PRTG Manual: WMI Custom Sensor

The WMI Custom Sensor performs a custom query via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).

Note: 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, please copy the file to every cluster node.

For this sensor type, Windows credentials must be defined for the device you want to use the sensor on.

For a general introduction to the technology behind WMI, please see Monitoring via WMI section.

Add Sensor

The Add Sensor dialog appears when adding a new sensor on a device manually. It only shows the setting fields that are imperative for creating the sensor. Therefore, you will not see all setting fields in this dialog. You can change all settings in the sensor's Settings tab later.

The following settings for this sensor differ in the 'Add Sensor' dialog in comparison to the sensor's settings page:

Custom Query Specific

Channel Name

Enter a name for the channel in which the received data will be presented. The name will be displayed in graphs and tables. Please enter a string. You can change the name later in the sensor's channel settings.

Sensor Settings

On the sensor's details page, click on the Settings tab to change settings.

Note: If not set explicitly in a sensor's settings, it will connect to the IP Address or DNS Name defined in the settings of the parent device the sensor is created on.

Basic Sensor Settings

Sensor Name

Enter a meaningful name to identify the sensor. The name will be shown by default in the device tree and in all alarms.

Tags

Enter one or more tags, separated by space or comma. You can use tags to group sensors and use tag-filtered views later on. Tags are not case sensitive. We recommend using the default value. You can add additional tags to it, if you like. Other tags are automatically inherited from objects further up in the device tree. Those are not visible here.

Priority

Select a priority for the sensor. This setting determines where the sensor will be placed in sensor lists. Top priority will be at the top of a list. You can choose from one star (low priority) to five stars (top priority).

Custom Query Specific

Namespace

Enter the namespace for the query.

WQL-File

Select a file that will be used for this sensor from the drop down menu. It will be executed with every scanning interval. The menu contains WQL scripts from the \Custom Sensors\WMI WQL scripts sub folder of your PRTG installation. Please store your script there. If used on a remote probe, the file must be stored 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, please see Data Storage section. Note: Your query must return an integer  or float value. Strings are not supported!

Placeholder <#PH1>

In your WQL script, you can use up to three placeholders that you can assign a value to using this field. Please enter a string for variable <#PH1> or leave the field empty.

Placeholder <#PH2>

In your WQL script, you can use up to three placeholders that you can assign a value to using this field. Please enter a string for variable <#PH2> or leave the field empty.

Placeholder <#PH3>

In your WQL script, you can use up to three placeholders that you can assign a value to using this field. Please enter a string for variable <#PH3> or leave the field empty.

If value changes

Define what shall be done in case the value of this sensor changes. You can choose between:

  • Ignore changes (default): No action will be taken on change.
  • Trigger 'On Change' notification: The sensor will send an internal message indicating that its value has changed. In combination with a Change Trigger, you can use this mechanism to trigger a notification whenever the sensor value changes.

Channel Name

Enter a name for the channel in which the received data will be presented. The name will be displayed in graphs and tables. Please enter a string.

Unit String

Enter a unit for the data that will be received by your script. This is for displaying purposes only. The unit will be displayed in graphs and tables. Please enter a string.

Multiplication

Define with which value the received values will be multiplied by. By default, this is set to 1 in order to not change the received values. Please enter an integer, a decimal value, or leave the field empty.

Division

Define with which value the received values will be divided by. By default, this is set to 1 in order to not change the received values. Please enter an integer, a decimal value, or leave the field empty.

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 will always be displayed underneath the sensor's name. The available options depend on what channels are available for this sensor.

Chart Type

Define how different channels will be shown for this sensor.

  • Show channels independently (default): Show an own graph for each channel.
  • Stack channels on top of each other: Stack channels on top of each other to create a multi-channel graph. This will generate an easy-to-read graph which visualizes the different components of your total traffic. Note: This option cannot be used in combination with manual Vertical Axis Scaling (available in the Sensor Channels Settings settings).

Stack Unit

This setting is only available if stacked graphs are selected above. Choose a unit from the list. All channels with this unit will be 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.

Inherited Settings

By default, all following settings are inherited from objects 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. To change a setting for this object, disable inheritance by clicking on the check mark symbol in front of the respective setting name. You will then see the options described below.

Scanning Interval

Scanning Interval

The scanning interval determines the time the sensor waits between two scans. Select a scanning interval (seconds, minutes, or hours) from the list. You can change the available intervals in the system administration.

Schedules and Dependencies

Schedule

Select a schedule from the list. Schedules can be used to pause monitoring for a certain time span (days, hours) throughout the week. You can create new schedules and edit existing ones in the account settings. Note: Schedules are generally inherited. New schedules will be added to existing ones, so all schedules are active.

Dependency Type

Define a dependency type. Dependencies can be used to pause monitoring for an object depending on the status of another. You can choose between:

  • Use parent: Pause the current sensor if the device it is created on is in a Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency.
  • Select object: Pause the current sensor if the device it is created on is in an Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency. Additionally, pause the current sensor if a specific other object in the device tree is in a Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency. Select below.
  • Master object for parent: Make this sensor the master object for its parent device. The sensor will influence the behavior of the device it is created on: If the sensor is in a Down status, the device will be paused. For example, it is a good idea to make a Ping sensor the master object for its parent device to pause monitoring for all other sensors on the device in case the device cannot even be pinged. Additionally, the sensor will be paused if the parent group of its parent device is in a Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency.

Note: Testing your dependencies is easy! Simply choose Simulate Error Status from the context menu of an object that other objects depend on. A few seconds later all dependent objects should be paused.

Dependency

This field is only visible if the select object option is enabled above. Click on the reading-glass symbol and use the object selector to choose an object on which the current sensor will be dependent on.

Inherit Access Rights

User Group Access

Define which user group(s) will have access to the object you're editing. A table with user groups and right is shown; it contains all user groups from your setup. For each user group you can choose from the following access rights:

  • Inherited: Use the settings of the parent object.
  • None: Users in this group cannot see or edit the object. The object does not show up in lists and in the device tree. Exception: If a child object is visible to the user, the object is visible in the device tree, though not accessible.
  • Read: Users in this group can see the object and review its monitoring results.
  • Write: Users in this group can see the object, review its monitoring results, and edit the object's settings. They cannot edit access rights settings.
  • Full: Users in this group can see the object, review its monitoring results, edit the object's settings, and edit access rights settings.

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.

Channel Unit Configuration

Channel Unit Types

For each type of sensor channel, define the unit in which data is displayed. If defined on probe, group, or device level, these settings can be inherited to all sensors underneath. You can set units for the following channel types (if available):

  • Bandwidth
  • Memory
  • Disk
  • File
  • Custom

Note: Custom channel types can be set on sensor level only.

More

For more tips and tricks regarding WQL scripts, please see the Paessler Knowledge Base and search for WQL.

Channels

Click on the Channels tab to change display settings, spike filter, and limits. For detailed information, please see Sensor Channels Settings section.

Notifications

Click on the Notifications tab to change notification triggers. For detailed information, please see Sensor Notifications Settings section.

Others

For more general information about settings, please see Object Settings section.

Sensor Settings Overview

For information about sensor settings, please see the following sections:

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