<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: WMI Vital System Data v2 Sensor

The WMI Vital System Data v2 sensor monitors vital system parameters via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).

i_round_blueThe sensor can monitor CPU, thread, memory, network, or pagefile, for example.

WMI Vital System Data v2 Sensor

WMI Vital System Data v2 Sensor

i_square_cyanFor a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.

Sensor in Other Languages

  • Dutch: WMI Vitale Systeem Gegevens V2
  • French: Données système vitales v2 (WMI)
  • German: WMI Wichtige Systemdaten v2
  • Japanese: WMI バイタルシステムデータ(V2)
  • Portuguese: Dados vitais do sistema (WMI) v2
  • Russian: Важные системные данные WMI v2
  • Simplified Chinese: WMI 关键系统数据 v2
  • Spanish: Datos vitales de sistema (WMI) v2

Remarks

  • This sensor has a high performance impact. Try to stay below 200 WMI sensors in total per probe. Above this number, consider using multiple remote probes for load balancing.
  • This sensor requires credentials for Windows systems in the settings of the parent device.
  • This sensor requires WoW64 (Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit) for target systems that run Windows Server 2016.
  • This sensor supports the IPv6 protocol.

i_podYou 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.

Add Sensor

The Add Sensor dialog appears when you manually add a new sensor to a device. It only shows the settings that are required to create the sensor. You can change nearly all settings on the sensor's Settings tab after creation.

i_round_blueThe settings that you select in the Add Sensor dialog are valid for all sensors that you create when you finish the dialog.

Vital System Data Readings Accessible Using WMI

Setting

Description

Performance Counter

Select the performance counters that you want to monitor. PRTG creates one sensor for each counter that you select.

You see a list of available vital system data values the sensor can monitor on the target device. The available options depend on your configuration. PRTG shows all possible performance counters with the name and instance description (if available).

Choose from the following counters:

  • CPU
  • Thread
  • Memory
  • Network
  • Pagefile

i_round_blueYou can also select all items or cancel the selection by using the check box in the table header.

Basic Sensor Settings

Click the Settings tab of a sensor to change its settings.

Basic Sensor Settings

Basic Sensor Settings

Setting

Description

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.

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?

Parent Tags

Shows tags that the sensor inherits from its parent device, parent group, and parent probe.

i_round_blueThis setting is for your information only. You cannot change it.

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_blueIt is not possible to enter tags with a leading plus (+) or minus (-) sign, nor tags with parentheses (()) or angle brackets (<>).

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

The sensor has the following default tags that are automatically predefined in the sensor's settings when you add the sensor:

  • wmivitalsystemdatasensor

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 (i_priority_1) to the highest priority (i_priority_5).

i_round_blueUsually, a sensor connects to the IP Address/DNS Name of the parent device. See the device settings for details. For some sensors, you can explicitly define the monitoring target in the sensor settings.

Vital System Data Readings Accessible Using WMI

Vital System Data Readings Accessible Using WMI

Vital System Data Readings Accessible Using WMI

Setting

Description

Display Name

Shows the display name that the sensor uses to query data from the target device.

i_round_bluePRTG shows this value for reference purposes only. If you need to change this value, add the sensor anew.

Instance

Shows the instance that the sensor uses to query data from the target device.

i_round_bluePRTG shows this value for reference purposes only. If you need to change this value, add the sensor anew.

WMI Class

Shows the WMI class that the sensor uses to query data from the target device.

i_round_bluePRTG shows this value for reference purposes only. If you need to change this value, add the sensor anew.

Counter

Shows the counter that the sensor uses to query data from the target device.

i_round_bluePRTG shows this value for reference purposes only. If you need to change this value, add the sensor anew.

Time Stamp

Shows the time stamp that the sensor uses to query data from the target device.

i_round_bluePRTG shows this value for reference purposes only. If you need to change this value, add the sensor anew.

Time Frequency

Shows the time frequency that the sensor uses to query data from the target device.

i_round_bluePRTG shows this value for reference purposes only. If you need to change this value, add the sensor anew.

Counter Type

Shows the counter type that the sensor uses to query data from the target device.

i_round_bluePRTG shows this value for reference purposes only. If you need to change this value, add the sensor anew.

Result Handling

Define what PRTG does with the sensor result:

  • Discard result: Do not store the sensor result.
  • Store result: Store the last sensor result in the \Logs\sensors subfolder of the PRTG data directory on the probe system. The file names are Result of Sensor [ID].txt and Result of Sensor [ID].Data.txt. This setting is for debugging purposes. PRTG overwrites these files with each scanning interval.

i_round_blueIn a cluster, PRTG stores the result in the PRTG data directory of the master node.

Sensor Display

Sensor Display

Sensor Display

Setting

Description

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.

i_round_blueYou can set a different primary channel later by clicking b_channel_primary below a channel gauge on the sensor's Overview tab.

Graph Type

Define how different channels are shown for this sensor:

  • Show channels independently (default): Show a 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 generates a graph that visualizes the different components of your total traffic.
    i_round_redYou cannot use this option in combination with manual Vertical Axis Scaling (available in the channel settings).

Stack Unit

This setting 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.

Inherited Settings

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 b_inherited_enabled under the corresponding setting name to disable the inheritance and to display its options.

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Inheritance of Settings.

Scanning Interval

Scanning Interval

Scanning Interval

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Scanning Interval.

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window

i_round_blueYou 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.

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window.

Access Rights

Access Rights

Access Rights

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Access Rights.

Channel Unit Configuration

i_round_blueWhich 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.

Channel Unit Configuration

Channel Unit Configuration

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Channel Unit Configuration.

Channel List

i_round_blueWhich channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the target device, the available components, and the sensor setup.

Channel

Description

Bytes In All Heaps

The common language runtime (CLR) memory bytes in all heaps

Bytes Total/Sec

The total number of bytes per second

Committed

The committed bytes

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

Excepts

The number of thrown CLR exceptions

Free Physical Memory

The free physical memory

Packets Outbound Errors

The number of outbound packet errors

Queue Length

The CPU queue length

Total Visible Memory

The total visible memory

User Time

The CPU user time in percent

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

What security features does PRTG include?

My WMI sensors don't work. What can I do?