PRTG Manual: WMI Custom Sensor

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

• Knowledge Base: Why do I have to store SQL sensor queries and custom scripts in files on the probe computer?
• Knowledge Base: How do I create a WMI Custom sensor?

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.

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.

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

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.

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

You 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.
  In 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.

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.

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

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:

• 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.
  You 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.

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

This channel is the primary channel by default.