Ping monitoring sensors in PRTG
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Overview of ping monitoring with PRTG
Diagnose network problems and outages by continuously monitoring all your network devices including servers, routers, and workstations. Show ping response times and other key metrics in real time and visualize data in graphs and charts to more easily identify response time problems. Gain the visibility you need to troubleshoot network connection issues.
SIP Options Ping sensor
Cloud Ping v2 sensor
Ping Jitter sensor
6 PRTG sensors for ping monitoring and more
How PRTG defines sensors
In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, e.g. the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, the free space of a disk drive. On average you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.
Ping v2 sensor
The Ping v2 sensor is one of the most commonly used sensors. It sends an ICMP ping request to the monitored device to check its availability. It displays the ping time and also shows the minimum and maximum ping time of a series of pings during a scanning interval. The sensor displays packet losses as well.
Cloud Ping v2 sensor
The Cloud Ping v2 sensor uses the PRTG Cloud to measure the ping time of your network from various locations worldwide. This is very useful for international companies with multiple sites and distributed networks.
Ping Jitter sensor
The Ping Jitter sensor sends a series of ICMP echo requests to calculate statistical jitter. Jitter expresses the deviation from average latency, which enables you to determine the quality of your service.
SIP Options Ping sensor
The SIP Options Ping sensor monitors the connectivity to a SIP server and shows the response time as well as the status of the server. You can use the sensor to monitoor VoIP services.
SSH Remote Ping sensor
The SSH Remote Ping sensor remotely monitors the connection between a Linux or macOS X system and another network device. It shows, for example, the packet loss and the minimum and maximum response time.
WMI Remote Ping sensor
The WMI Remote Ping sensor remotely monitors the connection between a Windows system and another network device. It shows the ping time from the remote device to the target device.
And many more sensors...
PRTG comes with more than 250 preconfigured sensors for a huge number of vendors out-of-the-box. This makes it easy to get started with PRTG or switch from another monitoring tool to PRTG. Find out more about our native PRTG sensors in our sensor list.
Your ping monitor at a glance – even on the go
Set up PRTG in minutes and use it on almost any mobile device.
From basic ping monitoring to specific network monitoring, PRTG can make your IT infrastructure more reliable and your job easier.
PRTG is compatible with all major vendors & manufacturers
Ping via the command line
The command line is still a commonly used way to execute a ping query, particularly when a malfunction or urgent issue occurs and you need to quickly an IP address or a service check for availability.
Round-the-clock monitoring tools
Our network monitoring software monitors the availability and reachability of all your network devices and connections 24/7. Gone are the days of manual monitoring - PRTG runs in the background and automatically alerts you if there is an issue in your network. Ping monitoring is one of the core functionalities of PRTG; but with our software, you can also comprehensively monitor your entire network, your applications, your traffic, and more.
Specialized tools vs. all-in-one monitoring tools
Some ping monitoring tools do nothing more than running ping tests. These tools are often free of charge. Other tools, such as PRTG, are comprehensive network monitoring solutions. The advantage of an all-in-one monitoring solution: all your monitoring tasks are performed in one central tool. Although, if you have an extremely small network, it is sufficient to start with a simple ping tool.
Open-source vs. proprietary software
Network monitoring tools include open-source applications like Nagios and proprietary software like PRTG. Our software is easy to set up, can be easily upgraded, and comes with outstanding technical support. As a result, many companies switch from their open-source tools to PRTG. See for example our comparison of Nagios and PRTG.
The 5 advantages of PRTG ping monitor
PRTG is a ping tool and a comprehensive network monitoring software that runs
on all major Windows systems.
One tool for everything
With PRTG, you get a powerful tool for your entire network. Whether servers, routers, switches, uptime, or cloud connectivity: PRTG keeps an eye on everything and saves you administrative hassle. In addition to Ping sensors, SNMP, NetFlow, Packet Sniffing sensors and many more are used so that you can always keep an eye on your network availability and performance.
Real-time notifications
PRTG comes with a customizable alerting system that immediately notifies you via SMS, push, or email notifications if there is an network issue, like downtime or network performance problems. The Ping sensor is set as the master sensor for your network devices. If this sensor shows an error, all other sensors on a device go into sleep mode. This means that you’ll receive just this one important notification – and that you won't be flooded by alerts.
Your network at a glance
The easy-to-read PRTG dashboard provides a quick overview of your network. PRTG uses a clear color coding system so that you can see at one glance if everything is alright. Dashboards and maps in PRTG are customizable to meet all your specific needs. And if you're away from your desk – for example, when you work in the server room – you can always access PRTG via our PRTG apps for iOS or Android so that you never miss a beat.
