PRTG Manual: Notification Templates

On the Notification Templates tab, you can define and edit user account-specific notifications. You can use notification templates to trigger notifications for specific sensor states and values.

i_round_blueThis documentation refers to an administrator that accesses the PRTG web interface on a master node. Other user accounts, interfaces, or failover nodes might not have all of the options in the way described here. In a cluster, note that failover nodes are read-only by default.

i_podIf 15 minutes (900) seconds have passed since your last credential-based login and you open a setup page from a different setup page, PRTG asks you to enter your credentials again for security reasons. A dialog box appears. Enter your Login Name and Password and click OK to continue.

Notification Templates Tab

Notification Templates Tab

In this section:

Note

You must take the following four steps to set up and use notifications:

  1. Check and set up the notification delivery settings if you use PRTG Network Monitor. These settings define how PRTG sends messages.
  2. Check and set up notification contacts for the user accounts. These contacts define the recipients to which PRTG sends notifications.
  3. Check and set up several notification templates. These templates define the notification methods and their content.
    i_round_blueYou can also check or edit notification templates via the Notification Triggers tab. For more information, see section Notification Triggers Settings.
  4. Check and set up notification triggers settings for objects. These triggers define when PRTG sends notifications.

i_round_blueUsually, there are three successive attempts to deliver a notification. If all of these attempts fail, the notification is lost. To never miss a notification, we recommend that you always set up at least two notifications with different notification methods for a notification trigger, for example, one email notification and one SMS notification. If delivery via email fails, PRTG can still notify you via smartphone as a fallback. For example, use the latency setting of a state trigger to choose a notification with a different notification method than in the first trigger condition, or set up a second trigger with a different notification method for the corresponding object.

i_square_cyanFor a detailed step-by-step guide, see the Paessler website: How to set up notifications via the PRTG web interface.

i_square_cyanCustom notification scripts are also available in the PRTG Sensor Hub.

Overview

Click the Notification Templates tab to show a list of all notification templates, what actions they perform, and their status (active or paused). To edit a notification template, enable the check box next to the notification template and choose from the following options.

Option

Description

Send test notification (b_multi_edit_test)

Triggers the notification immediately for testing purposes.

i_round_blueWhen you test notifications, PRTG does not resolve the placeholders, but rather sends the original variables instead.

Used by (b_multi_edit_used_by)

Show all objects that trigger the notification.

Pause (b_multi_edit_pause)

Pauses the notification.

i_round_blueIf you manually pause a notification, PRTG does not send messages when this notification is triggered.

Resume (b_multi_edit_resume)

Resumes the notification.

Clone (b_multi_edit_clone)

Creates a clone of the notification.

Delete (b_multi_edit_delete)

Deletes the notification.

i_round_blueYou cannot delete predefined notifications.

Settings (b_multi_edit_settings)

Opens the settings of a notification template.

i_round_blueYou can also use the quick action buttons Send test notification (b_template_test), Used by (b_template_used_by), Pause (b_template_pause) or Resume (b_template_resume) next to the status of a notification template.

i_square_cyanSee also sections Working with Table Lists and Multi-Edit.

Notification Template Settings

Hover over b_add and select Add Notification Template from the menu to add a new notification template. You can also click the name of a notification template to edit it.

i_round_blueWhen a user with administrative rights creates a new object, only other users with administrative rights can view or edit the new object by default. When a read/write user creates a new object, all members of the read/write user's primary group can view and edit the new object as well. This behavior applies to libraries, maps, reports, notification templates, and schedules. For more information, see section Access Rights Management.

Basic Settings

Basic Settings

Basic Settings

Setting

Description

Template Name

Enter a name to identify the notification template.

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?

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.

i_round_blueFor performance reasons, it can take some minutes until you can filter for new tags that you added.

Status

Select the status of the notification template:

  • Started: PRTG executes the notifications that are defined in the notification template whenever it is triggered.
  • Paused: PRTG does not execute any notifications that are defined in the notification template.

Schedule

Define if you want to use a schedule to activate a notification template only during specific time spans. This way you can pause notifications, for example, during regular maintenance periods or system restarts. Choose between:

  • None
  • Saturdays
  • Sundays
  • Weekdays
  • Weekdays Eight-To-Eight (08:00 - 20:00)
  • Weekdays Nights (17:00 - 09:00)
  • Weekdays Nights (20:00 - 08:00)
  • Weekdays Nine-To-Five (09:00 - 17:00)
  • Weekends

i_round_blueThe overall status of the notification template must be Started to apply any schedule settings.

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Schedules.

Notification Handling during Scheduled Pause

Define how PRTG handles notifications that are triggered during a scheduled pause.

  • Collect notifications and send them when reactivated: PRTG collects all notifications that are triggered during a scheduled pause and sends them all out once the paused status ends.
  • Discard notifications during paused status: PRTG discards all notifications that are triggered during a scheduled pause.

i_round_blueIf you manually pause a notification, PRTG never collects notifications that are triggered while the notification is paused.

