PRTG Manual: Auto-Discovery Tasks
This feature is only available on the new PRTG user interface.
Use auto-discovery tasks to run more customized auto-discoveries in your network. Each auto-discovery task runs on one target object. You can define device templates and credentials that the task uses to create recommended sensors.
Auto-discovery tasks automatically add devices and sensors to your device tree. We recommend that you review the found devices and sensors if you use scheduled auto-discovery tasks.
For general information about what the auto-discovery is and how PRTG uses it to scan your network and create sensors, see section Auto-Discovery.
In this section:
To open the auto-discovery tasks, select Auto-discovery from the main menu. The Overview shows a list of all auto-discovery tasks in a table:
Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
Task name |
Shows the name of the auto-discovery task. |
Status |
Shows the current status of the task:
|
Target object |
Shows the probe, group, or device that the task runs on. |
Scanning range |
Shows the network section that the task scans. |
Last run finished |
Shows the date and time when the task last completed a run. |
Schedule |
Shows how often PRTG runs the task:
|
Device Templates |
Shows the device templates that the task uses, if any. |
Actions |
Manage the auto-discovery task. For more information, see section Manage Auto-Discovery Tasks. |
Column settings |
Change the table settings. You can hide or show columns, reset the entire table, or reset the column sizes. |
You can organize the list in the following ways:
- Search for tasks by name.
- Filter the list by schedule, status, or by when the tasks last ran.
You can manage auto-discovery tasks from the auto-discovery overview table.
Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
Run |
Manually start the auto-discovery task. |
Edit |
Open the task settings.
|
Delete |
Delete a task. |
You can access the auto-discovery task settings when you create or edit a task. Click 
in the upper right corner to create a new auto-discovery task. Only user accounts with write access rights can create new tasks.
You can only create auto-discovery tasks on a probe.
The first time you create a task, PRTG creates a group called the Auto-Discovery Inbox in the device tree under the target object. PRTG adds a group for each auto-discovery task in this inbox.
If you delete the Auto-Discovery Inbox, PRTG creates it again the next time you create or run a task.
Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
Task name |
Enter a unique name to identify the auto-discovery task.
|
Activate auto-discovery |
This setting is only visible when you edit a task. Use the toggle to define whether the auto-discovery task is active. If you deactivate a task, PRTG does not run the task. |
Probe/Object |
Select the parent object of the auto-discovery task.
|
Scanning range |
Select how you want to define the IP address range for the auto-discovery:
|
IPv4 base |
This setting is only visible if you select Class C base IP address with start/end (IPv4) (default) above. Enter a class C network as the IP base for the auto-discovery. Enter the first three octets of an IPv4 address, for example, 192.168.0. |
IPv4 range start |
This setting is only visible if you select Class C base IP address with start/end (IPv4) (default) above. Enter the IP octet of the class C network (specified above) from which PRTG starts the auto-discovery. This completes the IP base to an IPv4 address. For example, enter 1 to discover from 192.168.0.1 onwards. |
IPv4 range end |
This setting is only visible if you select Class C base IP address with start/end (IPv4) (default) above. Enter the IP octet of the class C network (specified above) at which PRTG stops the auto-discovery. This completes the IP base to an IPv4 address. For example, enter 254 to discover up to 192.168.0.254. |
IPv4 addresses/DNS names IPv6 addresses/DNS names |
This setting is only visible if you select List of individual IP addresses and DNS names (IPv4) or List of individual IP addresses and DNS names (IPv6) above. Enter a list of IP addresses or DNS names that the auto-discovery scans. Enter each address on a separate line. |
IPv4 and subnet |
This setting is only visible if you select IP address and subnet (IPv4) above. Enter an expression in the format address/subnet, for example, 192.168.3.0/255.255.255.0. You can also use the short form like 192.168.3.0/24. If you want to include multiple addresses and subnets, enter them as a list separated by a comma, for example, 192.168.3.0/255.255.255.0, 192.169.0.0/255.255.255.0. PRTG scans the complete host range (without network and broadcast address) that is defined by the IP address and the subnet mask. |
IPv4 octet range |
This setting is only visible if you select IP address with octet range (IPv4) above. Enter an expression in the format a1.a2.a3.a4, where a1, a2, a3, and a4 are each a number between 0-255, or a range with two numbers and a hyphen like 1-127. PRTG calculates all permutations of all ranges. For example, 10.0.1-10.1-100 results in 1,000 IP addresses that PRTG scans during the auto-discovery. |
Organizational unit |
This setting is only visible if you select Use computers from the Active Directory (maximum 1000 computers) above. Enter an organizational unit (OU) to restrict the Active Directory search to computers that are part of this OU. For top-level OUs, use the distinguished name (DN) format without OU= and without the domain components (DCS). If you leave this field empty, there are not any restrictions. Example:
If you have sub-OUs, use the DN format without the leading OU= and without the DCS. Examples:
|
Select when PRTG runs the auto-discovery:
|
|
Use DNS names |
Enable the checkbox if you want PRTG to monitor newly discovered devices via their DNS names when available. We recommend that you use this option.
|
Skip known devices |
Enable the checkbox if you want PRTG to skip devices with a known IP address. We recommend that you use this option.
|
Use device templates |
Define if you want the auto-discovery task to use a device template to recommend sensors. Click Select template to specify the exact device template that the auto-discovery task uses. If you do not specify one or more device templates, PRTG uses all of them during discovery. The following device templates are available by default:
Once the auto-discovery is finished, PRTG creates a new ticket if it found devices and created sensors. PRTG lists the device templates that it used to create new sensors in the device history. |
Credentials |
Define specific credentials for an auto-discovery task. This can help PRTG identify the device type and recommend suitable sensors.
Auto-discovery tasks support the following credentials: |
