PRTG Manual: General Layout
This section provides a general overview of the structure of the PRTG web interface. The central focus is the Devices view, which you can select via the main menu bar. The Devices view presents the device tree and your monitoring results.
In this section:
- Welcome Page
- Device Tree View Layout
- Navigation
- Global Header Area
- Page Header Bar
- Page Content
- Switch Device Tree View
- Classic Device Tree View
- Extended Device Tree Views
- Add Button
- Default Objects in the Device Tree
- Priority and Favorites
When you log in to the PRTG web interface, you see the Welcome page by default. You can set a different home page in your account settings.
Click View Results to open the device tree.
Click View Results on the Welcome page or select Devices from the main menu bar to display the device tree.
Device Tree
Device Tree
From top to bottom, the device tree page has several areas that are covered in further detail in this section. For a general overview of the device tree page, see the table below.
Global Header Area
Global Header Area
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
This area contains the main menu bar at the very top, the global status bar, breadcrumbs that show the path to the selected object, a quick search box, and the logout button. |
Page Header Bar
Page Header Bar
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
This area contains the page heading with the name of the selected object, several tabs with settings, and quick action buttons. |
Page Content
Page Content
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
This area contains information about the selected object and all other objects underneath in the device tree hierarchy, the object's status bar, a quick search box, the QR code that links to the URL of the selected page, and graphs for different time spans. |
View Options
View Options
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
These are part of the page content. Here you can adjust how your device tree is displayed. |
Footer Section
Footer Section
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Page footer |
This area shows information about the version of PRTG, the logged in user account, and the time (depending on the time zone settings for the logged in user). |
Pause ( Resume ( Auto-Update ( Contact support ( Help ( |
A timer counts down how much time remains until the next automatic page refresh. Click Pause to pause the refresh timer and click Resume to resume. If you open a different page while the refresh timer is paused, the timer resumes automatically and starts with the defined Refresh Interval (Sec.) that you can configure in your account settings.
Click Auto-Update for quick access to the auto-update settings if a new version is available. To open the Contact Support form, click Contact support. For context-sensitive help, click Help. If you run PRTG in a cluster, you also see a cluster-related element. It shows the name of the cluster node that you are logged in to and displays whether this is a master node or a failover node. Click the bar to show the cluster status. On a failover node, you can review all data, but PRTG does not save changes in the settings. To change the settings, log in to the master node. |
To navigate the PRTG web interface, the following options are available:
- The main menu bar provides access to all important aspects of the software.
- The quick search is often the fastest way to find a specific object (for example, a sensor or a device).
- The clickable breadcrumbs show the path to a selected object in the object hierarchy.
- Click an object to see its details. In the page heading of the page header bar, you always see the name of the object that you have selected.
- Use the page tabs to switch between various subpages.
- Right-click objects to open their context menu.
- Hover over objects to display tool tips. Hover longer to open a quick-access window (hover popup).
- Drill down into the object hierarchy of probes, groups, devices, and sensors in the device tree. To do so, click a subobject of the displayed object (for example, click a sensor on the Overview tab of a device).
These navigation options offer complete access to the functionality of PRTG.
In the following sections, we describe the different areas of the PRTG web interface.
This documentation refers to an administrator that accesses the PRTG web interface on a master node. Other user accounts, interfaces, or failover nodes might not have all of the options in the way described here. In a cluster, note that failover nodes are read-only by default.
Global Header Area
Global Header Area
The global header area of the PRTG web interface provides important, very condensed information about your installation and offers access to all content and settings. The following table lists the elements that make up the global header area.
Main Menu Bar
Main Menu Bar
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Main menu bar |
To navigate the PRTG web interface, the main menu bar is the best starting point. We recommend that you take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the main menu bar and its submenus.
|
New Alarms
New Alarms
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
New alarms, New log entries, Updated tickets |
The information boxes show how many new alarms, new log entries, and updated tickets have occurred. Click the respective box to view the lists of alarms, logs, or tickets. |
Global Sensor Status Symbols
Global Sensor Status Symbols
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Global sensor status symbols |
This area shows the accumulated states of all configured sensors, grouped into the different sensor states. You see boxes with numbers that show the amount of sensors that are in the respective status. For example, you can see how many sensors are in the Up, Down, or Warning status. Click a box to view a list of all sensors that are in the respective status.
|
Search Box
Search Box
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Search ( Log out ( |
You can start a Search or Log out in the top-right corner. To search for an object, enter a name, parts of a name, an IP address, a Domain Name System (DNS) name, or a tag in the search box and confirm with the Enter key. PRTG performs a string search in your entire monitoring setup, including groups, devices, sensors, libraries, maps, reports, tickets, and object comments. A page with items and online help articles that are related to the search term opens. |
Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Breadcrumbs |
Below the main menu bar, PRTG shows a path that retraces the steps back to the Welcome page (or your defined starting page). Use these breadcrumbs to navigate back to where you came from. If you click |
This documentation refers to an administrator that accesses the PRTG web interface on a master node. Other user accounts, interfaces, or failover nodes might not have all of the options in the way described here. In a cluster, note that failover nodes are read-only by default.
Page Header Bar
The page header bar below the global header area consists of the following elements.
Page Heading
Page Heading
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Page heading Priority star ( |
The page heading displays the selected object's type and name. In the screenshot, this is the group that is called Root. Here you can define the object's priority as well. To do so, click one of the five stars on Priority star next to the object's name (this setting is not available for the root group).
|
Quick Action Buttons
Quick Action Buttons
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Quick action buttons Pause ( Resume ( Settings of the object ( Add a ticket ( Send a link to the selected page per email ( Perform an immediate scan ( Context menu ( |
On the right-hand side, there is a row of icons for several actions. Depending on the selected page, you can Pause and Resume the object. You can also open the Settings of the object, Add a ticket, Send a link to the selected page per email, or Perform an immediate scan. Click on Context menu to open the context menu of the selected object for further options.
|
Tabs General Layout
Tabs General Layout
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Tabs |
Via tabs, you can navigate to the various subpages of an object, for example, to its monitoring data or settings.
|
The page content of the general layout varies depending on the selected object. It shows information about the object and all other objects underneath in the object hierarchy. The deeper down in the hierarchy you can find a selected object, the more detailed is the displayed information.