Notification Summarization

Notification Summarization

Notification Summarization

Setting

Description

Method

Define if and how PRTG collects and summarizes several notifications into one or more messages with a maximum of 1,000 characters. Choose from:

  • Always notify immediately, never summarize: PRTG always sends out one notification for each notification trigger that it receives as soon as possible, for example, immediately.
  • Send first down message immediately, then summarize: When PRTG receives several down triggers, it sends the first notification immediately, then it continues to summarize notification triggers into one message, regardless of the sensor status.
  • Send first down and up message immediately, then summarize: When PRTG receives several down or up triggers, it sends each first notification immediately, then it continues to summarize notification triggers into one message, regardless of the sensor status.
  • Send all down messages immediately, summarize the others: When PRTG receives several down triggers, it sends out one notification for each trigger that it receives, but it summarizes notifications for all non-down triggers into one message.
  • Send all down and up messages immediately, summarize the others: When PRTG receives several down or up triggers, it sends out one notification for each trigger that it receives, but it summarizes the notifications for all non-down and non-up triggers into one message.
  • Always summarize notifications, regardless of type: When PRTG receives several notification triggers, it summarizes the notifications, regardless of the kind of notification trigger that it receives.
    i_round_blueThe maximum number of notifications (see below) still applies.

i_round_blueRegardless of the option that you choose, PRTG never summarizes notifications of the types Send Slack Message, Send Microsoft Teams Message, Execute HTTP Action, Execute Program, and Assign Ticket because it always sends them immediately. PRTG can summarize the messages of all other notification types.

i_round_blue'first down' and 'first up' messages refer to the notification trigger condition and the clear condition respectively. You can also define warning or unusual states as notification trigger conditions or even thresholds or other triggers notification summarizations. The condition clear triggers, if applicable, are defined in the respective notification trigger conditions as well. The notification triggers all qualify as 'first down' or 'first up' messages.

i_round_bluePRTG collects up to 25 single notifications for one summarization and sends out the message as soon as this number is reached (or when the gathering time passes). If PRTG receives more than 25 notifications within the defined time span, you receive more than one message with up to 25 entries each. For example, if PRTG collects 74 notifications, this results in 3 summarized messages with 25, 25, and 24 collected notifications.

Subject for Summarized Email or SNS Messages

Define a subject that PRTG includes when it sends summarized notifications. The default subject is [%sitename%] %summarycount Summarized Notifications.

i_round_bluePRTG only uses the subject for the notification methods Send Email and Send Amazon Simple Notification Service Message.

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Time Span for Summarizing Messages (in Minutes)

Define a time span in minutes to define how long PRTG collects notifications for summarization. Enter an integer.

i_round_blueIf you enter a long time span, for example, 60 minutes, PRTG collects notifications for one hour before it sends them out summarized unless other features (see above) require an earlier message dispatch.

Access Rights

Access Rights

Access Rights

Setting

Description

User Group Access

Define the user groups that have access to the notification template. 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:

  • No access: Users in this user group cannot see or edit the notification template. The object does not show up in lists.
  • Read access: Users in this user group can see the notification template and view its settings.
  • Write access: Users in this user group can see the notification template and view and edit its settings. However, they cannot edit its access rights settings.
  • Full access: Users in this user group can see the notification template, view and edit its settings, and edit its access rights settings.

i_round_blueYou can create new user groups in the User Groups settings.

Notification Methods

With the following settings, you can add one or more methods for how PRTG sends out a notification message. You can choose one method or combine several methods. Whenever the notification is triggered, PRTG sends out messages or performs actions for all configured methods at once.

To select a notification method, click b_inherited_disabled in front of it. You can then see and set the options as described in this section. The following notification methods are available.

i_prtgSome notification types are only available for PRTG Network Monitor (marked with i_prtg). You cannot use these with PRTG Hosted Monitor.

Send Email i_send_email

i_round_blueThis notification method uses notification contacts to deliver the email notifications. Set up notification contacts in advance in the notification contacts settings.

Send Email

Send Email

Setting

Description

Sender

Define which sender email address and sender name appear in the FROM part of the email notifications:

  • Default: Use the default sender email address and sender name from the notification delivery settings.
  • Custom: Enter a custom sender email address and sender name.

Sender Email Address

This setting is only visible if you select Custom above. Enter an email address to use as the sender of the email notifications.

i_round_blueIf you enter a custom sender email address, it overrides the email address in the notification delivery settings.

i_round_redThe outgoing Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server in the notification delivery settings must allow the email address so that it can deliver email notifications.

Sender Name

This setting is only visible if you select Custom above. Enter a sender name to use as the sender of the email notifications.

i_round_blueIf you enter a custom sender name, it overrides the sender name in the notification delivery settings.

