<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Add a Sensor

This documentation refers to the PRTG System Administrator user accessing the PRTG web interface on a master node. If you use other user accounts, interfaces, or nodes, you might not see all of the options in the way described here. If you use a cluster installation, note that failover nodes are read-only by default.

There are several ways to add a sensor manually:

• Select Sensors | Add Sensor from the main menu. An assistant will appear, leading you through two steps.
• Hover over and select Add Sensor from the menu. An assistant will appear, leading you through two steps.
• For faster setup, you can select Add Sensor... in the context menu of a device to which you want to add the new sensor. This will skip step 1 and lead you directly to step 2.
• You can also click the Add Sensor button at the end of a device's sensor list on the device tree screen or above the Geo Map on the right.

Step 1 - Select Device

• Select Add sensor to an existing device (default setting).
• Choose the device you want to add the new sensor to.
• Click Continue.

The add sensor assistant appears.

Step 2 - Choose Sensor Type

The add sensor assistant helps you choose the correct sensor.

• Narrow down the sensor types:

• Choose appropriate criteria to filter the shown sensor types.
• Enter (parts of) the name into the search box.
• Go through the detailed list of sensors matching the selected device.
• If you cannot find a suitable sensor, search for custom sensors in our PRTG Script World. Just click Looking For More Sensor Types? below the list of sensor types or above the search box. See section List of Available Sensor Types—Script World Sensors.

• Choose which sensor best monitors the parameters you require.
• Click the sensor box to select this sensor.

The sensor settings dialog opens.

• Enter suitable sensor settings.

PRTG suggests sensor types to create on the selected device. This recommendation is automatically calculated based on the current user's sensor usage and shows the ten most commonly used sensor types (if enough sensor types are already in use).

If you are unsure which sensor type will provide the information you require, then we recommend that you use the filter categories to progressively narrow down your choices.

You can either:

• Select the type of parameter you want to monitor via Monitor What?.
• Specify the type of target system you want to monitor and see what sensors are available for this type of hardware in Target System Type?.
• Choose the technology that you want to use for monitoring (for example SNMP or WMI) in Technology Used?.

Please also consider whether a sensor’s performance impact is high or low by checking the bar in the lower-left corner of the sensor box. For further information, see this Knowledge Base article: How to Speed Up PRTG (especially section 4 - Sensor Type and Monitoring)

• Confirm by clicking Create.

PRTG will now create the sensor. The device tree opens.

For more information about a sensor type, see the manual section of the respective sensor (directly accessible via the question mark (?) symbol in the top-right corner). You can also go to the List of Available Sensor Types section to find a comprehensive overview of sensor types.

More

Knowledge Base: How can I change the number of entries in most used sensor types?

• https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/59788

Knowledge Base: How to Speed Up PRTG (especially section 4 Sensor Type and Monitoring)

• https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/2733