Easy setup & configuration
PRTG uses an intelligent auto-discovery feature that automatically scans your network for available devices and adds suitable sensors for monitoring. This way, PRTG is installed and set up in minutes so that you can immediately start with your initial monitoring. Our smart setup assistant helps you with further configuration steps and makes sure that you'll never feel left alone during your first steps in PRTG.
Transparent licensing & upgrades
Licensing in PRTG is always transparent and fair: You can test PRTG for free for 30 days to check if our monitoring tool suits your needs. For small networks, there is even a freeware version available that includes up to 100 sensors. And if you prefer monitoring from the cloud, choose PRTG Hosted Monitor, which is subscription based and hosted by Paessler. What's more: all licenses and subscriptions are easily upgradeable should your IT infrastructure grow.
IT experts agree: Paessler PRTG is a great solution for IT infrastructure monitoring
“All-around winning
network monitor”
“The real beauty of PRTG is the endless possibilities it offers”
“PRTG Network Monitor
is very hard to beat”
3 case studies: network monitoring with PRTG
500,000 administrators throughout the world depend on PRTG. Although they work in a variety of different industries, they all have one thing in common: the desire to ensure and improve the availability and performance of their network.
Zurich Airport
Zurich Airport is the largest airport in Switzerland, which means that it is particularly important that all its electronic systems are always up and running. To make this a reality, the airport's IT team implemented PRTG Network Monitor.
The monitoring tool ensures that problems are immediately detected so that the IT team can directly solve them. Previously, the team relied on a mix of monitoring software but ultimately, the managers found this software unsuitable for ad-hoc monitoring by the operating and engineering personnel.
Bauhaus University, Weimar
In total, 5,000 students and 400 employees have access to the IT systems of the Bauhaus University in Weimar. The university's previous network monitoring tool was an isolated, Nagios-based solution. The system was technically outdated and no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the school's IT.
Modernizing the infrastructure would have been extremely expensive. Instead, the university inquired about new network monitoring solutions. The IT managers wanted a comprehensive software that provides optimal usability, is easy to set up, and offers excellent value for money. That's why they chose PRTG.
Frankenthal Public Utilities
Just over 200 Frankenthal Public Utilities workers are responsible for supplying electricity, gas, and water to both private and business customers. The organization of all its buildings is also dependent on its locally distributed infrastructure, which is composed of around 80 servers and 200 connected devices.
The IT managers at Frankenthal Public Utilities were looking for affordable software that could meet their specific needs. At first, the IT team configured the free trial version of PRTG. Today, Frankenthal Public Utilities uses about 1,500 sensors that monitor, among other things, public swimming pools.
From basic ping monitoring to specific network monitoring, PRTG can make your IT infrastructure more reliable and your job easier.
The complete solution: What else does PRTG monitor?
Network monitoring
Network monitoring, network analysis, network diagnosis, network traffic? Whatever the issue you're currently facing – PRTG will be able to help. Find out more about our PRTG network monitoring tool.
Server monitoring
Mail servers, web servers, database servers: PRTG offers an extensive range of server monitoring features. Of course, you can also monitor virtual servers with PRTG – for example, we are a certified VMware Technology Alliance Partner. Find out more about our PRTG server monitoring software.
Uptime monitoring
With PRTG, you'll always know if your network or a part of your network is up or down. Thanks to our comprehensive monitoring, you are immediately notified if there is an issue so that you can start troubleshooting right away. PRTG measures the availability of your servers, CDNs, individual network devices, websites, and more. Find out more about our PRTG uptime monitoring tool.
VPN monitoring
PRTG monitors VPN connections and measures network traffic, bandwidth, load, and the number of logged-in users. Identify connection problems and suspicious traffic at one glance. Find out more about VPN monitoring with PRTG.
VoIP monitoring
Monitor the quality of your VoIP connections with PRTG to prevent malfunctions and make sure that you comply with service level agreements (IP SLA). This way, you will not only save a lot of time, but also a huge sum of money. Find out more about VoIP monitoring with PRTG.
And much more
Free ping monitoring vs. licensed editions
Ping monitoring freeware
- 100 sensors free for life
- For each device about 10 sensors required
- 100 sensors often enough for basic ping monitoring
- Alarm, mapping, and report features included
- Freeware edition sufficient for most small networks
PRTG licenses
- Flexible licenses with 500 to 10,000 sensors
- Monitor 50 to 1,000 devices or more
- Easily upgrade if more sensors are required
- Existing monitoring unchanged whith uprade
- Try full version free for 30 days
Practical tip: Hey Greg, do you have any ping monitoring tips up your sleeve?
