Switch monitoring
with PRTG
PRTG works with all
the biggest manufacturers
PRTG monitors
switch hardware
PRTG monitors
traffic
PRTG automatically sounds the alarm in the event of errors
Switch monitoring with PRTG
Switch traffic monitoring: 3 types of sensors to help you get started
1. SNMP sensors
PRTG comes with preconfigured SNMP sensors for the switches of manufacturers such as HP, Cisco, and Dell.
2. Packet Sniffer Sensor
The Packet Sniffer Sensor monitors traffic, and filters by IP addresses, protocols, and data types.
3. NetFlow/sFlow/jFlow sensors
Thanks to the PRTG NetFlow sensors, you can also monitor the traffic and bandwidth of switches from manufacturers such as Cisco and Juniper.
Switch monitoring: 3 sensors for monitoring hardware
How PRTG defines sensors
In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, e.g. the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, the free space of a disk drive. On average you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.
SNMP CPU Load Sensor
This sensor measures the CPU load in your switch.
SNMP Memory Sensor
This sensor monitors memory.
Ping Sensor
The PRTG Ping Sensor monitors the availability of your switches.
A sneak peek into switch monitoring with PRTG
SNMP Traffic Sensor
"Sunburst" dashboard in PRTG
Device overview
5 good reasons to choose PRTG as your switch monitoring tool
PRTG is independent
Cisco, HP, Huawei…PRTG is compatible with any switch manufacturer that offers SNMP. It also comes with preconfigured sensors for many leading switch manufacturers, which speeds up the setup process.
PRTG is comprehensive
PRTG is the perfect tool for monitoring all your hardware – including servers, routers, and switches. You can also keep a constant eye on bandwidth, WiFi traffic, and applications.
PRTG sounds the alarm
If a switch malfunctions, you’ll know so at once. PRTG comes with a customizable notification system, which promptly sounds the alarm so you can quickly go about fixing the problem.
PRTG improves security
With PRTG, you’ll immediately see if a port is open. As a result, you can close gateways and enhance the security of your network.
PRTG optimizes bandwidth consumption
Which applications are responsible for the most traffic? Where do bottlenecks tend to arise? Network diagnostics with PRTG provides quick answers to these and other questions, and thus boosts the efficiency of your network!
Bandwidth is measured as the amount of data that can be transferred from one point to another within a network in a specific amount of time. Typically, bandwidth is expressed as a bitrate and measured in bits per second (bps). It refers to the transmission capacity of a connection and is an important factor when determining the quality and speed of a network.
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“With routers, switches, hubs, and bridges, your network has a great deal of ports which potentially need to be monitored. I would therefore recommend creating at least one active sensor per port on each of your central network components. By doing so, you should be able to monitor all of a network device’s active ports, as well as its CPU and RAM. On the other hand, for those network components which are not so vital, it is often sufficient to use paused sensors instead of actively monitoring every port.” Daniel Elsner, PRTG Product Development
Practical tip: “Hey Daniel, do you have any port monitoring tips up your sleeve?”
Your switch monitoring at a glance – even while on the go
PRTG is set up in a matter of minutes and can be used on a wide variety of mobile devices.
PRTG is compatible with
a variety of switch manufacturers
A lot to choose from
Most router and server manufacturers like Linksys, Netgear, or Yamaha are also in the business of switches. In fact, the number of available switches is constantly on the rise. We will therefore only cover a few of the products made by some of the main manufacturers. Status as of 2017.
Mixing manufacturers
Many administrators use a variety of different switches from a variety of different manufacturers. As a result, they often find it difficult to find monitoring software that can monitor all their switches at the same time. That’s where PRTG comes in: our switch monitoring software is compatible with nearly every major switch manufacturer.
Common switch manufacturers
HP
HP offers a variety of switches that can be used for both large or small data centers. An example: the HP Procurve switch. PRTG comes with several preconfigured sensors for HP products.
Huawei
Huawei also makes Ethernet switches for larger corporations. Some of these include campus switches (S12700 series), data center switches (CloudEngine series), and SME switches for smaller companies.
Juniper
Juniper offers two types of switches: EX switches and QFX switches. Administrators are often looking for the best way to monitor these switches.
Dell
Dell offers Dell Networking X-Series switches to company networks which support SNMP. PRTG comes with various preconfigured SNMP sensors for Dell. Learn more about Dell monitoring here.
Arista
Arista makes layer 3 switches. Compared to Cisco, Arista is a smaller manufacturer. Nevertheless, its switches are used by many companies and organizations.
Trusted by 500,000 users and recognized
by industry analysts as a leader
“Fantastic network and infrastructure monitoring solution that is easy to deploy and easier still to use. Simply the best available.”
“Software is absolutely perfect, Support is superior. Meets all needs and requirements, this is a must have solution if you are needing any form of monitoring.”
“The tool excels at its primary focus of being a unified infrastructure management and network monitoring service.”
