PRTG Manual: Hyper-V Virtual Machine Sensor

The Hyper-V Virtual Machine sensor monitors a virtual machine (VM) that runs on a Microsoft Hyper-V host server via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) or Windows performance counters, as configured in the Windows Compatibility Options of the parent device.

Hyper-V Virtual Machine Sensor

Hyper-V Virtual Machine 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: Virtuele Hyper-V-Machine
  • French: Hyper-V machine virtuelle
  • German: Hyper-V Virtuelle Maschine
  • Japanese: Hyper-V 仮想マシン
  • Portuguese: Máquina virtual Hyper-V
  • Russian: Виртуальная машина Hyper-V
  • Simplified Chinese: Hyper-V 虚拟机
  • Spanish: Máquina virtual Hyper-V

Remarks

Consider the following remarks and requirements for this sensor:

Remark

Description

Performance impact

This sensor has a high performance impact. We recommend that you use no more than 200 of this sensor on each probe.

Windows version

This sensor requires at least Windows Server 2008 R2 on the probe system (on every cluster node, if on a cluster probe).

i_round_redWoW64 must be installed on target systems that run Windows Server 2016. This allows 32-bit applications to be run on 64-bit systems. This is necessary because the PRTG probe service only runs with 32-bit support. Without it, WMI sensors do not work.

Remote Registry Windows service

This sensor requires that the Remote Registry Windows service runs on the target system.

i_round_blueIf this service does not run, a connection via performance counters is not possible. However, WMI connections might still work.

i_round_blueTo enable the service, log in to the respective system and open the services manager (for example, via services.msc). In the list, find the respective service and set its Start Type to Automatic.

Parent device

This sensor requires that the parent device is a Windows server that runs Hyper-V.

Credentials

This sensor requires credentials for Windows systems.

i_round_redWe recommend that you use Windows domain credentials. If you use local credentials, make sure that the same Windows user accounts (with the same user name and password) exist on both the probe system and the target system.

Otherwise, a connection via performance counters is not possible. However, WMI connections might still work.

Live migration

This sensor does not support Live Migration.

IPv6

This sensor supports IPv6.

VM monitoring

To monitor a VM with this sensor, disable User Account Control (UAC) in the control panel of the Windows operating system that runs on this VM. Otherwise, the sensor might change to the Down status and show the error message The virtual machine is not running or is powered off.

Unsupported characters

Make sure that the names of your VMs do not contain unsupported characters, especially avoid the number sign (#). We recommend that you not rename VMs once you have set up monitoring. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: Why don't my Hyper-V sensors work after changing names?

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.

Hybrid Approach: Performance Counters and WMI

i_round_blueBy default, this sensor uses WMI to request monitoring data. You can change the default behavior to a hybrid approach in the Windows Compatibility Options of the parent device's settings on which you create this sensor: if you choose this option, the sensor first tries to query data via Windows performance counters and uses WMI as a fallback if performance counters are not available. When running in fallback mode, the sensor tries to connect via performance counters again after 24 hours.

i_round_redSensors that use the WMI protocol have a high impact on the system performance. Try to stay below 200 WMI sensors per probe. Above this number, consider using multiple remote probes for load balancing.

i_round_blueFor a general introduction to the technology behind WMI, see section Monitoring via WMI.

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:

  • wmihypervsensor

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

Virtual Machine Settings

Virtual Machine Settings

Virtual Machine Settings

Setting

Description

GUID

The globally unique identifier (GUID) of the VM that this sensor monitors.

Virtual Machine Name

The name of the VM that this sensor monitors.

Description

The description of the VM that this sensor monitors.

Powered-Off VM Handling

Define how the sensor reacts to VMs that are powered off:

  • Alarm when VM is powered off (default): Change to the Down status if the VM is powered off.

i_round_blueIf the sensor is in the Down status, it does not record any data in any of its channels.

  • Ignore powered off state: Do not change to the Down status if the VM is powered off. The sensor reports zero values instead.

Result Handling

Define what PRTG does with the sensor result:

  • Discard result (default): Do not store the sensor result.
  • Store result: Store the sensor result and the last response 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, 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

CPU Usage Guest

The CPU usage of the guests (%)

CPU Usage Hypervisor

The CPU usage of the hypervisor (%)

CPU Usage Total

The total CPU usage

i_round_blueThis channel is the primary channel by default.

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.

IDE: Read Bytes/Sec

The disk read speed of the IDE

IDE: Write Bytes/Sec

The disk write speed of the IDE

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

Why don't my Hyper-V sensors work after changing names?

What security features does PRTG include?