PRTG Manual: PRTG Administration Tool on Remote Probe Systems

If you start the PRTG Administration Tool on a remote probe system, you can define various probe-related settings, restart services, and view log information. You can also change many of these settings via the system administration and the probe settings in the PRTG web interface.

In this section:

i_round_redThis section describes the available settings in the PRTG Administration Tool when you open it on a remote probe system. This is not the complete set of available settings. If you need access to all settings regarding the entire PRTG installation, open the PRTG Administration Tool on the PRTG core server system.

i_round_redSettings you make here are only valid for the remote probe system on which you open the PRTG Administration Tool. Make sure that you log in to the system that you want to make changes to and open the PRTG Administration Tool there.

Start the PRTG Administration Tool

  • From the Windows Start menu, select the PRTG Network Monitor folder and click PRTG Administration Tool to open the application.
  • Confirm the question of the Windows User Account Control with Yes to allow the PRTG Administration Tool to start.

Probe Settings for Core Connection

Define general settings regarding the remote probe and connections.

Probe Settings for Core Connection Tab

Probe Settings for Core Connection Tab

Probe Settings

Setting

Description

Probe Name

Enter a name to identify the remote probe. PRTG shows this name, for example, in the device tree, and in all alarms by default. Enter a string.

i_round_blueIf 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?

Reconnect Time

Define the time that PRTG waits for the remote probe to reconnect to the PRTG core server if the connection fails. Enter an integer.

Connection to PRTG Core Server

These settings affect the way the remote probe connects to the PRTG core server.

Setting

Description

Server (IPv4 Address or DNS Name)

Enter the IP address or Domain Name System (DNS) name of the PRTG core server.

GID

The probe GID (global ID (GID)) is a unique identifier for the remote probe. We recommend that you do not change it.

Exceptions: If you substitute a remote probe from a different computer, you must copy the GID from the old probe to the new probe. To do so, click Edit GID and confirm the warning with Yes. You can then change the GID. PRTG checks if the GID is valid. You can also generate a new GID if necessary. To do so, click Generate new GID and confirm the warning with Yes.

i_round_blueYou can deny GIDs under Setup | System Administration | Core & Probes in the PRTG web interface. If you remove a remote probe from the device tree or if you deny a remote probe after installation, PRTG automatically enters its GID in the Deny GIDs list.

Access Key

The probe access key must match one of the access keys in the PRTG core server installation. If it does not match, the remote probe is not able to connect to the PRTG core server.

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Core & Probes.

i_round_blueAlso check the allowed and denied IP addresses in the Core & Probes settings to make sure that the PRTG core server accepts the IP address of the remote probe.

Confirm Access Key

If you enter an access key for a remote probe, enter it in this field again to confirm it.

Path for the PRTG Data Directory on the Probe System

Setting

Description

Path

Select the directory where PRTG stores configuration and monitoring data. Click b_browse to choose a different folder on the system.

i_round_redBefore you change the path, make sure you stop both the PRTG core server service and the PRTG probe service and copy all data to the new location.

i_round_blueThe directory name must include only ANSI characters. PRTG does not support data paths with non-ANSI characters.

Language for the PRTG Administration Tool for Remote Probes

Setting

Description

[your language]

Choose the language for the PRTG Administration Tool on the remote probe. The default is English.

List of available languages:

  • Deutsch (German)
  • English
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Français (French)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Pyсский (Russian)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese)

Probe Settings for Monitoring

Probe Settings for Monitoring Tab

Probe Settings for Monitoring Tab

Define the IP address to use for outgoing monitoring requests.

  • If more than one IP is available on the system, you can specify the IP address that PRTG uses for the outgoing monitoring requests of certain sensors.
  • This setting is for sensors that use the following connection types: HTTP, Domain Name System (DNS), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3), port, remote desktop, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
  • The setting is valid for all monitoring requests that this probe sends.
  • This setting is useful for devices that expect a certain IP address when they are queried.
  • The default setting is auto. PRTG automatically selects an IP address.

i_round_redThis feature does not support all sensors for technical reasons.

i_round_redIf you change this setting, some sensors might stop working. For example, sensors might show the Down status if the selected IP address is blocked on the way to or directly on the target device.

Setting

Description

IPv4: Outgoing IP for Monitoring Requests

Define the IP address for outgoing requests that use the IPv4 protocol. The list shows all available IP addresses on the system. Choose a specific IP address or select auto.