Send to User

Select a user account to send the email notifications to. PRTG sends the email notifications to every active email notification contact for this user account. Leave None to not use this option.

i_round_blueRead/write users can send notifications to any user that is a member of the same user group as the read/write user.

i_round_blueSend to User, Send to User Group, and Send to Email Address all work simultaneously. Because of this, you can define more than one user as a recipient of this notification. PRTG sends the email notifications to the active email notification contacts of the user that you select, to the active email notification contacts of all members of the user group that you select, and to all email addresses that you enter under Send to Email Address.

Send to User Group

Select a user group to send the email notifications to all members of this user group. PRTG sends the email notifications to every active email notification contact of every user in the user group. Leave None to not use this option.

i_round_blueIf you select a user group and a specific member of this user group as recipients, the user only receives one single email. This also applies if you enter an individual email address under Send to Email Address that is already defined as an email notification contact of the selected user.

i_round_blueIf you define individual email addresses under Send to Email Address, define a specific user account under Send to User, and define a user group here, PRTG sends the message to the individual email addresses, to the individual user, as well as to the members of the selected user group. In all cases, PRTG sends one message with all recipients in the To part of the email.

i_round_blueRead/write users can send email notifications to all user groups that they are members of.

i_round_blueSend to User, Send to User Group, and Send to Email Address all work simultaneously. Because of this, you can define more than one user as a recipient of this notification. PRTG sends the email notifications to the active email notification contacts of the user that you select, to the active email notification contacts of all members of the user group that you select, and to all email addresses that you enter under Send to Email Address.

Send to Email Address

Enter one or more email addresses to which PRTG sends the email notifications. If you enter more than one email address, separate them with commas. Leave this field empty to only send email notifications to the email notification contacts of the user or to the members of the user group you choose above.

i_round_blueWe recommend that you use Send to User and/or Send to User Group instead because you can then manage the notification contacts of users.

i_round_blueSend to User, Send to User Group, and Send to Email Address all work simultaneously. Because of this, you can define more than one user as a recipient of this notification. PRTG sends the email notifications to the active email notification contacts of the user that you select, to the active email notification contacts of all members of the user group that you select, and to all email addresses that you enter under Send to Email Address.

Subject

Enter the subject of the email notifications. The default subject is [%sitename] %device %name %status %down (%message).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Format

Define the kind of email that PRTG sends when the notification is triggered:

  • HTML: PRTG uses the default HTML email template for the message part of the email.

i_round_redMake sure that your email client can show HTML emails, otherwise you cannot read emails from PRTG.

  • Text: PRTG uses the default plain text email template for the message part of the email.
  • Custom text: PRTG uses custom plain text for the message part of the email. Define a custom text below.

Custom Text

This setting is only visible if you select Custom text above. Enter the desired message for this email notification in plain text format. You can use placeholders here.

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Priority

Define the priority that PRTG sets for the email:

  • Very high
  • High
  • Normal
  • Low
  • Very low

i_round_blueMost email clients can show this priority flag.

HTTP Version

Define the HTTP version that PRTG uses to send the email:

  • HTTP 1.1 (default): Use HTTP version 1.1.
  • HTTP 1.0: Use HTTP version 1.0.

Add Entry to Event Log i_add_entry_event_log

i_podThis option is not available in PRTG Hosted Monitor.

Add Entry to Event Log

Add Entry to Event Log

Setting

Description

Log File

Define the log file to which PRTG adds an event:

  • Application: PRTG adds an entry to the Application log file under Windows Logs in the event log
  • PRTG Network Monitor: PRTG adds an entry to the PRTG Network Monitor log file under Applications and Services Logs in the event log.

Event Source

This setting is only visible if you select Application above. Enter the source for the event. This is usually the name of the application.

Event Type

Select the type of the event:

  • Error: An event that indicates a significant problem such as loss of data or loss of functionality. For example, if a service fails to load during startup, an Error event is logged.
  • Warning: An event that is not necessarily significant, but may indicate a possible future problem. For example, when disk space is low, a Warning event is logged.
  • Information: An event that describes the successful operation of an application, driver, or service. For example, when a network driver loads successfully, it may be appropriate to log an Information event.

Message

Define the message that PRTG writes in the event log. The default message is [%sitename] %device %name %status %down (%message).

i_round_blueTo reset this field to the default value, enter only an asterisk (*).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Send SMS/Pager Message i_send_sms

i_round_redYou must first set up this notification method in the Notification Delivery settings.

i_round_blueThis notification method uses notification contacts to deliver the SMS/pager messages. Set up notification contacts in advance in the notification contacts settings.

i_square_cyanThis notification method uses the central proxy settings that you define for the PRTG core server. For more information, see section Core & Probes (section Proxy Configuration).

Send SMS/Pager Message

Send SMS/Pager Message

Setting

Description

Send to User

Select a user account from the dropdown list. PRTG sends the SMS/pager message to every SMS notification contact for the user account. Leave None to not use this option.

