PRTG Manual: SNMP Traffic Sensor
The SNMP Traffic sensor monitors traffic on a device via the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
You can create the sensor on a device that provides traffic data.
SNMP TrafficSensor
For a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.
- Dutch: SNMP Verkeer
- French: Trafic (SNMP)
- German: SNMP Datenverkehr
- Japanese: SNMP トラフィック
- Portuguese: Tráfego (SNMP)
- Russian: Трафик по SNMP
- Simplified Chinese: SNMP 流量
- Spanish: Tráfico (SNMP)
Consider the following remarks and requirements for this sensor:
Remark |
Description |
|---|---|
SNMP v2c or SNMP v3 |
We recommend that you select SNMP v2c (most common) or SNMP v3 in the credentials for SNMP devices of the parent device (if supported by the target device). SNMP v1 does not support 64-bit counters, which might result in invalid data. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: SNMP Traffic sensor suddenly drops at 610Mbps |
Localhost |
It might not work to query data from a probe device via SNMP (querying localhost, 127.0.0.1, or ::1). Add this device with the IP address that it has in your network and create the sensor on this device instead. |
IPv6 |
This sensor supports IPv6. |
Performance impact |
This sensor has a very low performance impact. |
Port name templates |
You can define the displayed sensor name with port name templates in the SNMP compatibility options of the parent device. |
Auto-discovery |
The auto-discovery always creates SNMP Traffic sensors for all interfaces whose SNMP traffic counters are above 0. As a result, every interface that has had traffic since the last restart of the target system is added, even if it is currently disconnected or disabled. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: How does auto-discovery with SNMP Traffic sensors work? |
Knowledge Base |
|
Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
Name for Traffic In Channel |
For the standard channel Traffic In, enter the channel name. The sensor shows it in graphs and tables.
|
Name for Traffic Out Channel |
For the standard channel Traffic Out, enter the channel name. The sensor shows it in graphs and tables.
|
Name for Traffic Total Channel |
For the standard channel Traffic Total, enter the channel name. The sensor shows it in graphs and tables.
|
Basic Sensor Settings
The sensor has the following default tags that are automatically predefined in the sensor's settings when you add the sensor:
- bandwidthsensor
- snmptrafficsensor
For more information about basic sensor settings, see section Sensor Settings.
Traffic Specific
Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
Interface Number |
The number and name of the interface in the physical device that this sensor monitors.
|
Additional Channels |
By default, each SNMP Traffic sensor creates the channels Traffic In, Traffic Out, and Traffic Total. Select additional channels for all interfaces. Click the respective channel names to mark the channels and to monitor their data:
|
Connection Status Handling |
An interface is not operational if, for example, an Ethernet port on a switch does not have a cable plugged in. This setting is valid for all selected interfaces. Define how PRTG reacts when an interface is operational:
|
Alias Availability |
If an alias is available for automatic port name updates.
|
PRTG shows this value for reference purposes only. We strongly recommend that you only change it if the Paessler support team explicitly asks you to do so. Wrong usage can result in incorrect monitoring data.
Sensor Display
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.
|
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 |
|---|---|
Discards In |
The number of incoming discards |
Discards Out |
The number of outgoing discards |
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. |
Errors In |
The number of incoming errors |
Errors Out |
The number of outgoing errors |
Non-Unicast In |
The number of incoming non-unicast packets |
Non-Unicast Out |
The number of outgoing non-unicast packets |
Traffic In |
The incoming traffic |
Traffic Out |
The outgoing traffic |
Traffic Total |
The total traffic
|
Unicast In |
The number of incoming unicast packets |
Unicast Out |
The number of outgoing unicast packets |
Unknown Protocols In |
The number of incoming, unknown protocols |
KNOWLEDGE BASE
How does auto-discovery with SNMP Traffic sensors work?
Automatically update port name and number for SNMP Traffic sensors when the device changes them
Where is the volume line in graphs?
What security features does PRTG include?
SNMP Traffic sensor suddenly drops at 610Mbps
My SNMP sensors don’t work. What can I do?
