PRTG Manual: Windows Network Card Sensor
The Windows Network Card sensor monitors the bandwidth usage and traffic of a network interface via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) or Windows performance counters, as configured in the Windows Compatibility Options of the parent device.
For a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.
- Dutch: Windows Netwerkkaart
- French: Windows carte réseau
- German: Windows Netzwerkadapter
- Japanese: Windows ネットワークカード
- Portuguese: Adaptador de rede Windows
- Russian: Сетевой адаптер Windows
- Simplified Chinese: Windows 网卡
- Spanish: Tarjeta de red Windows
- This sensor has a high performance impact. We recommend that you use no more than 200 of this sensor on each probe.
- This sensor requires at least Windows Server 2008 R2 on the probe system to work with Windows performance counters.
- This sensor requires that the Remote Registry Windows service runs on the target system.
- This sensor requires WoW64 (Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit) for target systems that run Windows Server 2016.
- This sensor requires at least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7 to monitor 64-bit counters of the class Network Adapter (virtual network interfaces). On older target systems, the sensor can only monitor 32-bit counters of the class Network Interface (the physical interface) and shows fewer channels.
- This sensor requires credentials for Windows systems in the settings of the parent device.
- This sensor supports teamed network adapters ("network interface card (NIC) teaming") on Windows Server 2016.
- This sensor supports IPv6.
You cannot add this sensor to the hosted probe of a PRTG Hosted Monitor instance. If you want to use this sensor, add it to a remote probe device.
Requirement |
Description |
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To work with Windows performance counters, this sensor requires that at least Windows Server 2008 R2 is installed on the probe system (on every cluster node, if on a cluster probe).
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To work with Windows performance counters,this sensor requires that the Remote Registry Windows service runs on the target system. If this service does not run, a connection via performance counters is not possible. However, WMI connections might still work. 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. |
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This sensor requires credentials for Windows systems in the settings of the parent device. We recommend that you use Windows domain credentials.
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Hybrid Approach: Performance Counters and WMI
By default, this sensor uses WMI to request monitoring data. You can change the default behavior to a hybrid approach in the Windows Compatibility Options of the parent device's settings on which you create this sensor: if you choose this option, the sensor first tries to query data via Windows performance counters and uses WMI as a fallback if performance counters are not available. When running in fallback mode, the sensor tries to connect via performance counters again after 24 hours.
Sensors that use the WMI protocol have a high impact on the system performance. Try to stay below 200 WMI sensors per probe. Above this number, consider using multiple remote probes for load balancing.
For a general introduction to the technology behind WMI, see section Monitoring via WMI.
Setting |
Description |
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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.
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Parent Tags |
The tags that the sensor inherits from its parent device, parent group, and parent probe.
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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:
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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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Network Card |
The name of the network card that this sensor monitors. |
Setting |
Description |
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Result Handling |
Define what PRTG does with the sensor result:
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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 select Stack channels on top of each other above. 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 these settings are inherited from objects that are higher in the hierarchy. We recommend that you 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 and to display its options.
For more information, see section Inheritance of Settings.
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Scanning Interval.
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.
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window (default).
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Access Rights.
Which channel units are available depends on the sensor type and the available parameters. If no configurable channels are available, this field shows No configurable channels.
For more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Channel Unit Configuration.
Which channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the target device, the available components, and the sensor setup.
Channel |
Description |
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Discards In |
The number of incoming discards |
Discards Out |
The number of outgoing discards |
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 |
Errors In |
The number of incoming errors |
Errors Out |
The number of outgoing errors |
Non-Unicast In |
The number of incoming non-unicast packets |
Non-Unicast Out |
The number of outgoing non-unicast packets |
Packets |
The total number of packets |
Packets Received |
The number of packets received |
Packets Sent |
The number of packets sent |
Total |
The total traffic
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Traffic In |
The incoming traffic |
Traffic Out |
The outgoing traffic |
Unicast In |
The number of incoming unicast packets |
Unicast Out |
The number of outgoing unicast packets |
Unknown Protocols In |
The number of unknown protocols |
KNOWLEDGE BASE
What security features does PRTG include?
My Windows sensors do not work when using direct performance counter access. What can I do?