Send to User Group

Select a user group from the dropdown list. PRTG sends the SMS/pager message to every SMS notification contact for every member of the user group.Leave None to not use this option.

i_round_blueIf you select a user group and a specific member of this user group as recipients at the same time, this user receives the SMS/pager message only once. This also applies if you enter an individual phone number below that is already defined as an SMS notification contact for the selected user.

Send to Phone Number

Enter a phone number to send the SMS/pager message to. If you enter more than one phone number, use commas as separators.

i_round_blueThe format depends on the SMS provider. Usually, you use a plus sign (+), followed by the country code and the number. For example, +1555012345.

i_round_redMake sure that the number format meets the requirements of the SMS provider or the hardware that you use in combination with an application programming interface (API) call. Sometimes, a plus sign is not required. The wrong format might result in undelivered messages.

i_round_blueWe recommend that you use Send to User and/or Send to User Group instead because you can then manage the notification contacts of users.

Message

Define the SMS/pager message. The default message is [%sitename] %device %name %status %down (%message).

i_round_blueTo reset this field to the default value, enter only an asterisk (*).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

HTTP Version

Define the HTTP version that PRTG uses to send the SMS/pager message:

  • HTTP 1.1 (default): Use HTTP version 1.1.
  • HTTP 1.0: Use HTTP version 1.0.

Execute HTTP Action i_execute_http_action

i_round_blueRegardless of the Notification Summarization method that you use, PRTG always sends notifications of the type Execute HTTP Action immediately. PRTG never summarizes them.

i_square_cyanThis notification method uses the central proxy settings that you define for the PRTG core server. For more information, see section Core & Probes (section Proxy Configuration).

i_square_cyanFor more details, see section Custom Notifications. You can find ready-to-use custom notifications in the PRTG Sensor Hub, see below.

Execute HTTP Action

Execute HTTP Action

Setting

Description

URL

Enter the URL that PRTG sends the request to.

i_round_blueHTTP notifications work with or without Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

SNI Handling

Define if PRTG sends the Server Name Indication (SNI) extension to the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol along with the HTTP request:

  • Do not send SNI (default): PRTG does not send the SNI when it executes the HTTP action.
  • Send SNI: PRTG sends the SNI when it calls the target URL. Specify the SNI below.

SNI Name

This setting is only visible if you select Send SNI above. Enter the SNI name that the endpoint configuration requires. Usually, this is the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the virtual host.

HTTP Method

Select the HTTP method that the notification uses:

  • GET: Use the GET method.
  • POST: Use the POST method.
  • PUT: Use the PUT method.
  • PATCH: Use the PATCH method.

Payload

This setting is only visible if you select POST, PUT, or PATCH above. Enter a payload. The payload is the data that PRTG transmits to the URL.

i_round_redYou cannot use Extensible Markup Language (XML) or JavaScript Object Notation (JSON).

i_round_blueOnly the content type application/x-www-form-urlencoded is supported.

i_round_blueYou can use line breaks.

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

HTTP Version

This setting is only visible if you select POST above. Select the HTTP version that PRTG uses to execute the HTTP action:

  • HTTP 1.1 (default): Use HTTP 1.1.
  • HTTP 1.0: Use HTTP 1.0.

i_round_blueMake sure that the target supports the HTTP version that you select.

Execute Program i_execute_program

i_round_blueRegardless of the Notification Summarization method that you use, PRTG always sends notifications of the type Execute Program immediately. PRTG never summarizes them.

i_round_blueTo remotely run PowerShell scripts, make sure that you set the according Execution Policy. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: PowerShell 32 bit and 64 bit and Execution Policy

i_square_cyanFor more details, see section Custom Notifications. You can find ready-to-use custom notifications in the PRTG Sensor Hub, see below.

i_podThis option is not available in PRTG Hosted Monitor.

Execute Program

Execute Program

Setting

Description

Executable File

Select an executable file from the list. PRTG runs it every time the notification is triggered.

i_round_blueYou see the files that are in the corresponding \Notifications\EXE subfolder of the PRTG program directory. For files to appear in this list, store them as .bat, .cmd, .exe, .com, .ps1, or .vbs.

i_round_redIn a cluster, copy the files to every cluster node. This makes sure that PRTG can execute the notification even when the master node fails. If your custom notification executes an external program, install it on all cluster nodes as well.

Parameters

Enter the parameters that the notification passes to the executable. For example, if you use a batch file that contains a %1 variable, you can provide a value for this variable. The default parameters are [%sitename] %device %name %status %down (%message).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

i_round_redYou need to escape special characters and whitespaces in your parameters and surround them with double quotation marks ("). See section Escape Special Characters and Whitespaces in Parameters for details.

Domain or Computer Name

Enter a Windows authority if you want to use a different security context for the program than the security context of the PRTG probe service.

User Name

Enter the user name for Windows access.

Password

Enter the password for Windows access.

Timeout (Sec.)

Enter a timeout in seconds. After this time passes, PRTG stops the process if it is still running. Enter an integer.

