How to find your
stored data for PRTG

What’s the benefit of the built-in database in PRTG?

1. What’s the benefit of the built-in database in PRTG?

Monitoring data usually consists of very small amounts of data that PRTG generates at regular intervals.

A classical database is not that well suited for an efficient storage of this type of data.

This is the reason why PRTG comes with its own database that stores data in a flat file format and that is optimized for monitoring data.

These are the benefits of the built-in database:

Performance

The database is very fast. Therefore, PRTG can analyze and show historic monitoring data almost in real time.

Network load

The database server is integrated into the PRTG core server. You do not need to transfer data through your network to a different database installation.

Configuration and maintenance

No extra configuration or maintenance is necessary for the database. PRTG automatically deploys updates with the usual PRTG version updates.

Easy backup

You can simply back up the database by copying the data files and storing them in a different location.

Licensing

The database is included in all PRTG licenses and subscriptions. You do not need an extra database license as you know from SQL databases, for example.

Data export

In case you need your data for other applications or statistics, you can export monitoring data from PRTG at any time via the integrated API.

2. Where does PRTG store its data?

Stored data	Location	Path
General monitoring data	Built-in database	-
PRTG core server installation	PRTG program directory	32-bit systems: %programfiles%\PRTG Network Monitor 64-bit systems: %programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor
Monitoring configuration, monitoring data, logs, reports, and more	PRTG data directory	%programdata%\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor
License key, PRTG System Administrator user login, IP address settings, and more	Windows registry	32-bit systems: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor 64-bit systems: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor

For more detailed information, see also the PRTG Manual: Data Storage.

3. Where can you find your custom files?

The following folders in the PRTG program directory contain your custom files, if available.
The paths apply to a PRTG installation on a 64-bit system:

Stored custom files	Path
Custom sensor files	%programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor\Custom Sensors
SSL certificate for the PRTG web server	%programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor\cert
Device templates	%programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor\devicetemplates
SNMP .oidlib files	%programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor\snmplibs
SNMP MIB files	%programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor\MIB
Notification templates	%programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor\Notifications
Map objects	%programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor\webroot\mapobjects
Map background images	%programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor\webroot\mapbackground
Lookup files	%programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor\lookups\custom
Device icons	%programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor\webroot\icons\devices

4. How much storage space do you need?

The required long-term storage space depends on various factors.

Specific sensors such as Flow or Packet Sniffer sensors can generate larger amounts of data. Also, the exact amount depends on the kind of data that a sensor generates as well as the number of its channels.

Sensors per PRTG core server installation	Disk space
Up to 500	100 GB
Up to 1,000	500 GB
Up to 2,500	750 GB
Up to 5,000	1,000 GB
Up to 10,000	1,500 GB

Note: If you use remote probes, there are no special disk space requirements for the remote probe system. We generally recommend at least 40 GB.

For more detailed information, see the System requirements for PRTG Network Monitor.

How to find your
stored data for PRTG