PRTG Manual: Packet Sniffer Sensor
The Packet Sniffer sensor monitors the headers of data packets that pass a local network adapter using a built-in packet sniffer. You can choose from predefined channels.
This sensor analyzes only header traffic.
For a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.
- Dutch: Packet Sniffer
- French: Reniflage de paquets
- German: Packet Sniffer
- Japanese: パケットスニファー
- Portuguese: Sniffer de pacotes
- Russian: Анализатор пакетов
- Simplified Chinese: 数据包嗅探程序
- Spanish: Analizador de paquetes
Consider the following remarks and requirements for this sensor:
Remark |
Description |
---|---|
Performance impact |
This sensor has a very high performance impact. We recommend that you use no more than 50 of this sensor on each probe. |
Probe device |
By default, this sensor works only on a probe device. |
IPv6 |
This sensor supports IPv6. |
Network Mapper |
Using Network Mapper (Nmap) on the parent probe system might cause high CPU load. If you have this issue, restarting the PRTG probe service might help. |
Knowledge Base |
Knowledge Base: How can I change the default groups and channels for flow and Packet Sniffer sensors? |
Traffic |
By default, you can only monitor traffic passing the probe system where the probe device with the sensor is set up. To monitor other traffic in your network, you can configure a monitoring port (if available) that the switch sends a copy of all traffic to. You can then physically connect this port to a network adapter of the probe system (either local probe or remote probe system). This way, PRTG can analyze the complete traffic that passes through the switch. This feature of your hardware might be called Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN), port mirroring, or port monitoring. |
Hosted probe |
You 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. |
Known Issues
- The sensor does not support the Simulate Error Status option in the Context Menu. If you trigger this action, the sensor does not show a simulated Down status.
The sensor has the following default tags that are automatically predefined in the sensor's settings when you add the sensor:
- bandwidthsensor
- sniffersensor
For more information about basic sensor settings, see section Sensor Settings.
For more information on filters, see section Filter Rules.
Setting |
Description |
---|---|
Include Filter |
Define if you want to filter any traffic. If you leave this field empty, the sensor includes all traffic. To include specific traffic only, define filters using a special syntax. |
Exclude Filter |
First, the sensor considers the filters in Include Filter. From this subset, you can explicitly exclude traffic, using the same syntax. |
Network Adapters |
Select the network adapters that this sensor monitors. You see a list of all adapters that are available on the probe system. To select an adapter, enable the check box in front of the respective name. You can also select all items or cancel the selection by using the check box in the table header. You cannot change this setting if the probe is not connected. |
Stream Data Handling |
Define what PRTG does with the stream and packet data:
Use with caution. It can create huge data files. We recommend that you only use this setting for a short time. In a cluster, PRTG stores the result in the PRTG data directory of the master node. |
Setting |
Description |
---|---|
Channel Selection |
Define the categories that the sensor accounts the traffic to:
For each group, you can select how many channels the sensor uses, that is, how detailed the sensor divides the traffic:
You can change the default configuration for groups and channels. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: How can I change the default groups and channels for flow and Packet Sniffer sensors? |
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. You can set a different primary channel later by clicking below a channel gauge on the sensor's Overview tab. |
Graph Type |
Define how this sensor shows different channels:
|
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. |
Setting |
Description |
---|---|
Primary Toplist |
Define which Toplist is the primary Toplist of the sensor:
PRTG shows the primary Toplist in maps when you add a Toplist object. |
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 under the corresponding setting name to disable the inheritance and to display its options.
For more information, see section Inheritance of Settings.
For all Flow (NetFlow, jFlow, sFlow, IPFIX) and Packet Sniffer sensors, Toplists are available on the sensor's Overview tab. Using Toplists, you can review traffic data for small time periods in great detail.
For more information, see section Toplists.
For more information, see section Filter Rules for Flow, IPFIX, and Packet Sniffer Sensors.
Which channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the target device, the available components, and the sensor setup.
Channel |
Description |
---|---|
Chat |
The traffic from chat and instant messaging (IRC, AIM) |
Citrix |
The traffic from Citrix applications |
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 |
FTP/P2P |
The traffic from file transfer (FTP/P2P) |
Infrastructure |
The traffic from network services (DHCP, DNS, Ident, ICMP, SNMP) |
The internet mail traffic (IMAP, POP3, SMTP) |
|
NetBIOS |
The traffic from NetBIOS communication |
Other |
The traffic from various other protocols (UDP, TCP) |
Remote Control |
The traffic from remote control applications (RDP, SSH, Telnet, Virtual Network Computing (VNC)) |
Total |
The total traffic This channel is the primary channel by default. |
Various |
The traffic from various other sources |
WWW |
The traffic from the web (HTTP, HTTPS) |
KNOWLEDGE BASE
How can I change the default groups and channels for flow and Packet Sniffer sensors?
What security features does PRTG include?
Where is the volume line in graphs?