PRTG Manual: FTP Sensor

IPv4

This sensor only supports IPv4.

Performance impact

This sensor has a medium performance impact.

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.

Port

Enter the number of the FTP port that the sensor tries to connect to. Enter an integer. The default port number is 21.

We recommend that you use the default value.

If the connection is unsuccessful, try a different port number.

FTP Mode

Define the FTP connection mode that the sensor uses for the connection to the FTP server:

• Active mode: Try to establish a command channel by connecting to FTP port 21 and a data channel by connecting to FTP port 20. If you cannot establish a connection, use the passive mode.
• Passive mode (default): Try to establish a command channel by connecting to FTP port 21 and send a command to the FTP server in order to receive an FTP port for the data channel.

We recommend that you use the default value.

Transport-Level Security

Specify if the sensor uses connection security:

• Use transport-level security if available (default): This sensor tries to connect via Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS). It automatically determines whether to connect via the explicit mode or the implicit mode. If the server does not support SSL/TLS, the sensor tries to connect without connection security and shows the Up status if this works.
• Enforce transport-level security: The connection must be established via SSL/TLS (in the explicit mode or the implicit mode). Otherwise, this sensor shows the Down status.
• Do not use transport-level security: The sensor connects to the FTP server without connection security.

See the sensor logs to see which method the sensor previously used to connect to the FTP server.

User Name

Enter a user name for the FTP login. Enter a string or leave the field empty.

The default user name is anonymous. If the sensor cannot log on to the FTP server with this user name (or a different user name that you define), the sensor message shows that the credentials are incorrect but the sensor remains in the Up status.

Password

Enter a password for the FTP login. Enter a string or leave the field empty.

If the sensor cannot log on to the FTP server with this password, the sensor message shows that the credentials are incorrect but the sensor remains in the Up status.

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.

This option is not available when the sensor runs on the hosted probe of a PRTG Hosted Monitor instance.

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.

Response Time

The response time

This channel is the primary channel by default.