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PRTG syslog server features and resources
- How PRTG works as a syslog server
- Visualize syslog message data in real time
- Free monitoring vs. licensed editions
- Use cases: Is PRTG the right solution for you?
- How to set up the Paessler PRTG syslog receiver
- What else can you do with PRTG?
- 3 reports to convince your CTO that PRTG is the right choice
Get our free syslog server features as part of PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
How PRTG works as a syslog server
PRTG captures, processes, and analyzes essential data
Capture & display
As soon as PRTG receives syslog messages, PRTG syslog receiver displays all relevant information: including the IP address that the message was sent from, the time stamp of the message, and the message itself.
Process & analyze
As a syslog server, PRTG analyzes the severity level of receive syslog messages to check for potential emergencies, ranging from 0 (emergency) to 7 (debug). PRTG even reads and processes the facility code so that you can immediately identify the type of message that was sent.
Trusted by 500,000 users and recognized by industry analysts as a leader
PRTG in action as a syslog server
Visualize syslog message data in real time
PRTG makes it easy to visualize syslog message data in real time to get insights into application availability, performance, resource usage, and errors. Easily identify the syslog entries related to the root cause of the problem and address issues before they affect network performance.
Syslog Receiver sensor in PRTG
Syslog Receiver sensor with syslog messages log
Complete monitoring overview with the Sunburst view in PRTG
PRTG is compatible with all major vendors & manufacturers
Free server monitoring vs. licensed editions
Server monitoring freeware
- 100 sensors free for life
- For each device about 10 devices required
- 100 sensors often suffice for basic server monitoring
- Alarm, mapping, and report features included
- Freeware edition sufficient for most small networks
PRTG licenses
- Flexible licenses with 500 to 10,000 sensors
- Monitor 50 to 1,000 devices or more
- Easily upgrade if more sensors are required
- Existing monitoring unchanged with upgrade
- Try full version free for 30 days
Use cases: Is PRTG the right kind of syslog server for you?
I don't need bells and whistles, I just need a free syslog server.
If you need a free, easy to set up solution for monitoring, storing, and analyzing syslog messages, then the freeware edition of PRTG is ideal. You'll even have sensors to spare and if your requirements change, you can quickly increase your capabilities at any time.
I need a professional network monitoring tool but I don't have the budget.
Many sysadmins would like to use a professional network monitoring tool but don't have the budget to do so. Getting management to free up the necessary funds can be time-consuming and stressful. Often it's a lot easier to use a free tool. PRTG makes this possible by including 100 free sensors that never expire.
I just want a syslog server for my home network.
Have you ever sat at home in front of your computer and wondered how to set up a syslog server for your home network? You're not alone. Many sysadmins also want reliable software for their homes. The syslog server features of PRTG can be useful for any network.
Get our free syslog server features as part of PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
How to set up the Paessler PRTG syslog receiver
Choose from two easy PRTG syslog server configurations. You get 100 free sensors with the freeware edition of PRTG Network Monitor and up to 10,000 sensors with our paid licenses.
Option 1: Centralized Syslog Receiver sensor
Create a centralized Syslog Receiver sensor on the probe device of the free PRTG network monitoring software. It will capture and analyze the contents of all syslog messages sent from your entire system. If an error occurs or defined threshold values are exceeded, you'll receive automated real-time alerts.
Option 2: Device-specific Syslog Receiver sensor
Add each syslog message sender as a device in PRTG, then add a Syslog Receiver sensor to each of these new devices. Compared to option 1, you'll put less strain on your CPU but you'll need more sensors for it to work. That means your 100 free sensors may not be enough for in-depth monitoring.
How PRTG defines sensors
In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, e.g. the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, the free space of a disk drive. On average you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.
Keep a constant eye on your network – even while on the go
PRTG is set up in a matter of minutes and can be used on a wide variety of mobile devices.
Get our free syslog server features as part of PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
More than just a free syslog server
Got a few sensors left to spare? Set up network monitoring that's lightweight yet powerful
Network availability
With the Ping sensor of PRTG, you can monitor the availability of all the hardware in your network. Servers, routers, switches, workstations…PRTG keeps an eye on everything. Find out more about uptime monitoring with PRTG.
Network bandwidth
How much traffic passes through your network? When and where do spikes in traffic occur? How does your traffic change over time? PRTG tells you all this and more. As a result, you can take all the necessary precautions to ensure that your network is running at optimal capacity. Find out more about bandwidth monitoring with PRTG.