Page Content
Sensor Status Bar
Sensor Status Bar
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Sensor status bar |
This element is visible when you view a probe, a group (including the root group), or a device. It is not available on the Overview tab of a sensor. The sensor status bar shows the accumulated states of all sensors for the selected object, grouped into different sensor states. They show the number of sensors that are in the respective status. For example, you can see how many sensors are in the Up, Down, or Warning status. You can hide sensors that are in a certain status by clicking the respective status icon. To show the sensors again, click the status icon again. |
View Options
View Options
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Viewing options |
This element is only visible when you view a probe or a group. It is not available when you view device or sensor details. For a detailed description, see Switch Device Tree View below. |
Device Tree Search
Device Tree Search
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Device tree search |
In the search box to the right of the viewing options, enter a keyword to search the device tree for matching items. The device tree highlights matching devices and sensors by graying out all others. This gives you a quick overview of sensors that monitor a specific part of your network. For example, you can enter the keyword firewall to highlight devices and sensors that match this string. |
Add Button
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Add ( |
Click Add to add new objects to your monitoring setup. For a detailed description, see Add Button below. |
Object Status
Object Status
Item |
Description |
|---|---|
Object status, Scanning interval, Object ID, QR code |
This element displays the status of the selected object, the interval in which PRTG scans the object, the ID of the object, and the QR code for the selected page. If you use a PRTG app for iOS or Android, you can scan the code to directly view the object on your mobile device. Click the QR code to enlarge it for scanning. Depending on the object type, this element shows additional information:
|
Wherever a probe or group is displayed, you can choose between a number of viewing options.
Device Tree Viewing Options
Device Tree Viewing Options
Collapsed Device with Summarized Up and Unusual States and Individual Down States
Via the Switch Device Tree View in the page header bar, you can adjust how much information is included next to each object. Use it to switch from a very condensed view (
) to a very spacious view (
). Use 
to switch the device tree to a list view.
In the classic device tree view, you can collapse devices, groups, and probes. Click 
left of the object name to summarize the sensors according to their respective status. By default, sensors in the Down, Down (Partial), or Down (Acknowledged) status are summarized if there are more than ten sensors with the same status, otherwise they are displayed individually.
There are two additional options to the classic device tree view with which you can display the status of all sensors of your entire installation in a single overview. Click 
to change to the sunburst view. To change to the tree map view, click 
.
Sunburst View
The sunburst view displays your entire installation as a circle diagram. The groups are represented as inner circles, and all devices that belong to a group are shown as 'cake slices' that are attached to the outside of a circle element.
The sunburst is interactive:
- You can click elements to open the Overview tab of your monitoring objects.
- You can zoom in and out with your mouse wheel while pressing the Ctrl key.
Sunburst View
Tree Map View
The tree map view displays all devices of your entire installation as tiles that are sorted into a square and that are arranged according to the groups they belong to. Each device dynamically changes color to reflect the overall status of the sensors on the device.
Tree Map View
The following aspects apply to both the sunburst view and the tree map view:
Colors
A device or group can have different colors, depending on the states of the sensors that are on the device or in the group. The sensor states are ranked according to their priority, for example, the Down status has a higher priority than the Warning status, which has a higher priority than the Up status.
For an overview of the colors and their states, see section Sensor States.
Size by: Sensors / Size by: Priority
You can adjust the size of the different squares according to the number of sensors that run on a device or in a group, or the sensors' priority, or both. Select the check boxes in the page header bar to change the square size.
Check Boxes for Adjusting the Square Size
Hover over 
to add new objects to your monitoring setup. An assistant appears and guides you through the necessary steps.
The content of the menu varies depending on the selected object.
Add Button Menu
See the following sections for more information:
Default Objects in the Device Tree
By default, PRTG Network Monitor creates a probe device on the local probe or on the hosted probe (PRTG Hosted Monitor). The probe device represents the probe system. PRTG automatically monitors the system health of the PRTG core server and each probe to discover overload that might distort monitoring results. To monitor the status of the probe system, PRTG automatically creates the following sensors:
- Core Health
- Core Health (Autonomous)
- Probe Health
- System Health
- Some device-specific sensors for disk usage and bandwidth.
In a cluster, PRTG also creates a cluster probe device with a Cluster Health sensor that monitors the system health of the cluster.
With multi-platform probes, PRTG also creates a Multi-Platform Probe Health sensor and a Multi-Platform Probe Connection Health (Autonomous) sensor that monitor the health of the multi-platform probes.
You can mark a device or sensor as a favorite. To do so, click 
to the right of the respective object in the device tree. The flag turns dark gray. To remove an object from your favorites, click 
. The flag turns transparent again.
One-Click Favorites in the Device Tree
The favorite flag for sensors is available for the L or XL viewing options.
A quick way to set the priority of an object is via the five stars in the page header bar next to the object name. Click the stars to adjust the priority. 
means top priority, 
means lowest priority.
One-Click Favorite and Priority in the Page Header Bar
You can also add any device or sensor to your favorites in the page header bar of the respective object. To do so, click 
for a device or 
for a sensor. Click 
for a device or 
for a sensor to remove the respective object from your favorites.
For more information, see section Priority and Favorites.
KNOWLEDGE BASE
What options do I have to review my monitoring data in detail?
