Why do my Channel definitions fail to register