“Ping sensors are probably the most important elements of any network monitoring. They must be set up correctly, particularly with regard to your connections. If for example you are monitoring a virtual machine, then it makes sense to place the ping in connection to its host. Should the host crash, you will therefore not be notified for each and every virtual machine connected to it. Furthermore, ping sensors can be good indicators of whether a network path to a host or the Internet functions properly, especially in high-availability or failover scenarios.”
Greg Campion works as a system administrator at Paessler
We'll make you a monitoring expert
Gain practical knowledge on how to monitor your infrastructure with Paessler PRTG. Our training sessions are planned and provided by Paessler system engineers and are suitable for different experience levels.
Ping monitor: FAQs
1. What is a ping?
Ping is a command-line utility which is available on almost any operating system with network connectivity. It acts as a test to see if a networked device is reachable. The ping command sends a request over the network to a specific target device. A successful ping results in a response from the device that was pinged to the source system. Usually, ping is used to check the availability of a device and measure the round-trip time of the request and response
2. What is a ping test?
A ping test shows you if a source system is able to connect to a target device, that is, if this device is available. It is an extremely simple diagnostic tool for getting a general idea of a device's availability. It does not, however, tell you how well individual devices are running. For this, you need a more detailed analysis, for example via SNMP, WMI, or SSH.
3. What is ping monitoring?
Ping monitoring is the process of pinging devices in a network with a monitoring software like PRTG to find out if they are available. With the data that a pinged device sends back, the monitoring tool can measure and analyze minimum, maximum, and average response time and deviations from the sent ping.
4. What is a good ping value?
In a local network, a ping value of one millisecond is considered normal. On the Internet, it depends on the application. A video conference requires a lower ping value than a request to a website. A ping value of less than 100 milliseconds is preferable, but a value of around 500 milliseconds is often still acceptable for a reasonable user experience.
5. Why does the ping value matter?
Every system administrator can immediately tell if a ping value is too high. High ping values usually lead to more work for the technical support team because they can indicate, for example, that network connections or telephone services are down. Therefore, it is always good to know about your ping times with a ping monitoring software like PRTG.
6. How can I ping all the devices in my network?
When you install PRTG, the tool automatically pings all network devices within a specified IP range and incorporates them into your monitoring environment. Such devices can be, for example, routers, switches, servers, or stationary computers. This way, you don't have to do anything to set up your initial monitoring.
7. How does ping tracking with PRTG work?
PRTG uses Ping sensors to monitor the availability of your network devices. It pings the devices in your network and waits for a response. This way, it can measure, for example, the response time of a device, that is, the time it takes the device to send back a response to the PRTG core server system.
8. Does PRTG ping monitoring work for distributed networks?
Yes, our software can also be used to ping devices in distributed networks. PRTG uses remote probes to connect other locations to your central monitoring environment. If something goes wrong, you are alerted in real time so that you can take action at once.
9. How does alerting work?
Our ping monitoring tool monitors your network devices around the clock. You can individually set the threshold values that trigger an alert when they exceed or fall below a specific value. If a device fails, PRTG notifies you at once.
10. What is a sensor in PRTG?
In PRTG, “sensors” are the basic monitoring elements. One sensor usually monitors one measured value in your network, for example the traffic of a switch port, the CPU load of a server, or the free space on a disk drive.
On average, you need about 5-10 sensors per device or one sensor per switch port.
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PRTG: The multi-tool for sysadmins
Adapt PRTG individually and dynamically to your needs and rely on a strong API:- HTTP API: Access monitoring data and manipulate monitoring objects via HTTP requests
- Custom sensors: Create your own PRTG sensors for customized monitoring
- Custom notifications: Create your own notifications and send action triggers to external systems
- REST Custom sensor: Monitor almost everything that provides data in XML or JSON format
We asked: would you recommend PRTG?
Over 95% of our customers say yes!
Paessler conducted trials in over 600 IT departments worldwide to tune its network monitoring software closer to the needs of sysadmins.
The result of the survey: over 95% of the participants would recommend PRTG – or already have.
Still not convinced?
More than 500,000
sysadmins love PRTG
Paessler PRTG is used by companies of all sizes. Sysadmins love PRTG because it makes their job a whole lot easier.
Monitor your entire IT infrastructure
Bandwidth, servers, virtual environments, websites, VoIP services – PRTG keeps an eye on your entire network.
From basic ping monitoring to specific network monitoring, PRTG can make your IT infrastructure more reliable and your job easier.
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PRTG |
Network Monitoring Software - Version 24.4.102.1351 (November 12th, 2024) |
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Hosting |
Download for Windows and cloud-based version PRTG Hosted Monitor available |
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English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese |
Pricing |
Up to 100 sensors for free (Price List) |
Unified Monitoring |
Network devices, bandwidth, servers, applications, virtual environments, remote systems, IoT, and more |
Supported Vendors & Applications |
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