PRTG Manual: WMI Custom Sensor

The WMI Custom sensor performs a custom query via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and monitors numeric values (integers and floats).

i_round_blueIf the WQL query returns strings, use the WMI Custom String sensor.

WMI Custom Sensor

WMI Custom 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 (Klant Specifiek)
  • French: Requête personnalisée (WMI)
  • German: WMI (Benutzerdef.)
  • Japanese: WMI カスタム
  • Portuguese: WMI (customizado)
  • Russian: Нестандартный WMI
  • Simplified Chinese: WMI 自定义
  • Spanish: WMI (personalizado)

Remarks

Consider the following remarks and requirements for this sensor:

Remark

Description

Performance impact

This sensor has a high performance impact. Stay below 200 WMI sensors per probe. Above this number, consider using multiple remote probes for load balancing.

WoW64

This sensor requires WoW64 (Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit) for target systems that run Windows Server 2016.

Credentials

This sensor requires credentials for Windows systems.

IPv6

This sensor supports IPv6.

Knowledge Base

Hosted probe

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

Setting

Description

Channel Name

Enter a name for the channel in which PRTG shows the received data. PRTG shows this name in graphs and tables. Enter a string.

i_round_blueYou can change this value later in the channel settings of this sensor.

Basic Sensor Settings

Basic Sensor Settings

Basic Sensor Settings

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

  • wmicustomsensor

i_square_cyanFor more information about basic sensor settings, see section Sensor Settings.

Custom Query Specific

Custom Query Specific

Custom Query Specific

Setting

Description

Namespace

Enter the WMI namespace for the query.

WQL File

Select a .wql file. The sensor executes it with every scanning interval.

The list contains WQL scripts that are available in the \Custom Sensors\WMI WQL scripts subfolder of the PRTG program directory on the probe system. Store your script there. If used on a cluster probe, you must store the file on all cluster nodes.

i_round_blueYour query must return an integer or float value. Strings are not supported. Use the WMI Custom String sensor in this case.

i_round_blueYou cannot change this value after sensor creation.

Placeholder <#PH1>

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

Placeholder <#PH2>

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

Placeholder <#PH3>

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

If Value Changes

Define what the sensor does when its value changes:

  • Ignore (default): Do nothing.
  • Trigger 'change' notification: Send an internal message that indicates a change.
    i_round_blueIn combination with a change trigger, you can use this to trigger a notification if a change occurs.

Unit String

Enter a unit for the data that the sensor receives from your script. This is for display purposes only. The unit is displayed in graphs and tables. Enter a string.

Multiplication

Define a multiplier for the received values. The default value 1 does not change received values. Enter an integer.

Division

Define a divisor for the received values. The default value 1 does not change received values. Enter an integer.

Debug Options

Debug Options

Debug Options

Setting

Description

Result Handling

Define what PRTG does with the sensor result:

  • Discard result (default): 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 name is Result of Sensor [ID].Data.txt. This setting is for debugging purposes. PRTG overwrites this file 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, PRTG displays the last value of the primary channel 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 this sensor shows different channels:

  • 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 select Stack channels on top of each other above.

Select a unit from the list. PRTG stacks all channels with this unit 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.

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

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

[Value]

The retrieved numeric value

i_round_blueThis channel is the primary channel by default.

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

Why do I have to store SQL sensor queries and custom scripts in files on the probe computer?

How do I create a WMI Custom sensor?

What security features does PRTG include?

How do I properly configure a WMI custom sensor?

Which WQL queries are used by the PRTG WMI sensors?

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