PRTG Manual: Windows Updates Status (PowerShell) Sensor
The Windows Updates Status (PowerShell) sensor monitors the status of Windows updates on a computer and counts the available and installed Windows updates that are either from Microsoft or from the local Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) server.
The sensor can show the following:
- Elapsed time since last update
- Installed Windows updates
- Missing Windows updates
- Hidden updates
- All updates are listed with their severity.
The sensor always creates the channel Time since last update. All other channels are optional and only show up if the sensor can retrieve respective data.
You can find the considered updates in the Server Manager (WSUS) under Roles | Windows Server Update Services | Update Services | Computers | Reports.
- Dutch: Windows Updates Status (PowerShell)
- French: Statut de mises à jour Windows (PowerShell)
- German: Windows Updates Status (PowerShell)
- Japanese: Windows アップデートステータス(PowerShell)
- Portuguese: Status de atualizações do Windows (PowerShell)
- Russian: Статус обновления Windows (PowerShell)
- Simplified Chinese: Windows 更新状态 (PowerShell)
- Spanish: Estados de actualizaciones de Windows (PowerShell)
- This sensor can have a high impact on the performance of your monitoring system. Use it with care. We recommend that you use no more than 50 sensors of this sensor type on each probe.
- This sensor requires that Remote PowerShell is enabled on the target system and PowerShell 3.0 on both the probe system and the target system.
- This sensor requires .NET 4.7.2 or later on the probe system.
- This sensor requires credentials for Windows systems in the settings of the parent device.
- We recommend that you set the scanning interval of this sensor to at least 12 hours to limit the load on the server that is monitored.
- This sensor supports the IPv6 protocol.
- This sensor has a very high performance impact.
- The minimum scanning interval for this sensor is 1 hour.
- In certain cases, it might take some time until the sensor receives data for the first time.
- If the sensor cannot determine any values for the Time since last update channel (for example, because the list of updates is empty), it shows the value -1s and changes to the Warning status.
- When monitoring a Remote Desktop Server (RDS) system with the option Roaming Profiles enabled, this sensor creates a temporary user profile folder for each scanning interval. To minimize this effect, we recommend that you set the sensor's scanning interval to at least 7 days.
- See the Knowledge Base: Where can I find more information about PowerShell sensors?
You cannot add this sensor to the hosted probe of a PRTG hosted by Paessler instance. If you want to use this sensor, add it to a remote probe device.
Requirement |
Description |
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.NET Framework |
This sensor requires the Microsoft .NET Framework. .NET 4.7.2 or later must 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.
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Remote PowerShell |
This sensor uses PowerShell commands. To monitor devices with this sensor, Remote PowerShell access has to be enabled on the target computer. Also ensure that you have installed PowerShell 3.0 or later on both the probe system and the target system.
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The Add Sensor dialog appears when you manually add a new sensor to a device. It only shows the setting fields that are required for creating the sensor. Therefore, you do not see all setting fields in this dialog. You can change (nearly) all settings in the sensor's Settings tab later.
Click the Settings tab of a sensor to change its settings.
Usually, a sensor connects to the IP Address or DNS Name of the parent device on which you created the sensor. See the device settings for details. For some sensors, you can explicitly define the monitoring target in the sensor settings. See below for details on available settings.
Setting |
Description |
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Sensor Name |
Enter a meaningful 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. This setting is shown for your information only and cannot be changed here. |
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:
|
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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Port |
Enter the number of the port to which this sensor connects. Enter an integer value. The default port is 5985. |
Include Port in SPN |
Enabling this option includes the port number in the Service Principal Name (SPN) used for Kerberos authentication, for example, on devices where Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) or similar services are installed.
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Setting |
Description |
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Result Handling |
Define what PRTG does with the sensor result:
|
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:
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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. |
By default, all of the following settings are inherited from objects that are higher in the hierarchy. You should 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. You then see the options described below.
For more information, see section Inheritance of Settings.
Click to interrupt the inheritance.
This sensor has a fixed minimum scanning interval for performance reasons. You cannot run the sensor in shorter intervals than this minimum interval. Consequently, shorter scanning intervals as defined in the Monitoring settings are not available for this sensor.
Setting |
Description |
---|---|
Scanning Interval |
Select a scanning interval from the dropdown list. The scanning interval determines the amount of time that the sensor waits between two scans. Choose from:
|
If a Sensor Query Fails |
Select the number of scanning intervals that the sensor has time to reach and to check a device again if a sensor query fails. Depending on the option that you select, the sensor can try to reach and to check a device again several times before the sensor shows the Down status. This can avoid false alarms if the monitored device only has temporary issues. For previous scanning intervals with failed requests, the sensor shows the Warning status. Choose from:
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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.
Setting |
Description |
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Schedule |
Select a schedule from the list. You can use schedules to monitor during a certain time span (days or hours) every week. Choose from:
|
Maintenance Window |
Select if you want to set up a one-time maintenance window. During a maintenance window, monitoring stops for the selected object and all child objects. They show the Paused status instead. Choose between:
|
Maintenance Begins |
This setting is only visible if you enable Set up a one-time maintenance window above. Use the date time picker to enter the start date and time of the one-time maintenance window. |
Maintenance Ends |
This setting is only visible if you enable Set up a one-time maintenance window above. Use the date time picker to enter the end date and time of the one-time maintenance window. |
Dependency Type |
Select a dependency type. You can use dependencies to pause monitoring for an object depending on the status of a different object. You can choose from:
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Dependency |
This setting is only visible if you enable Select a sensor above. Click |
Dependency Delay (Sec.) |
This setting is only visible if you enable Select a sensor above. Define a time span in seconds for the dependency delay. After the master sensor for this dependency returns to the Up status, PRTG additionally delays the monitoring of the dependent objects by the time span you define. This can prevent false alarms, for example, after a server restart or to give systems more time for all services to start. Enter an integer value.
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Click to interrupt the inheritance.
Setting |
Description |
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User Group Access |
Define the user groups that have access to the sensor. You see a table with user groups and group access rights. The table contains all user groups in your setup. For each user group, you can choose from the following group access rights:
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KNOWLEDGE BASE
I have problems with the PowerShell Exchange sensors, what can I do?
How do I enable and use remote commands in Windows PowerShell?
My PowerShell sensor returns an error message. What can I do?
I get the error "WinRM cannot process the request" when I try to use a PowerShell sensor
How can I increase memory for Remote PowerShell?
Which .NET version does PRTG require?
Facing issues with the Windows Update Status (PowerShell) sensor - can you help me?
For more information about sensor settings, see the following sections: