PRTG Manual: WMI Free Disk Space (Multi Disk) Sensor

The WMI Free Disk Space (Multi Disk) sensor monitors the free disk space of one or more drives via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).

i_round_blueThe sensor monitors logical partitions of a hard or fixed disk drive. PRTG identifies logical disks by their drive letter, such as C.

WMI Free Disk Space (Multi Disk) Sensor

WMI Free Disk Space (Multi Disk) Sensor

i_square_cyanFor a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.

Sensor in Other Languages

  • Dutch: WMI Vrije Schijfruimte (Multi Schijf)
  • French: Capacité disponible de multiples disques (WMI)
  • German: WMI Laufwerkskapazität (mehrf.)
  • Japanese: WMI ディスク空き領域(複数ドライブ)
  • Portuguese: Espaço livre em disco (vários discos) (WMI)
  • Russian: Свободное дисковое пространство WMI (на нескольких дисках)
  • Simplified Chinese: WMI 磁盘可用空间 (多个磁盘)
  • Spanish: Espacio libre en disco (discos múltiples) (WMI)

Remarks

  • This sensor has a high performance impact. Stay below 200 WMI sensors per probe. Above this number, consider using multiple remote probes for load balancing.
  • This sensor requires WoW64 (Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit) for target systems that run Windows Server 2016.
  • This sensor requires credentials for Windows systems in the settings of the parent device.
  • This sensor supports IPv6.

i_podYou cannot add this sensor to the hosted probe of a PRTG Hosted Monitor instance. If you want to use this sensor, add it to a remote probe device.

Basic Sensor Settings

Basic Sensor Settings

Basic Sensor Settings

Setting

Description

Sensor Name

Enter a name to identify the sensor. By default, PRTG shows this name in the device tree, as well as in alarms, logs, notifications, reports, maps, libraries, and tickets.

i_round_blueIf the name contains angle brackets (<>), PRTG replaces them with braces ({}) for security reasons. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: What security features does PRTG include?

Parent Tags

The tags that the sensor inherits from its parent device, parent group, and parent probe.

i_round_blueThis setting is for your information only. You cannot change it.

Tags

Enter one or more tags. Confirm each tag with the Spacebar key, a comma, or the Enter key. You can use tags to group objects and use tag-filtered views later on. Tags are not case-sensitive. Tags are automatically inherited.

i_round_blueIt is not possible to enter tags with a leading plus (+) or minus (-) sign, nor tags with parentheses (()) or angle brackets (<>).

i_round_blueFor performance reasons, it can take some minutes until you can filter for new tags that you added.

The sensor has the following default tags that are automatically predefined in the sensor's settings when you add the sensor:

  • diskspacesensor
  • wmidiskspacesensor

Priority

Select a priority for the sensor. This setting determines the position of the sensor in lists. The highest priority is at the top of a list. Choose from the lowest priority (i_priority_1) to the highest priority (i_priority_5).

Drive Selection

Drive Selection

Drive Selection

Setting

Description

Drives

The drives that this sensor monitors. This is either All or a specific drive letter.

Set Limits Checked for ALL Disks

In this section, you can set limits that are valid for all channels and all drives. By entering limits, you can define when the sensor shows the Warning or the Down state, depending on the data provided by all drives that this sensor monitors. If you want to individually define limits for separate channels, use the limit settings in the channel settings.

i_round_redAll limits that you define here are valid in addition to the limits defined in the particular channel settings. The limits are valid simultaneously, so the first limit that is breached applies.

Set Limits Checked for ALL Disks

Set Limits Checked for ALL Disks

Setting

Description

Percentage Limit Check

Enable or disable a limit check for the free space in percentage channels of all drives. By default, the sensor enables percentage limits with a lower warning limit and a lower error limit.

  • Only use the limits in the settings of the percentage channels: Do not define sensor limits that are valid for all percentage channels. The sensor only uses the limits that you define in the settings of the particular "free space in percent" channels to determine the state.
  • Use the limits of both the sensor and the channel settings: Define sensor limits that are valid for all percentage channels. Additional fields appear below. The sensor shows the Warning or the Down status when free space limits are above or below the limits.

Upper Error Limit

This setting is only visible if you select Use the limits of both the sensor and the channel settings above.

Specify an upper limit in percent for the Down status. If the free disk space of one of your drives exceeds this value, the sensor changes to the Down status. Enter an integer or leave the field empty.

i_round_redThe limits that you set here are valid for all channels of this sensor. You can additionally set individual limits for each channel in the channel settings. Both the limits that you set here and in the channel settings are valid simultaneously.

Upper Warning Limit

This setting is only visible if you select Use the limits of both the sensor and the channel settings above.

Specify an upper limit in percent for the Warning status. If the free disk space of one of your drives exceeds this value, the sensor changes to the Warning status. Enter an integer or leave the field empty.

i_round_redThe limits that you set here are valid for all channels of this sensor. You can additionally set individual limits for each channel in the channel settings. Both the limits that you set here and in the channel settings are valid simultaneously.

Lower Warning Limit

This setting is only visible if you select Use the limits of both the sensor and the channel settings above.

Specify a lower limit in percent for the Warning status. If the free disk space of one of your drives falls below this value, the sensor changes to the Warning status. Enter an integer or leave the field empty.

i_round_redThe limits that you set here are valid for all channels of this sensor. You can additionally set individual limits for each channel in the channel settings. Both the limits that you set here and in the channel settings are valid simultaneously.

Lower Error Limit

Specify a lower limit in percent for the Down status. If the free disk space of one of your drives falls below this value, the sensor changes to the Down status. Enter an integer or leave the field empty.

i_round_redThe limits that you set here are valid for all channels of this sensor. You can additionally set individual limits for each channel in the channel settings. Both the limits that you set here and in the channel settings are valid simultaneously.