“Our network engineers really love PRTG, because of its customization”
John Krull, CTO, Oakland Unified School District, USA
Switch port monitoring with PRTG
Security: Keeping an eye on open switch ports
When monitoring switch ports, administrators are up against some major challenges. They must be able to continually check for open and closed ports, as well as potentially dangerous open switch ports. With PRTG, you'll keep constant track of your ports – and automatically receive an alarm if something goes awry.
An overview of switch port capacities
If a switch is stretched beyond its capacities, then it is sure to break down. Such a situation is both frustrating and unnecessary, for with PRTG, you are quickly informed of impending overloads and can upgrade or relieve the switch accordingly. Learn more about port monitoring with PRTG here.
“Easy to implement and configure with good technical support.”
R. v. S., ICT Manager at Heinen & Hopman Eng BV
PRTG makes your job easier
Our monitoring software frees you to focus on other tasks by promptly notifying you of potential issues.
Save effort
PRTG gives you one central monitoring tool for your servers and entire network. Enjoy a quick overview of your whole infrastructure via our dashboard and app.
Save time
Getting started with PRTG is a breeze. Setting up or switching from another network monitoring tool is easy thanks to the auto-discovery and pre-configured device templates.
Save money
80% of our customers report substantial cost savings with network monitoring. Your costs of licenses will likely pay for themselves within weeks.
We asked: would you recommend PRTG?
Over 95% of our customers say yes!
Paessler AG conducted trials in over 600 IT departments worldwide to tune its network monitoring software closer to the needs of sysadmins.
The result of the survey: over 95% of the participants would recommend PRTG – or already have.
Create innovative solutions with Paessler’s IT partners
Partnering with innovative IT vendors, Paessler unleashes synergies to create
new and additional benefits for joined customers.
With the combination of PRTG and Insys, the monitoring specialist Paessler and the industrial gateway manufacturer INSYS icom offer a practical possibility to merge IT and OT.
INSYS icom
Need help with other areas of your network? Be sure to check out the following topics:
Port monitoring
PRTG monitors open and closed ports, traffic, and bandwidth. Along with SNMP, NetFlow, and packet sniffing sensors, PRTG comes with additional port sensors such as the Port Range Sensor. Learn more about port monitoring here.
Router monitoring
PRTG monitors your routers. In the event of error messages, high bandwidth use, firewall failures, or suspicious traffic, the notification system of PRTG automatically sounds the alarm. Learn more about router monitoring here.
Network monitoring
PRTG contains many network utilities. Its dashboard lets you quickly keep track of hardware, software, and all the other components in your network. PRTG is also available as an app for when you are out of the office. Learn all about network monitoring with PRTG here.
Packet sniffing
Want to take a closer look at your traffic? The PRTG Packet Sniffer Sensor lets you monitor data packets, which you can then filter by IP address, protocol type, data type, or other values. Learn more about packet sniffing here.
NetFlow monitoring
The NetFlow protocol is mainly used by Cisco devices. PRTG is compatible with all the major NetFlow versions. It also comes with preconfigured sensors for other Flow protocols like IPFIX. Learn more about NetFlow monitoring here.
NetFlow is a protocol for collecting, aggregating and recording traffic flow data in a network. NetFlow data provide a more granular view of how bandwidth and network traffic are being used than other monitoring solutions, such as SNMP. NetFlow was developed by Cisco and is embedded in Cisco’s IOS software on the company’s routers and switches and has been supported on almost all Cisco devices since the 11.1 train of Cisco IOS Software.
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Ping monitoring
PRTG uses ping to check the availability of your network devices in real time, and promptly reports errors so you can take action at once. The Auto Discovery feature makes setup both quick and easy. Learn more about ping monitoring here.
Ping is a command-line utility, available on virtually any operating system with network connectivity, that acts as a test to see if a networked device is reachable. The ping command sends a request over the network to a specific device. A successful ping results in a response from the computer that was pinged back to the originating computer.
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PRTG: The multi-tool for sysadmins
Adapt PRTG individually and dynamically to your needs and rely on a strong API:- HTTP API: Access monitoring data and manipulate monitoring objects via HTTP requests
- Custom sensors: Create your own PRTG sensors for customized monitoring
- Custom notifications: Create your own notifications and send action triggers to external systems
- REST Custom sensor: Monitor almost everything that provides data in XML or JSON format
Still not convinced?
More than 500,000 sysadmins love PRTG
Paessler PRTG is used by companies of all sizes. Sysadmins love PRTG because it makes their job a whole lot easier.
Still not convinced?
Monitor your entire IT infrastructure
Bandwidth, servers, virtual environments, websites, VoIP services – PRTG keeps an eye on your entire network.
Try Paessler PRTG for free
Everyone has different monitoring needs. That’s why we let you try PRTG for free. Start now with your trial.
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PRTG |
Network Monitoring Software - Version 23.2.84.1566 (May 24th, 2023) |
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Hosting |
Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available |
Languages |
English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese |
Pricing |
Up to 100 sensors for free (Price List) |
Unified Monitoring |
Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more |
Supported Vendors & Applications |
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