PRTG Manual: WMI Service Sensor
The WMI Service sensor monitors a Windows service via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
After creation, the sensor shows the Down status if the service does not run.
For a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.
- Dutch: WMI Service
- French: Service (WMI)
- German: WMI Dienst
- Japanese: WMI サービス
- Portuguese: Serviço (WMI)
- Russian: Служба WMI
- Simplified Chinese: WMI 服务
- Spanish: Servicio (WMI)
Consider the following remarks and requirements for this sensor:
Remark |
Description |
---|---|
Performance impact |
This sensor has a high performance impact. Stay below 200 WMI sensors per probe. Above this number, consider using multiple remote probes for load balancing. |
WoW64 |
This sensor requires WoW64 (Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit) for target systems that run Windows Server 2016. |
Credentials |
This sensor requires credentials for Windows systems. |
IPv6 |
This sensor supports IPv6. |
Add Sensor dialog |
The name and description of the service in the Add Sensor dialog appear in the language of the device's Windows installation. |
Hosted probe |
You 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. |
The sensor has the following default tags that are automatically predefined in the sensor's settings when you add the sensor:
- servicesensor
- wmiservicesensor
For more information about basic sensor settings, see section Sensor Settings.
Setting |
Description |
---|---|
If Service is Not Running |
Select whether you want PRTG to start or restart the service if it is stopped or paused:
If you select the Start/Restart service (default) option and the sensor detects that the service does not run, PRTG tries to restart the service during this scan and postpones the next sensor scan for one interval. With the following scan, the sensor checks if the service runs now. If starting the service was not successful or if the service fails again, the sensor shows the Down status and does not try to start the service again. If the service runs after a (re)start attempt, the sensor continues monitoring as usual. |
If Service is Restarted |
This setting is only visible if you select Start/Restart service (default) above. Define what the sensor does if PRTG restarts the service:
|
Extended Monitoring |
Select whether you want to monitor CPU usage and other performance counters:
Extended monitoring might cause a class not found error on some Windows systems. |
Service |
The Windows service that this sensor monitors. |
Description |
The description of the Windows service that this sensor monitors. |
Result Handling |
Define what PRTG does with the sensor result:
In a cluster, PRTG stores the result in the PRTG data directory of the master node. |
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:
|
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. |
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.
Which channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the target device, the available components, and the sensor setup.
Channel |
Description |
---|---|
CPU Usage |
The CPU usage Enable Monitor other performance counters in the sensor settings to show this parameter. |
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 |
Handles |
The number of handles Enable Monitor other performance counters in the sensor settings to show this parameter. |
Pagefile Usage |
The pagefile usage Enable Monitor other performance counters in the sensor settings to show this parameter. |
Sensor Execution Time |
The execution time of the monitoring request This channel is the primary channel by default. |
Threads |
The number of threads Enable Monitor other performance counters in the sensor settings to show this parameter. |
Working Set |
The working set Enable Monitor other performance counters in the sensor settings to show this parameter. |
KNOWLEDGE BASE
What security features does PRTG include?
My WMI sensors don't work. What can I do?