PRTG Manual: WMI Custom Sensor
The WMI Custom sensor performs a custom query via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and monitors numerical values (integers and floats).
The sensor can show the following:
- Retrieved value
Your Windows Management Instrumentation Query Language (WQL) query code must be stored in a file on the system of the probe the sensor is created on. If used on a remote probe, the file must be stored on the system running the remote probe. In a cluster setup, copy the file to every cluster node. Save the file with the query into the \Custom Sensors\WMI WQL scripts subfolder of your PRTG installation.
If your WQL query returns strings, use the WMI Custom String sensor.
Dutch: WMI (Klant Specifiek), French: WMI (personnalisé), German: WMI (Benutzerdef.), Japanese: WMI カスタム, Portuguese: WMI customizado, Russian: Нестандартный WMI, Simplified Chinese: WMI 自定义, Spanish: WMI personalizado
- Sensors using the WMI protocol have a high impact on system performance. Try to stay below 200 WMI sensors per probe. Above this number, consider using multiple Remote Probes for load balancing.
- Requires Windows credentials in the settings of the parent device.
- Requires WoW64 (Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit) for target systems that run Windows Server 2016.
- Knowledge Base: Why do I have to store SQL sensor queries and custom scripts in files on the probe computer?
- Knowledge Base: How do I create a WMI Custom Sensor?
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.
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.
The following settings in the Add Sensor dialog differ in comparison to the sensor's Settings tab.
Custom Query Specific |
|
---|---|
Channel Name |
Enter a name for the channel in which PRTG shows the received data. This name is displayed in graphs and tables. Enter a string.
|
WQL File |
Select a file that this sensor uses from the list. The sensor executes it with every scanning interval. The menu contains WQL scripts from the \Custom Sensors\WMI WQL scripts subfolder of your PRTG installation. Store your script there. If used on a remote probe, you must store the file on the system running the remote probe. If used on a cluster probe, you must store the file on all servers running a cluster node. For more information on how to find this path, see section Data Storage.
|
On the details page of a sensor, click the Settings tab 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.
Basic Sensor Settings |
|
---|---|
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. |
Parent Tags |
Shows Tags that this sensor inherits from its parent device, group, and probe. This setting is shown for your information only and cannot be changed here. |
Tags |
Enter one or more Tags, separated by spaces or commas. You can use tags to group sensors and use tag–filtered views later on. Tags are not case sensitive. We recommend that you use the default value. There are default tags that are automatically predefined in a sensor's settings when you add a sensor. See section Default Tags below. You can add additional tags to the sensor if you like. Other tags are automatically inherited from objects further up in the device tree. These are visible above as Parent Tags.
|
Priority |
Select a priority for the sensor. This setting determines where the sensor is placed in sensor lists. A sensor with a top priority is at the top of a list. Choose from one star (low priority) to five stars (top priority). |
wmicustomsensor
Custom Query Specific |
|
---|---|
Namespace |
Enter the namespace for the query. |
WQL File |
Shows the WQL file that this sensor executes with every scanning interval. Once you have created the sensor, you cannot change this value. It is shown for reference purposes only. If you need to change this value, add the sensor anew.
|
Placeholder <#PH1> |
In your WQL script, you can use up to three placeholders to which you can assign a value in this field. Enter a string for variable <#PH1> or leave the field empty. |
Placeholder <#PH2> |
In your WQL script, you can use up to three placeholders to which you can assign a value in this field. Enter a string for variable <#PH2> or leave the field empty. |
Placeholder <#PH3> |
In your WQL script, you can use up to three placeholders to which you can assign a value in this field. Enter a string for variable <#PH3> or leave the field empty. |
If Value Changes |
Define what the sensor does when the sensor value changes:
|
Unit String |
Enter a unit for the data that the sensor receives from your script. This is for display purposes only. The unit is displayed in graphs and tables. Enter a string. |
Multiplication |
Define a multiplier for the received values. The default value is 1 to not change received values. Enter an integer value. |
Division |
Define a divisor for the received values. The default value is 1 to not change received values. Enter an integer value. |
Debug Options |
|
---|---|
Sensor Result |
Define what PRTG does with the sensor results:
|
Sensor Display |
|
---|---|
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.
|
Graph Type |
Define how different channels are shown for this sensor:
|
Stack Unit |
This field 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 and should be changed there if necessary. Often, best practice is to change them centrally in the Root group's settings. For more information, see section Inheritance of Settings. To change a setting for this object only, disable inheritance by clicking the button next to inherit from under the corresponding setting name. You then see the options described below.
Scanning Interval |
|
---|---|
Click |
|
Scanning Interval |
Select a scanning interval (seconds, minutes, or hours). The scanning interval determines the amount of time that the sensor waits between two scans. You can change the available intervals in the system administration on PRTG on premises installations. |
If a Sensor Query Fails |
Define the number of scanning intervals that the sensor has time to reach and check a device again in case a sensor query fails. Depending on the option that you select, the sensor can try to reach and check a device again several times before the sensor shows a 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 a Warning status. Choose from:
|
Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window |
|
---|---|
|
|
Schedule |
Select a schedule from the list. Schedules can be used to monitor for a certain time span (days or hours) every week.
|
Maintenance Window |
Specify if you want to set up a one-time maintenance window. During a maintenance window, the current object and all child objects are not monitored. They are in a Paused status instead. Choose between:
|
Maintenance Begins |
This field 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 maintenance window. |
Maintenance Ends |
This field 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 maintenance window. |
Dependency Type |
Define a dependency type. You can use dependencies to pause monitoring for an object depending on the status of another object. You can choose from:
|
Dependency |
This field is only visible if you enable Select a sensor above. Click the Search button and use the object selector to select a sensor on which the current object will depend. |
Dependency Delay (Sec.) |
This field is only visible if you enable Select a sensor above. Define a time span in seconds for dependency delay. After the master sensor for this dependency comes back to an Up status, monitoring of the dependent objects is additionally delayed by the defined time span. This can help avoid false alarms, for example, after a server restart, by giving systems more time for all services to start up. Enter an integer value.
|
Access Rights |
|
---|---|
Click |
|
User Group Access |
Define the user groups that have access to the selected object. A table with user groups and types of access rights is shown. It contains all user groups from your setup. For each user group, you can choose from the following access rights:
You can create new user groups in the System Administration—User Groups settings. To automatically set all objects further down in the hierarchy to inherit this object's access rights, set a check mark for the Revert children's access rights to inherited option.
|
PRTG Manual:
Knowledge Base: How do I properly configure a WMI custom sensor?
Knowledge Base: How do I create a WMI Custom Sensor?
Knowledge Base: Which WQL queries are used by the PRTG WMI sensors?
Knowledge Base: Why do I have to store SQL sensor queries and custom scripts in files on the probe computer?
Knowledge Base: My WMI sensors don't work. What can I do?
To change display settings, spike filtering, and limits, switch to the sensor's Overview tab and click the gear icon of a specific channel. For detailed information, see section Sensor Channel Settings.
Click the Notification Triggers tab to change notification triggers. For detailed information, see section Sensor Notification Triggers Settings.
For more general information about settings, see section Object Settings.
For information about sensor settings, see the following sections: