PRTG Manual: VMware Host Hardware (WBEM) Sensor

The VMware Host Hardware (WBEM) sensor monitors information about the hardware of an ESXi server using Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM).

VMware Host Hardware (WBEM) Sensor

For a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.

Sensor in Other Languages

Dutch: VMware Host Hardware (WBEM)
French: VMware matériel du serveur hôte (WBEM)
German: VMware Host Hardware (WBEM)
Japanese: VMware ホストハードウェア（WBEM）
Portuguese: Hardware de host VMware (WBEM)
Russian: Аппаратные средства узла VMware (WBEM)
Simplified Chinese: VMware 主机硬件 (WBEM)
Spanish: Hardware de host VMware (WBEM)

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.
Enabled CIM Interface on ESXi Host	This sensor requires that the CIM interface is enabled on the ESXi host. As of ESXi 6.5, you must manually enable CIM. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: How do I enable the CIM interface on VMware ESXi 6.5?
Windows Server	We recommend Windows Server 2016 on the probe system for best performance of this sensor.
Credentials	This sensor requires credentials for Linux/Solaris/macOS (SSH/WBEM) systems in the settings of the parent device.
Parent device	This sensor requires that the parent device is a VMware ESXi server as of version 5.2.
IPv4	This sensor only supports IPv4.
Lookups	This sensor uses lookups to determine the status values of one or more channels.
Knowledge Base	Knowledge Base: Why are my VMware sensors not working after upgrading to VCSA 6.5 U1?

Basic Sensor Settings

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

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

ESXi Server Elements

Setting	Description
Hardware Element	The hardware element that this sensor monitors.
Automatic Sensor Status	Define if the sensor changes its status depending on the health status reading: Set sensor to warning or down status (default): Set the sensor to the Warning or the Down status when the server returns respective values. The sensor also changes to the Down status if the connection to the server fails. Report the current reading: Never change the sensor's status dependent on the values returned by the server. The sensor only changes to the Down status if the connection to the server fails.
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. This option is not available when the sensor runs on the hosted probe of a PRTG Hosted Monitor instance. In a cluster, PRTG stores the result in the PRTG data directory of the master node.

Setting

Description

Hardware Element

The hardware element that this sensor monitors.

Automatic Sensor Status

Define if the sensor changes its status depending on the health status reading:

Set sensor to warning or down status (default): Set the sensor to the Warning or the Down status when the server returns respective values. The sensor also changes to the Down status if the connection to the server fails.
Report the current reading: Never change the sensor's status dependent on the values returned by the server. The sensor only changes to the Down status if the connection to the server fails.

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.

This option is not available when the sensor runs on the hosted probe of a PRTG Hosted Monitor instance.

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

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. 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.

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:

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.

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 under the corresponding setting name to disable the inheritance and to display its options.

For more information, see section Inheritance of Settings.

Channel List

Which channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the target device, the available components, and the sensor setup.

Channel	Description
Current	The current
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.
Healthstate	The health status Up status: OK, Unknown Warning status: Degraded, Minor Down status: Critical, Major, Non Recoverable Error
Power	The average host power usage
Rotational Speed	The fan RPM
Temperature	The temperature