PRTG Manual: Modbus RTU Custom Sensor
The Modbus RTU Custom sensor connects to a Modbus Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) server and monitors up to ten returned numeric values.
For a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.
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▪You can only create this sensor on a probe device, either a local probe device or a remote probe device.
▪This sensor supports the IPv6 protocol.
▪This sensor has a very low performance impact.
▪This sensor always uses the serial port of the probe device.
▪This sensor uses lookups to determine the status values of one or more channels. This means that possible states are defined in a lookup file. You can change the behavior of a channel by editing the lookup file that the channel uses. For details, see section Define Lookups.
▪See the Knowledge Base: How can I apply Zoom Service Status sensors and Modbus sensors via device templates?
You 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.
The Add Sensor dialog appears when you manually add a new sensor to a device. It only shows the settings that are required to create the sensor. You can change nearly all settings on the sensor's Settings tab after creation.
Setting |
Description |
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Channel #1 - #10 Name |
Enter a name for the channel.
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Channel #1 - #10 Register Type |
Select the type of the register. Choose between: ▪Coil (default): Coil numbers start with 0 and range from 00001 to 09999. ▪Discrete input: Discrete input numbers start with 1 and range from 10001 to 19999. ▪Input register: Input register numbers start with 3 and range from 30001 to 39999. ▪Holding register: Holding register numbers start with 4 and range from 40001 to 49999. ▪Input register bit: Select Input register bit to monitor a specific bit of the received value. Input register numbers start with 3 and range from 30001 to 39999. ▪Holding register bit: Select Holding register bit to monitor a specific bit of the received value. Holding register numbers start with 4 and range from 40001 to 49999.
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Channel #1 - #10 Data Type |
This field is only visible if you select Input register or Holding register above. Select the data type of the register. Choose between: ▪16-bit integer (default) ▪Unsigned 16-bit integer ▪32-bit integer ▪Unsigned 32-bit integer ▪64-bit integer ▪Float ▪Double
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Channel #1 - #10 Unit |
This field is only visible if you select Input register or Holding register under Channel #x Register Type. Enter a unit for the channel. After sensor creation, you can change the unit of the channel in the channel settings under Unit. |
Channel #2 - #10 |
You can create up to 10 different channels for this sensor. You must define at least one data channel, so you see all available settings for Channel #1 without manually enabling it. Additionally, you can define Channel #2 to Channel #10. To do so, choose between: ▪Disable (default): The sensor does not create this channel. ▪Enable: The sensor creates this channel. Specify at least the name, type, and register number for this channel below.
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Click the Settings tab of a sensor to change its settings.
Setting |
Description |
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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.
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Parent Tags |
Shows tags that the sensor inherits from its parent device, parent group, and parent probe.
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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.
The sensor has the following default tags that are automatically predefined in the sensor's settings when you add the sensor: ▪modbus |
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 ( |
Setting |
Description |
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Device COM Port |
Enter the component object model (COM) port of the serial port device.
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Baud Rate |
Enter the speed of the serial connection in baud. The default baud rate is 9600. |
Parity |
Select the parity of the serial connection. Choose between: ▪None (default) ▪Even ▪Odd |
Data Bits |
Select the number of the data bits of the serial connection. Choose between: ▪8 (default) ▪7 ▪6 ▪5 |
Stop Bits |
Select the number of stop bits of the serial connection. Choose between: ▪1 (default) ▪2 |
Retry Attempts |
Enter the number of retries until a timeout occurs. If you enter 0, the sensor does not retry the communication attempt. The default value is 3. Enter an integer. |
Receive Timeout (msec) |
Enter a receive timeout in milliseconds (msec). If the reply from the device takes longer than this value, the request is aborted and triggers an error message. The default value is 500 msec (0.5 seconds). |
Unit ID |
Enter the Modbus unit ID that you want to monitor.
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Byte Order |
Select the sequence of the transmitted information. Choose between: ▪Big-endian (AB CD) ▪Little-endian (DC BA) ▪Big-endian byte swap (BA DC) ▪Little-endian byte swap (CD AB) |
Setting |
Description |
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Channel #1 - #10 Register Type |
Shows the register type of the channel value.
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Channel #1 - #10 Register Number |
Enter the register number from which you want to retrieve information.
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Channel #1 - #10 Value Type |
This field is only visible if you select Input register or Holding register under Channel #x Register Type. Select the value type that the channel displays. Choose between: ▪Absolute (default): Integer64 values with or without an operational sign, such as 10 or 120 or -12 or 120. ▪Delta (counter): The sensor calculates the difference between the last value and the current value. The sensor additionally divides the delta value by a time period to indicate a speed value. The sensor ignores this setting if you select Double or Float as Channel #x Data Type. |
Channel #1 - #10 Data Type |
This field is only visible if you select Input register or Holding register under Channel #x Register Type. Shows the Data Type of the Register Number.
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Channel #1 - #10 Register Width |
This field is only visible if you select Input register bit or Holding register bit under Channel #x Register Type. Select the width of the value in the register. Choose between: ▪16 bits wide (default) ▪32 bits wide ▪64 bits wide |
Channel #1 - #10 Bit Index |
This field is only visible if you select Input register or Holding register under Channel #x Register Type. Enter the index of the bit that you want to monitor.
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Setting |
Description |
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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.
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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. |
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. |
Setting |
Description |
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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 name is Result of Sensor [ID].log. This setting is for debugging purposes. PRTG overwrites this file with each scanning interval.
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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 under the corresponding setting name to disable the inheritance and to display its options.
For more information, see section Inheritance of Settings.
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Scanning Interval.
Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window
You 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.
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window.
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Access Rights.
Which 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.
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Channel Unit Configuration.
Which channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the target device, the available components, and the sensor setup.
Channel |
Description |
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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 returned numeric values in up to ten channels |
KNOWLEDGE BASE
How can I apply Zoom Service Status sensors and Modbus sensors via device templates?
▪https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/89684
What security features does PRTG include?