PRTG Manual: Windows MSMQ Queue Length Sensor

MSMQ service

For this sensor to work, the MSMQ service must be started both on the target system and on the probe system. Additionally, the MSMQ service must also be started on the target system.

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.

Depending on your Windows version, you might first need to install the MSMQ Server.

When installing MSMQ Server, make sure that you install it including the Directory Service. Depending on your Windows installation, this might have a different name, such as:

• MSMQ Active Directory Domain Service Integration
• Directory Service Integration
• Active Directory Integration

For details, see the Knowledge Base: How do I activate Message Queuing in my Windows installation?

.NET 4.7.2 or later

This sensor requires .NET 4.7.2 or later to be installed on the probe system (on every cluster node, if on a cluster probe).

If the framework is missing, you cannot create this sensor.

For more information, see the Knowledge Base: Which .NET version does PRTG require?

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, the sensor cannot correctly connect.

Message Queue

Select the message queues that you want to monitor. PRTG creates one sensor for each message queue that you select.

If no message queues are available, you see a corresponding message.

This sensor cannot monitor subqueues.

Enable check boxes in front of the respective lines to select the items. Use the check box in the table header to select all items or to cancel the selection. In large tables, use the search function in the upper-right corner.

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

Shows 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:

• ptfsensor

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 ().

Message Queue

Shows the name of the message queue that this sensor monitors.

PRTG shows this value for reference purposes only. If you need to change this value, add the sensor anew.

Message Queue Type

Shows the type of the message queue that this sensor monitors.

PRTG shows this value for reference purposes only. If you need to change this value, add the sensor anew.

Minimum Message Age

Optionally define an age in minutes that the message must be for the sensor to count it. If you set a minimum message age, the sensor does not regard messages that are younger than this age. If you leave this field empty, the sensor does not check for the message age. Enter an integer or leave the field empty.

If Value Changes

Define what the sensor does when its value changes:

• Ignore (default): Do nothing.

• Trigger 'change' notification: Send an internal message that indicates a change.
  In combination with a change trigger, you can use this to trigger a notification if a change occurs.

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 names are Result of Sensor [ID].txt and Result of Sensor [ID].Data.txt. This setting is for debugging purposes. PRTG overwrites these files with each scanning interval.

In a cluster, PRTG stores the result in the PRTG data directory of the master node.

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.

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

Execution Time

The execution time

Messages

The total number of messages in the queue

This channel is the primary channel by default.