Size Limit Check

Enable or disable a limit check for the free bytes channels of all drives:

  • Only use the limits in the settings of the byte size channels: Do not define sensor limits that are valid for all byte size channels. The sensor only uses limits that you define in the settings of the particular free space in bytes channels to determine the state.
  • Use the limits of both the sensor and the channel settings: Define limits for the sensor that are valid for all byte size channels. Additional fields appear below. The sensor shows the Warning or Down status when free space limits are above or below the value.

i_round_blueBy default, byte size limits are not enabled for drives.

Upper Error Limit

This setting is only visible if you select Use the limits of both the sensor and the channel settings above.

Specify an upper limit. Use the same unit as shown by the free bytes channels of this sensor (the default unit is MB). If the free disk space of one of your drives exceeds this value, the sensor changes to the Down status. Enter an integer or leave the field empty.

i_round_redThe limits that you set here are valid for all channels of this sensor. You can additionally set individual limits for each channel in the channel settings. Both the limits that you set here and in the channel settings are valid simultaneously.

Upper Warning Limit

This setting is only visible if you select Use the limits of both the sensor and the channel settings above.

Specify an upper limit. Use the same unit as shown by the free bytes channels of this sensor (the default unit is MB). If the free disk space of one of your drives exceeds this value, the sensor changes to the Warning status. Enter an integer or leave the field empty.

i_round_redThe limits that you set here are valid for all channels of this sensor. You can additionally set individual limits for each channel in the channel settings. Both the limits that you set here and in the channel settings are valid simultaneously.

Lower Warning Limit

This setting is only visible if you select Use the limits of both the sensor and the channel settings above.

Specify a lower limit. Use the same unit as shown by the free bytes channels of this sensor (the default unit is MB). If the free disk space of one of your drives falls below this value, the sensor changes to the Warning status. Enter an integer or leave the field empty.

i_round_redThe limits that you set here are valid for all channels of this sensor. You can additionally set individual limits for each channel in the channel settings. Both the limits that you set here and in the channel settings are valid simultaneously.

Lower Error Limit

This setting is only visible if you select Use the limits of both the sensor and the channel settings above.

Specify a lower limit. Use the same unit as shown by the free bytes channels of this sensor (the default unit is MB). If the free disk space of one of your drives falls below this value, the sensor changes to the Down status. Enter an integer or leave the field empty.

i_round_redThe limits that you set here are valid for all channels of this sensor. You can additionally set individual limits for each channel in the channel settings. Both the limits that you set here and in the channel settings are valid simultaneously.

Alarm on Missing/Removed Disk

If a monitored disk is removed or not found, the sensor sets the values to zero. Select the alarm approach in this case:

  • Deactivate alarm (default): Do not send an alert for a removed disk.
  • Activate alarm: Send an alert if a monitored disk is removed or not found.

Debug Options

Debug Options

Debug Options

Setting

Description

Result Handling

Define what PRTG does with the sensor result:

  • Discard result (default): Do not store the sensor result.
  • Store result: Store the last sensor result in the \Logs\sensors subfolder of the PRTG data directory on the probe system. The file name is Result of Sensor [ID].Data.txt. This setting is for debugging purposes. PRTG overwrites this file with each scanning interval.

i_round_blueIn a cluster, PRTG stores the result in the PRTG data directory of the master node.

Sensor Display

Sensor Display

Sensor Display

Setting

Description

Primary Channel

Select a channel from the list to define it as the primary channel. In the device tree, the last value of the primary channel is always displayed below the sensor's name. The available options depend on what channels are available for this sensor.

i_round_blueYou can set a different primary channel later by clicking b_channel_primary below a channel gauge on the sensor's Overview tab.

Graph Type

Define how different channels are shown for this sensor:

  • Show channels independently (default): Show a graph for each channel.
  • Stack channels on top of each other: Stack channels on top of each other to create a multi-channel graph. This generates a graph that visualizes the different components of your total traffic.
    i_round_redYou cannot use this option in combination with manual Vertical Axis Scaling (available in the channel settings).

Stack Unit

This setting is only visible if you select Stack channels on top of each other above.

Select a unit from the list. All channels with this unit are stacked on top of each other. By default, you cannot exclude single channels from stacking if they use the selected unit. However, there is an advanced procedure to do so.

Inherited Settings

By default, all of these settings are inherited from objects that are higher in the hierarchy. We recommend that you change them centrally in the root group settings if necessary. To change a setting for this object only, click b_inherited_enabled under the corresponding setting name to disable the inheritance and to display its options.

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Inheritance of Settings.

Scanning Interval

Scanning Interval

Scanning Interval

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Scanning Interval.

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window

i_round_blueYou cannot interrupt the inheritance for schedules, dependencies, and maintenance windows. The corresponding settings from the parent objects are always active. However, you can define additional schedules, dependencies, and maintenance windows. They are active at the same time as the parent objects' settings.

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window (default).

Access Rights

Access Rights

Access Rights

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Access Rights.

Channel Unit Configuration

i_round_blueWhich channel units are available depends on the sensor type and the available parameters. If no configurable channels are available, this field shows No configurable channels.

Channel Unit Configuration

Channel Unit Configuration

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Channel Unit Configuration.

Channel List

i_round_blueWhich channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the target device, the available components, and the sensor setup.

Channel

Description

Downtime

In the channel table on the Overview tab, this channel never shows any values. PRTG uses this channel in graphs and reports to show the amount of time in which the sensor was in the Down state

Free Bytes C:

The free space

Free Bytes D:

The free space

Free Space C:

The free space (%)

Free Space D:

The free space (%)

Total

The total disk space

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

What security features does PRTG include?

My WMI sensors don't work. What can I do?