PRTG Manual: PerfCounter Custom Sensor

Windows version

To work with Windows performance counters, this sensor requires that at least Windows Server 2008 R2 is installed on the probe system (on every cluster node, if on a cluster probe).

Remote Registry Windows service

To work with Windows performance counters,this sensor requires that the Remote Registry Windows service runs on the target system. If this service does not run, a connection via performance counters is not possible.

To enable the service, log in to the respective system and open the services manager (for example, via services.msc). In the list, find the respective service and set its Start Type to Automatic.

Windows credentials

This sensor requires credentials for Windows systems in the settings of the parent device. We recommend that you use Windows domain credentials.

If you use local credentials, make sure that the same Windows user accounts (with the same user name and password) exist on both the probe system and the target system. Otherwise, a connection via performance counters is not possible. However, WMI connections might still work.

The user account has to be a member of the Performance Monitor Users user group on the target system.

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:

• performancecounter
• performancecountercustom

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 ().

Performance Counters

Enter the performance counters that you want to query. Enter each counter in one line. PRTG creates one channel for each performance counter that you select. Use the following syntax: the name of the counter, followed by two colons (::), and the unit.

Example: \Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time::%

You cannot monitor different performance counters with the same name in one sensor. The sensor uses the performance counter as the channel name, so this would create duplicate channels, which PRTG does not support. If you want to monitor different performance counters with the same name, add one sensor for each counter. You can also create a custom sensor. For example, you can write a PowerShell query that connects to the target device, retrieves the desired counters with the Get-Counter cmdlet, and reports them to PRTG as individual channels.

If a custom performance counter includes angle brackets (< or >), do not edit the channel settings (for example, limits) after sensor creation. This might lead to a malfunctioning sensor.

You cannot change this value after sensor creation.

Value Display Mode

Determine if the sensor displays the returned value as an absolute value or if it displays the difference between the last and the current value:

• Absolute (recommended): Display the returned value as an absolute value.
• Difference: Display the difference between last and current value.
  Make sure that all performance counters that you monitor are capable of this mode.

You cannot change this value after sensor creation.

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 enable Stack channels on top of each other as Graph Type. 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.

[Custom]

The Windows performance counters in different channels

To find available performance counters and their names on the target system, see the Knowledge Base: How can I find out the names of available performance counters?

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