Send Syslog Message i_send_syslog_message

i_podThis option is not available in PRTG Hosted Monitor.

Send Syslog Message

Send Syslog Message

Setting

Description

Host/IP Address

Define the IP address or the Domain Name System (DNS) name of the system that runs the syslog server.

i_round_blueYou can receive and analyze syslog messages with the Syslog Receiver sensor.

Syslog Port

Enter the port that PRTG sends the syslog messages to. The default port is 514.

i_round_redYou can only use the User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

Facility

Define the facility of the syslog messages:

  • User-level messages
  • Local use 0-7

Encoding

Define the encoding of the syslog messages that PRTG sends to the syslog receiver:

  • ANSI
  • UTF-8

i_round_redMake sure that the syslog receiver supports the encoding that you select.

Message

Define the syslog message. The default message is [%sitename] %device %name %status %down (%message).

i_round_blueTo reset this field to the default value, enter only an asterisk (*).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Syslog Message Severity Status

i_round_blueDepending on the status of the sensor that triggers the syslog notification, PRTG automatically sets the Severity level of the syslog messages.

Status

Severity level

i_status_green Up

Notice (5)

i_status_yellow Warning

Warning (4)

i_status_red Down

Error (3)

Send SNMP Trap i_send_snmp_trap

i_square_cyanFor information about the object identifiers (OID) that PRTG uses in the content of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps, see the Knowledge Base: Is it possible to send SNMP traps using PRTG?

i_podThis option is not available in PRTG Hosted Monitor.

Send SNMP Trap

Send SNMP Trap

Setting

Description

Host/IP Address

Define the IP address or DNS name of the system that runs the trap receiver.

i_round_blueYou can receive and analyze SNMP trap messages with the SNMP Trap Receiver sensor.

SNMP Port

Enter the port on which PRTG sends trap messages. The default port is 162.

Community String

Enter the community string of the device. The default community string is public. Enter a string or leave the field empty.

Custom Trap Code

Enter a code to identify the purpose of the trap. The default trap code is 0. Enter an integer.

Message ID

Enter an ID to identify the origin of the trap.Enter an integer. PRTG sends it on the OID 1.3.6.1.4.1.32446.1.1.1.

Message

Define the trap message.

i_round_blueTo reset this field to the default value, enter only an asterisk (*).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Agent IP

Define the IP address of the agent. Leave this field empty to use the IP address of the PRTG web server.

Send Amazon Simple Notification Service Message i_send_amazon_sns_message

Send Amazon Simple Notification Service Message

Send Amazon Simple Notification Service Message

Setting

Description

AWS Access Key ID

Enter your access key ID from aws.amazon.com. Enter a string.

AWS Secret Access Key

Enter your secret access key from aws.amazon.com. Enter a string.

Location

Define the location of your Amazon service. Choose one of the following locations:

  • Africa (Cape Town)
  • Asia Pacific (Hong Kong)
  • Asia Pacific (Mumbai)
  • Asia Pacific (Osaka)
  • Asia Pacific (Seoul)
  • Asia Pacific (Singapore)
  • Asia Pacific (Sydney)
  • Asia Pacific (Tokyo)
  • Canada (Central)
  • China (Beijing)
  • China (Ningxia)
  • Europe (Frankfurt)
  • Europe (Stockholm)
  • Europe (Milan)
  • Europe (Ireland)
  • Europe (London)
  • Europe (Paris)
  • Middle East (Bahrain)
  • South America (São Paulo)
  • US East (Northern Virginia)
  • US East (Ohio)
  • US West (Northern California)
  • US West (Oregon)

Amazon Resource Name

Enter the Amazon resource name. Enter a string.

Subject

Enter the subject of the Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) message. Enter a string.

i_round_redThe maximum length for the subject is 202 characters. PRTG ignores characters that exceed this length.

Message

Define the SNS message. The default SNS message is [%sitename] %device %name %status %down (%message).

i_round_blueTo reset this field to the default value, enter only an asterisk (*).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

i_round_redPRTG only sends the message if you use email-based notifications delivered by Amazon SNS. For SMS delivery, PRTG only sends the subject and ignores the message because of SMS size restrictions.

Assign Ticket i_assign_ticket

i_round_blueRegardless of the Notification Summarization method that you use, PRTG always sends notifications of the type Assign Ticket immediately. PRTG never summarizes them.

i_square_cyanFor more information about the ticket system, see section Tickets.

Assign Ticket

Assign Ticket

Setting

Description

Assign to User Group or User

Specify whether to assign the notification ticket to a user group or to a single user:

  • To user group: Assign the notification ticket to a user group.
  • To user: Assign the notification ticket to a single user.

User Group

Select the user group to which PRTG assigns the notification ticket.

i_round_blueRead/write users can assign tickets to all user groups that they are a member of as well as to administrators and individual users that are members of the same user group as the read/write user.