IPv6: Outgoing IP for Monitoring Requests

Define the IP address for outgoing requests that use the IPv6 protocol. The list shows all available IP addresses on the system. Choose a specific IP address or select auto.

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section IPv6 Support.

Service Start/Stop

You can manually start and stop the PRTG probe service. Click Start Service to start the service or Stop Service to stop it. Both actions usually take from a few seconds up to several minutes. You can also restart the PRTG probe service under Setup | System Administration | Administrative Tools in the PRTG web interface.

i_round_blueWe recommend that you schedule automatic service restarts.

Service Start/Stop Tab

Service Start/Stop Tab

Scheduled Restart Settings

i_podThis setting is not available on the hosted probe of a PRTG Hosted Monitor instance.

Setting

Description

Restart Options

Define if you want to schedule an automatic restart:

  • No scheduled system or service restart: Do not automatically perform a scheduled restart of services. We recommend that you manually restart the PRTG core server system every few weeks. You can initiate a restart of the PRTG probe service in the Administrative Tools in the PRTG web interface.
  • Scheduled restart of PRTG services: Restart the PRTG probe service on the probe system. If you select this option on the local probe, the PRTG core server service restarts as well. Define a schedule under Restart Schedule.
  • Scheduled system restart (recommended): Define a schedule under Restart Schedule. We recommend that you restart probe systems once a month for best performance.

Restart Schedule

This setting is only visible if you select Scheduled restart of PRTG services or Scheduled system restart (recommended) above.

Choose how often you want to restart the PRTG probe service or the probe system:

  • Once per week: Select a day and a time below.
  • Once per month (recommended): Select a day of the month and a time below.

Day

This setting is only visible if you select Scheduled restart of PRTG services or Scheduled system restart (recommended) above.

Select a day of the week (Monday to Sunday) or month (1st to 30th or Last). If you select Last, PRTG restarts the PRTG core server system on the last day of the month, regardless of how many days the month has.

i_round_blueIf you select a date that does not exist in every month (for example, the 30th day of February), PRTG automatically initiates the restart on the last day of this month.

Time

This setting is only visible if you select Scheduled restart of PRTG services or Scheduled system restart (recommended) above.

Select the time of day when PRTG performs the restart.

i_round_blueYou get a Windows warning message 10 minutes before the restart to inform you about the restart if you are logged in to PRTG. The actual restart time can differ by up to 30 minutes from the time you enter here.

i_round_blueYou can also define a restart schedule on the Settings tab of a remote probe in the PRTG web interface.

Logs and Info

Logs and Info Tab

Logs and Info Tab

Logs

Button

Description

Open Log Folder

Open the PRTG data directory to access all logs that PRTG creates.

Send Logs to Paessler

Open an assistant to send logs to the Paessler support team. See Send Logs to Paessler for details.

i_round_blueThis feature is only available with the commercial edition of PRTG.

i_round_blueYou can also send logs with the support bundle via Contact Support in the PRTG web interface.

Open Support Ticket

Open the Help Desk portal on the Paessler website in a browser window.

i_round_blueIf you need help, we recommend that you use the Contact Support option in the PRTG web interface instead.

About

The About section shows information about the version of installed PRTG programs and copyright information.

Send Logs to Paessler

i_round_blueYou can also send logs with the support bundle via Contact Support in the PRTG web interface.

Send Logs to Paessler

Send Logs to Paessler

If you open a support ticket, the Paessler support team might ask you to send logs for further analysis.

Field

Description

Name

Enter your name.

Email

Enter a valid email address. You can provide any email address but we recommend that you use the email address of your user account, which PRTG enters by default.

Ticket #

This field is optional. If you have already opened a ticket with the Paessler support team, provide the ticket number you received. Your files are then automatically associated with your ticket.

Enter the ticket number starting with PAE followed by four or more digits, for example, PAE12345. If you do not have a ticket number, leave this field empty.

Click Send to start the data upload. PRTG then automatically collects, compresses, and sends your logs to our FTP over SSL (FTPS) server. Make sure that FTPS and HTTP connections are allowed on the remote probe system.

Activate Changed Settings

After you change settings, click Save & Close. A new window opens where PRTG asks you to agree to restart the PRTG probe service. Click OK to proceed.

Restart Services

Restart Services

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

What security features does PRTG include?

Which ports does PRTG use on my system?