PRTG Manual: Folder Sensor

Performance impact

This sensor has a high performance impact. We recommend that you use no more than 200 of this sensor on each probe.

LanmanServer service

This sensor requires that the LanmanServer service runs on the target system.

The display name of the service is Server.

To enable the service, log in to the respective system and open the services manager (for example, via services.msc). In the list, find the respective service and set its Start Type to Automatic.

IPv6

This sensor supports IPv6.

File count

This sensor counts all files in a folder, including hidden files.

Knowledge Base

Knowledge Base: What can I do if PRTG doesn't succeed with monitoring a share? PE029 PE032

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.

File Age Check

Specify if the sensor monitors the folder for certain file ages and shows a corresponding status:

• Do not check: Do not check the age of the files in the folder:
• Show warning status if older: Set the sensor to the Warning status if one of the files in the folder is older than a specific limit unit.
• Show down status if older: Set the sensor to the Down status if one of the files in the folder is older than a specific limit unit.
• Show warning status if younger: Set the sensor to the Warning status if one of the files in the folder is younger than a specific limit unit.
• Show down status if younger: Set the sensor to the Down status if one of the files in the folder is younger than a specific limit unit.

You can change this setting later via the Limits section in the channel settings of Newest File and Oldest File.

File Age Limit

This setting is only visible if you select a file age check above.

Enter the age of a file in the folder that triggers the sensor status change if the age falls below a specific value or if it is exceeded. Enter an integer. Define the limit unit below.

You can change this setting later via the Limits section in the channel settings of Newest File and Oldest File.

File Age Limit Unit

This setting is only visible if you select a file age check above.

Specify the unit for the file age value:

• Days: Select this option if the File Age Limit is a number of days.
• Hours: Select this option if the File Age Limit is a number of hours.
• Minutes: Select this option if the File Age Limit is a number of minutes.

You can change this setting later via the Limits section in the channel settings of Newest File and Oldest File.

Folder Name

Enter the full path to the folder that this sensor monitors. For example, enter C:\Windows to monitor a folder on the probe system.

If you use a local path, the sensor only looks for the target folder on the probe system and not on the parent device. To monitor a folder on the parent device, use a dollar sign ($) in the path. For example, enter C$\Windows.

If the folder is located on a network device, use the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path without the server part (only enter share\folder). The sensor inherits the server part (\\server\) from the parent device settings. Enter a valid path name.

To monitor Windows shares, the LanmanServer service must run on the target system.

Recurse Subfolders

Specify if the sensor includes subfolders in the folder monitoring:

• Do not recurse subfolders (default): Only monitor the folder. Do not monitor its subfolders.
• Monitor the folder and its subfolders (recursive): Monitor the folder and all of its subfolders.
  If you recurse subfolders in large directories that have a high number of branches, this might cause timeout errors or performance issues.

If Content Changes

Define what the sensor does if the content or file name of the folder changes, or if there are new or deleted files:

• Ignore (default): Do nothing.
• Trigger 'change' notification: Send an internal message that indicates a change.
  In combination with a change trigger, you can use this to trigger a notification if a change occurs.

Timeout (Sec.)

Enter a timeout in seconds for the request. Enter an integer. The maximum timeout value is 900 seconds (15 minutes).

If the reply takes longer than this value, the sensor cancels the request and shows a corresponding error message.

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.

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

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.

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.

Execution Time

The execution time

File Count

The number of files in the folder

The sensor counts all files in a folder, including hidden files.

Folder Size

The folder size

This channel is the primary channel by default.

Newest File

The time since the newest modification of a file in the folder (newest file)

The sensor shows a negative value if the date of a modified file is in the future.

Oldest File

The time since the oldest modification of a file in the folder (oldest file)