User

Select the user to which PRTG assigns the notification ticket.

i_round_blueRead/write users can assign tickets to all user groups that they are a member of as well as to administrators and individual users that are members of the same user group as the read/write user.

Subject

Enter the subject of the notification ticket. The default subject is %device %name %status %down (%message).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Content

Enter the message of the notification ticket. The default message is

Sensor: %name
Status: %status %down

Date/Time: %datetime (%timezone)
Last Result: %lastvalue
Last Message: %message

Probe: %probe
Group: %group
Device: %device (%host)

Last Scan: %lastcheck
Last Up: %lastup
Last Down: %lastdown
Uptime: %uptime
Downtime: %downtime
Cumulated since: %cumsince
Location: %location

i_round_blueTo reset this field to the default value, enter only an asterisk (*).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

When Condition Clears

Define how PRTG handles the notification ticket when the defined trigger condition clears:

  • Close the notification ticket (recommended): Automatically close the notification ticket if the trigger condition is not met anymore.
  • Do not close the notification ticket: Do not close the notification ticket after the condition clears.

Send Push Notification i_send_push_notification

i_square_cyanPush notifications only work with the apps PRTG for Android and PRTG for iOS. You must activate push notifications in the settings of the app first. For more information about the setup, see the Knowledge Base: How can I use push notifications with PRTG?

i_round_blueThis notification method uses notification contacts to deliver push notifications. Set up notification contacts in advance in the notification contacts settings.

i_round_redThe PRTG core server needs to communicate with the PRTG Cloud on port 443 to send push notifications. It uses https://api.prtgcloud.com:443, which is the same as for the Cloud HTTP v2 sensor, the Cloud Ping v2 sensor, and support tickets.

i_round_blueSend to User and Send to User Group both work simultaneously. Because of this, you can define more than one user as a recipient of push notifications. PRTG sends push notifications to the active push notification contacts of the user that you select, and to the active push notification contacts of all members of the user group that you select.

Send Push Notification

Send Push Notification

Setting

Description

Send to User

Select the user that PRTG sends push notifications to. PRTG sends the push notifications to each active push notification contact of the user. Leave None to not use this option.

i_round_blueYou can edit push notification contacts of a user in the Notification Contacts settings and also activate push notifications in the Android or iOS app with the user.

Send to User Group

Select the user group that PRTG sends push notifications to. PRTG sends the push notifications to each active push notification contact of every member of the group. Leave None to not use this option.

i_round_blueIf you select a user group and a specific member of the group as recipients at the same time, the user receives the text message only one time.

i_round_blueYou can edit user groups in the User Groups settings and push notification contacts in the Notification Contacts settings.

Message

Define the message of the push notification. The default message is [%sitename] %device %name %status %down (%message).

i_round_blueTo reset this field to the default value, enter only an asterisk (*).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

HTTP Version

Define the HTTP version that PRTG uses to send the push notification:

  • HTTP 1.1 (default): Use HTTP version 1.1.
  • HTTP 1.0: Use HTTP version 1.0.

Send Microsoft Teams Message i_ms_teams_message

i_round_blueRegardless of the Notification Summarization method you use, PRTG always sends notifications of the type Send Microsoft Teams Message immediately. PRTG never summarizes them.

Send Microsoft Teams Message

Send Microsoft Teams Message

Setting

Description

Teams Webhook URL

Enter the URL of the incoming webhook that you set up in your Microsoft Teams channel.

i_square_cyanFor more information, see the Knowledge Base: How do I create a webhook for the PRTG Notifications to Slack and Microsoft Teams?

Title

Enter the title of the Microsoft Teams notification. The default title is Enter value.

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Subtitle

Enter the subtitle of the Microsoft Teams notification. The default subtitle is %message.

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Content

Define the content of the Microsoft Teams notification:

  • Use default content: Use the default notification message content. This includes information about the Status, Last Scan, Last Value, Last Up, Coverage, Downtime, Priority, Probe, and Group.
  • Define custom content: Define custom notification message content. Choose Custom Content below.

Custom Content

This setting is only visible if you select Define custom content above.

Enable the check boxes in front of content that you want PRTG to include in the Microsoft Teams notifications. Disable the check boxes in front of the content that you do not want to include.

The following types of monitoring information are available:

  • Name
  • Host
  • Status
  • Last scan
  • Last value
  • Message
  • Last down
  • Last up
  • Coverage
  • Downtime
  • Uptime
  • Priority
  • Probe
  • Group
  • Device
  • Date and time
  • Time zone
  • Comments (probe)
  • Comments (group)
  • Comments (device)
  • Comments (sensor)
  • History

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Send Slack Message i_send_slack_message

i_round_blueRegardless of the Notification Summarization method you use, PRTG always sends notifications of the type Send Slack Message immediately. PRTG never summarizes them.

Send Slack Message

Send Slack Message

Setting

Description

Slack Webhook URL

Enter the URL of the incoming webhook that you set up in your Slack workspace.

i_square_cyanFor more information, see the Knowledge Base: How do I create a webhook for the PRTG Notifications to Slack and Microsoft Teams?