Need a full network monitor?
Run these reports to convince your CTO
Downtime report
Is your network more up or down in the fight against downtime? This report is absolutely business critical, because whenever your network is down, productivity and sales decrease. Find out more about with uptime monitoring PRTG.
Ports report
PRTG monitors both open and closed ports. Port monitoring plays a vital role in ensuring that malware does not infiltrate your network. Without monitoring software, it’s next to impossible to keep an eye on all your open ports.
Top 10 Talkers report
What’s going on with the traffic in your network? To find out, simply generate the Top 10 Talkers report. PRTG provides real-time updates on what's up with your network – and notifies you immediately if there are sudden and drastic changes.
More than just a monitoring tool: Reasons our customers love PRTG
Create innovative solutions with Paessler’s IT partners
Partnering with innovative IT vendors, Paessler unleashes synergies to create
new and additional benefits for joined customers.
UVnetworks
UVexplorer integrates tightly with PRTG to bring fast and accurate network discovery, detailed device inventory, and automatic network mapping to the PRTG platform.
PRTG: The Swiss Army knife for sysadmins
Adapt PRTG individually and dynamically to your needs and rely on a strong API:- HTTP API: Access monitoring data and manipulate monitoring objects via HTTP requests
- Custom sensors: Create your own PRTG sensors for customized monitoring
- Custom notifications: Create your own notifications and send action triggers to external systems
- REST Custom sensor: Monitor almost everything that provides data in XML or JSON format
We asked: would you recommend PRTG?
Over 95% of our customers say yes!
Paessler AG conducted trials in over 600 IT departments worldwide to tune its network monitoring software closer to the needs of sysadmins.
The result of the survey: over 95% of the participants would recommend PRTG – or already have.
Still not convinced?
More than 500,000
sysadmins love PRTG
Paessler PRTG is used by companies of all sizes. Sysadmins love PRTG because it makes their job a whole lot easier.
Monitor your entire IT infrastructure
Bandwidth, servers, virtual environments, websites, VoIP services – PRTG keeps an eye on your entire network.
Get our free syslog server features as part of PRTG and see how it can make your network more reliable and your job easier.
FAQs
1. What is syslog?
Syslog stands for System Logging Protocol and is a standard protocol used to send system log or event messages to a specific server, called a syslog server.
It is primarily used to collect various device logs from several different machines in a central location for monitoring and review.
The protocol is enabled on most network equipment such as routers, switches, firewalls, and even some printers and scanners. In addition, syslog is available on Unix- and Linux-based systems and many web servers including Apache.
2. What is a sensor in PRTG?
In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, for example the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, or the free space on a disk drive.
On average, you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.
3. What is a syslog server in the context of PRTG?
Syslog servers are also known as syslog collectors or syslog receivers.
Devices that are accordingly configured send syslog messages to the syslog receiver. For example, the IP address of the destination syslog server must be configured on the sending device. There is no mechanism within the syslog protocol that allows a server other than the one you configured to request syslog data.
While most Unix implementations and network vendors like Cisco have their own barebones syslog collectors, there are several others available, too.
Via the Syslog Receiver sensor, PRTG can be used as a basic syslog receiver that monitors, collects, and analyzes incoming syslog messages.
4. How do I use the syslog receiver functionality of PRTG?
PRTG offers a preconfigured Syslog Receiver sensor. You can add this sensor either to the probe device of your PRTG installation to collect all syslog messages sent from your entire system. Or you can add the sensor to a specific device in PRTG to collect only syslogs sent from this device.
The sensor shows the following metrics:
- The number of received syslog messages
- The number of messages categorized as “warning”
- The number of messages categorized as “error”
- The number of dropped packets
You can set specific filter rules to only collect and analyze syslog messages that are business critical for you. This way, you will only be notified about alerts that you really want to know about.
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PRTG |
Network Monitoring Software - Version 22.4.81.1532 (November 29th, 2022) |
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Hosting |
Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available |
Languages |
English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese |
Pricing |
Up to 100 sensors for free (Price List) |
Unified Monitoring |
Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more |
Supported Vendors & Applications |
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Combining the broad monitoring feature set of PRTG with IP Fabric’s automated network assurance creates a new level of network visibility and reliability.