PRTG Manual: HTTP Content Sensor

Number of Channels

Define how many values the .html file returns. The sensor handles each value in its own channel. Each value must be placed between brackets [ ]. Enter the number of bracket-value pairs that the URL returns. Enter an integer.

Do not enter a number that is greater than the number of values that the HTTP request returns. Otherwise, you get an error message.

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.

If 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.

This 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.

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

For 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:

• httpsensor

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 () to the highest priority ().

Timeout (Sec.)

Enter a timeout in seconds for the request. Enter an integer. The maximum timeout value is 900 seconds (15 minutes).

If the reply takes longer than this value, the sensor cancels the request and shows a corresponding error message.

Script URL

Enter the URL that the sensor connects to. If you enter an absolute URL, the sensor uses this address independently of the IP Address/DNS Name setting of the parent device.

The URL must be URL encoded.

PRTG uses a smart URL replacement with which you can use the parent device's IP address or Domain Name System (DNS) name setting as part of the URL. For more information, see section Smart URL Replacement.

Value Type

Define what kind of values the .html file returns:

• Integer: Returns integers.
• Float: Returns floats with a dot . between the predecimal position and the decimal places. The sensor also displays integers unless they do not produce a buffer overflow.

The sensor cannot handle string values.

You cannot change this value after sensor creation.

If Content Changes

Define what the sensor does if the content of the web page changes:

• Ignore (default): Do nothing.

• Trigger 'change' notification: Send an internal message that indicates a change.
  In combination with a change trigger, you can use this to trigger a notification if a change occurs.

Result Handling

Define what PRTG does with the sensor result:

• Discard result: 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 names are Result of Sensor [ID].txt and Result of Sensor [ID].Data.txt. This setting is for debugging purposes. PRTG overwrites these files with each scanning interval.

This option is not available when the sensor runs on the hosted probe of a PRTG Hosted Monitor instance.

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

Authentication

Define if authentication is necessary on the web page:

• Web page does not need authentication
• Web page needs authentication

User Name

This setting is only visible if you select Web page needs authentication above.

If the proxy requires authentication, enter the user name for the proxy login. Enter a string.

Password

This setting is only visible if you select Web page needs authentication above.

Enter a password.

Authentication Method

This setting is only visible if you select Web page needs authentication above.

Select the authentication method that the URL uses:

• HTTP authentication: Use simple HTTP authentication.
  This authentication method transmits credentials as plain text.
• NT LAN Manager authentication: Use the Microsoft NT LAN Manager (NTLM) protocol for authentication.
• Digest access authentication: Use digest access authentication. This applies a hash function to the password, which is safer than HTTP authentication.

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.

You can set a different primary channel later by clicking 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.
  You 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.

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 status

[Value]

The numeric values that an HTTP request returns in several channels