Sender Name

Enter a sender name to use as the sender of Slack notifications.

i_round_blueThis field overrides the sender that you might have defined in your Slack workspace.

Title

Enter the title of the Slack notifications. The default title is Enter value.

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Subtitle

Enter the subtitle of the Slack notifications. The default subtitle is %message.

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Content

Define the content of the Slack notifications:

  • Use default content: Use the default notification message content. This includes information about the Status, Last Scan, Last Value, Last Up, Coverage, Downtime, Priority, Probe, and Group.
  • Define custom content: Define custom notification message content. Choose Custom Content below.

Custom Content

This setting is only visible if you select Define custom content above.

Enable the check boxes in front of the content that you want PRTG to include in the Slack notifications. Disable the check boxes in front of the content that you do not want to include.

The following types of monitoring information are available:

  • Name
  • Host
  • Status
  • Last scan
  • Last value
  • Message
  • Last down
  • Last up
  • Coverage
  • Downtime
  • Uptime
  • Priority
  • Probe
  • Group
  • Device
  • Date and time
  • Time zone
  • Comments (probe)
  • Comments (group)
  • Comments (device)
  • Comments (sensor)
  • History

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Send MQTT Publish Notification

i_round_blueRegardless of the Notification Summarization method you use, PRTG may not send notifications of the type Send MQTT Publish Notification immediately.

Send MQTT Publish Notification

Send MQTT Publish Notification

Setting

Description

MQTT Broker

Enter the address for the connection to the MQTT broker (server).

Port

Enter the port for the connection to the MQTT broker. The default port for secure connections is 8883 and the default port for unsecure connections is 1883.

Timeout (Sec.)

Enter a timeout in seconds for the request. Enter an integer. The maximum timeout value is 300 seconds (5 minutes).

User Authentication

Select if you want to connect without credentials or define credentials for access to the MQTT broker.

  • None (default): Connect without credentials.
  • User name and password: Define credentials for the connection.

User Name

This setting is only visible if you select User name and password above. Enter the user name for access to the Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT) broker.

Password

This setting is only visible if you select User name and password above. Enter the password for access to the MQTT broker.

Transport-Level Security

Select if you want to use a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS) secured connection:

  • Do not use transport-level security: Establish the connection without connection security.
  • Use transport-level security: Establish the connection with the strongest SSL/TLS method that the target device provides.

Server Authentication

This setting is only visible if you select Use transport-level security above. Select if you want to use a certificate for server authentication.

  • Disable (default): Do not use a certificate for server authentication.
  • Enable: Use a certificate for server authentication.

CA Certificate

This setting is only visible if you enable Server Authentication above. Paste the certificate authority (CA) certificate for the verification of the MQTT broker.

i_round_redThe certificate must be in Privacy-Enhanced Mail (PEM) format.

Client Authentication

This setting is only visible if you select Use transport-level security above. Select if you want to use a certificate for client authentication.

  • Disable (default): Do not use a certificate for client authentication.
  • Enable: Use a certificate for client authentication.

Client Certificate

This setting is only visible if you enable Client Authentication above. Paste the certificate that you created for authenticating the sensor against the MQTT broker.

i_round_redThe certificate must be in PEM format.

Client Key

This setting is only visible if you enable Client Authentication above. Enter the client key for access to the MQTT broker.

i_round_redThe client key must be in PEM format and it must be encrypted using the Client Key Password.

Client Key Password

Enter the password for the client key certificate.

MQTT Topic

Enter the topic for the MQTT publish notifications. The default topic is PRTG/%sitename/notifications.

i_round_blueMQTT clients that are subscribed to this topic receive the MQTT publish notifications.

ClientID

Enter the ClientID for the connection to the MQTT broker (server). The default ClientID is PRTG - %sitename.

Message

Define the message of the MQTT publish notifications. The default message is PRTG - [%sitename] %device %name %status %down (%message).

i_round_blueTo reset this field to the default value, enter only an asterisk (*).

i_square_cyanYou can use placeholders. For more information, see section List of Placeholders for Notifications.

Send OPC UA Notification

Send OPC UA Notification

Send OPC UA Notification

Setting

Description

OPC UA Server

Enter the address for the connection to the OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) server.

Port

Enter the port for the connection to the OPC UA server. The default port for secure connections is 4843. The default port for unsecure connections is 4840.

Server Path

Enter the path of the OPC UA server endpoint if you run more than one server under the same IP address or DNS name.

Node ID

Enter the node ID for the OPC UA notification. PRTG writes the data that you define below to the specified node ID.

Timeout (Sec.)

Enter a timeout in seconds for the request.

Security Mode

Select if you want to use encryption:

  • None (default): Do not use encryption.
  • Sign: Sign messages between the sensor and the OPC UA server.
  • Sign & Encrypt: Sign and encrypt messages between the sensor and the OPC UA server.

Security Policy

This setting is only visible if you select Sign or Sign & Encrypt above. Select if you want to use a security policy and define which policy you want to use:

  • None (default): Do not use a security policy.
  • Basic256Sha256: Use the Basic256Sha256 security policy.
  • Basic256: Use the Basic256 security policy.

Client Certificate

This setting is only visible if you select Sign or Sign & Encrypt above. Enter the certificate that you created for authenticating the sensor against the OPC UA server.

i_round_redThe certificate must meet the following requirements:

  • The key size must be 2048-bit.
  • The secure hash algorithm must be SHA256.
  • DataEncipherment must be part of the KeyUsage certificate extension.
  • A uniform resource indicator (URI) must be set in subjectAltName.
  • The certificate must be in Privacy-Enhanced Mail (PEM) format.

Client Key

This setting is only visible if you select Sign or Sign & Encrypt above. Enter the client key for access to the OPC UA server.

i_round_redThe client key must be in PEM format and it must be encrypted using the Client Key Password.

Client Key Password

This setting is only visible if you select Sign or Sign & Encrypt above. Enter the password for the client key.

Authentication Method

Select if you want to connect without credentials or define credentials for access to the OPC UA server:

  • Anonymous (default): Connect without credentials.
  • User name and password: Define credentials for the connection.

i_round_redMost OPC UA servers do not support User name and password authentication without a client certificate. To use User name and password authentication, select Sign or Sign & Encrypt under Security Mode and Basic256Sha256 or Basic256 under Security Policy and enter the Client Certificate, Client Key, and Client Key Password that you want to use.

User Name

This setting is only visible if you select User name and password above. Enter the user name for access to the OPC UA server.

Password

This setting is only visible if you select User name and password above. Enter the password for access to the OPC UA server.

Data Type

Select the type of the data that PRTG sends. Choose between:

  • Boolean: PRTG sends a Boolean.
  • Int64: PRTG sends a 64-bit integer.
  • Double: PRTG sends a double value.

Boolean

This setting is only visible if you select Boolean above. Select the Boolean value that PRTG sends. Choose between:

  • True (default)
  • False

i_round_blueIf you select Boolean as Data Type, the data type on the OPC UA server must be Boolean.

Int64

This setting is only visible if you select Int64 above. Enter the 64-bit integer that PRTG sends.

i_round_blueIf you select Int64 as Data Type, the data type on the OPC UA server must be Int64.

Double

This setting is only visible if you select Double above. Enter the double value that PRTG sends.

i_round_blueIf you select Double as Data Type, the data type on the OPC UA server must be Double.

i_round_redSave your settings. If you change tabs or use the main menu without saving, all changes to the settings are lost.

PRTG Sensor Hub Notifications

In addition to the standard notifications, you can also create custom notifications. To do so, write a script or a program and use it with an Execute Program notification or an Execute HTTP Action notification. There are also many free scripts, plugins, and add-ons for PRTG in the PRTG Sensor Hub.

Others

i_square_cyanFor information about the Comments and History tabs, see section Object Settings.

Escape Special Characters and Whitespaces in Parameters

You need to escape special characters in parameters that you pass to an executable or script and surround them with quotation marks to make sure that the characters are correctly interpreted. PowerShell scripts in particular require adequate escaping so that the parameters are passed in a valid PowerShell syntax. PRTG automatically does most of the escaping for you.

Follow these rules to escape special characters and whitespaces in the parameters fields:

  • Use double (") or single (') quotation marks for parameters that contain whitespaces.

-name "Mr John Q Public"
-name 'Mr John Q Public'

  • Use double quotation marks (") for parameters that already contain single quotation marks (').

-name "Mr 'John Q' Public"

  • Use single quotation marks (') for parameters that already contain double quotation marks (").

-name 'Mr "John Q" Public'

  • Use a backslash (\) to escape and pass a literal double quotation mark.

-name pub\"lic

  • Use double quotation marks (") for parameters that contain double ('') and single (') quotation marks and escape double quotation marks (").

-name "pu'b\"lic"

i_round_blueIn SSH scripts, you can use alphanumeric characters and the special characters ".", "_", "-", "=", and "/" outside of quoted strings.

i_round_blueWe recommend that you do not pass passwords in parameters. Use placeholders instead. See section Custom Sensors for details.

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

What security features does PRTG include?

PowerShell 32 bit and 64 bit and Execution Policy

Is it possible to send SNMP traps using PRTG?

How can I use push notifications with PRTG?

How do I create a webhook for the PRTG Notifications to Slack and Microsoft Teams?

Which audible notifications are available in the PRTG web interface and in PRTG Desktop?

How do I troubleshoot erratic behavior of push notifications in PRTG Desktop or the PRTG apps?

 

i_square_bluePAESSLER WEBSITE

You can find custom notification scripts in the PRTG Sensor Hub

Others

There are some settings that you must make in the PRTG Administration Tool. For more details, see the sections: