<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: System Administration—Core & Probes

To open system administration, select Setup | System Administration from the main menu. Click on the tabs to change the different settings.

System Administration Bar

System Administration Bar

You can define the following aspects of your PRTG system setup:

In the core and probe management settings you can define settings for the core server, as well as the settings for probe connections if you use remote or mini probes.

icon-i-round-redIf you cannot save changes to Core & Probes settings because you get an Error (Bad Request) with the message Active Directory Domain not accessible, ensure you provide the correct access type for your domain in section Active Directory Integration! For example, change from "local user" to Use explicit credentials and provide correct credentials for the domain. Please note that PRTG automatically sets the access type "local system" by default, so you might need to change this.

icon-prtg-on-premisesIf you use PRTG on premises and open the system administration page from another administration page, PRTG will ask you to enter your credentials again for security reasons if 15 minutes (900 seconds) have passed since your last credential-based login. A dialog box will appear. Enter your Login Name and Password for PRTG in the corresponding fields and confirm to continue.

Core and Probes Settings

icon-i-roundThis documentation refers to the PRTG System Administrator user accessing the Ajax interface on a master node. If you use other user accounts, interfaces, or nodes, you might not see all of the options in the way described here. If you use a cluster installation, note that failover nodes are read-only by default.

Proxy Configuration

icon-prtg-on-demandThis option is not available in PRTG in the cloud.

Use Proxy Server

We recommend that you use PRTG with a direct internet connection. However, if you need to use a proxy, you can configure the relevant settings here. Choose between:

  • No, use direct connection to the Internet (default): Do not use a proxy. Use this setting if there is a direct internet connection available to the server running the PRTG core server.
  • Yes, in our network a proxy is mandatory: Define proxy settings below.

icon-i-roundProxy settings are valid for Auto-Update, Activate the Product, obtaining Geo Maps tiles, and for sending out HTTP, push, and SMS text message Notifications. The sensor types Cloud HTTP and Cloud Ping use these proxy settings as well.

Proxy Server

This setting is only visible if proxy usage is enabled above. Enter the address of the proxy server that you use for outbound connections. Please enter a valid address.

Port

This setting is only visible if proxy usage is enabled above. Enter the port number of the proxy server that you use for outbound connections. Please enter an integer value.

Use Proxy Credentials

This setting is only visible if proxy usage is enabled above. Determine whether the proxy server needs credentials or not. Choose between:

  • Yes, the proxy server requires credentials: Define credentials (username and password) below.
  • No, there are no credentials necessary: Do not use credentials for proxy connections.

User

This setting is only visible if proxy credentials are enabled above. Enter a username for proxy authentication. Please enter a string.

Password

This setting is only visible if proxy credentials are enabled above. Enter a password for proxy authentication. Please enter a string.

Probe Connection Settings

Probe Connections IPs

Define how PRTG handles incoming connections from probes. Choose between the following options:

  • Local Probe only, 127.0.0.1 (PRTG will not be accessible for Remote Probes): The PRTG core server only accepts local probe connections. You cannot use remote probes with this setting enabled. This is the default setting in PRTG on premises.
  • All IPs available on this computer: The PRTG server will always accept incoming connections from remote probes, no matter on which IP address of the core server they come in. This is the default setting in PRTG in the cloud.
  • Specify IPs: The PRTG server will accept Incoming connections from remote probes only on the selected IP address(es) of the core server. In the list, select the IP addresses by adding a check mark in front of the desired IPs.

icon-i-roundYou can also change this setting in the PRTG Administration Tool on Core Server System.
 

icon-i-round-redIf you change this setting, PRTG needs to restart the core server to apply your changes. After clicking the Save button, a dialog box appears which asks you to confirm the required core server restart. Click OK to trigger the restart and follow the instructions on the screen. During the restart all the users of the PRTG web interface, of the Enterprise Console, or of PRTG Apps for Mobile Network Monitoring will be disconnected and reconnected.

icon-prtg-on-demandThis option is not available in PRTG in the cloud.

Access Keys

Enter a list of access keys, one per line. Every (remote) probe that wants to connect to this PRTG installation has to use one of these keys. For more information on how to set this key for a probe, please see the PRTG Administration Tool section.

Allow IPs

Enter a list of remote probe IPs or DNS names that will be accepted when connecting to this PRTG installation. Provide one IP address or DNS name per line. The local probe (127.0.0.1) is always allowed automatically. PRTG will check the list of allowed addresses first before the list of denied addresses.

  • [Empty]: An empty field does not allow any remote probes (but only the local probe). Please enter IP addresses or DNS names to allow remote probe connections.
    icon-i-roundWe recommend that you use IP addresses rather than DNS names, because DNS name resolution may be cached.
     
  • any: Enter the word any to automatically allow all remote probe connections. This is the default setting in PRTG in the cloud.
    icon-i-roundWe recommend that you only use this option in intranets in PRTG on premises!

icon-i-roundIf the IP address of your remote probe changes regularly (for example, due to an internet provider assigning IP addresses dynamically), please enter the potential IP range for this remote probe or use the any option.

icon-i-roundYou can use the PRTG syntax for IP address ranges here. For more information, please see the Define IP Ranges section.

Deny IPs

Enter a list of remote probe IPs or DNS names that will not be accepted when connecting to this PRTG installation. Provide one IP address or DNS name per line. This is useful to explicitly deny connections from certain remote probes you do not want to include in your setup any more (for example, for a certain time).

Access to IP addresses or DNS names you allowed above will be denied if you enter them here. This is useful to allow access to an IP range in the field above, but deny access to a single IP address. You can use the PRTG syntax for IP address ranges here (see the Define IP Ranges section).

icon-i-roundWe recommend that you use IP addresses rather than DNS names, because DNS name resolution may be cached.

Deny GIDs

Enter a list of GIDs, one global ID (GID) per line. The access to matching GIDs will be denied. If you remove a remote probe from the device tree or if you deny a remote probe after installation, its global ID (GID) will be automatically entered here. This specific remote probe will not be able to connect anymore. Denying GIDs is more precise than denying IPs, where other remote probes at the same location could be excluded too.

Mini Probes

Define if you want to allow Mini Probe connections to your PRTG server. If you want to use Mini Probes, you need to set up your PRTG web server to accept connections of Mini Probes here and choose the secure HTTPS server option in the web server settings. Choose between:

  • No Mini Probes: Mini Probes cannot connect to your PRTG web server. You are not able to monitor with Mini Probes if you choose this option.
  • Allow Mini Probes to connect to the web server: Mini Probes can connect to your PRTG web server and use the defined TCP port for the web server for this purpose. The default port for SSL connections is 443.
  • Allow Mini Probes to connect to an extra port: Mini Probes can connect via a specific port to your PRTG web server. This is useful if you do not want to have your whole PRTG web server reachable from other networks all the time only because of Mini Probes.
    icon-i-roundSSL is always required to be active on the Mini Probe port.
     

icon-book-bulbPlease refer to the PRTG API for the full Mini Probe documentation. See also this Knowledge Base article: Where can I find PRTG Mini Probes which are ready to use?

icon-i-round-redIf you change this setting, PRTG needs to restart the core server to apply your changes. After clicking the Save button, a dialog box appears which asks you to confirm the required core server restart. Click OK to trigger the restart and follow the instructions on the screen. During the restart all the users of the PRTG web interface, of the Enterprise Console, or of PRTG Apps for Mobile Network Monitoring will be disconnected and reconnected.

icon-prtg-on-demandThis option is not available in PRTG in the cloud.

Mini Probe Port

This field is only visible if you select the extra Mini Probe port option above. Enter the number of the port that you want to use for Mini Probe connections. Ensure that SSL is available on this port.

icon-i-round-redIf you change this setting, PRTG needs to restart the core server to apply your changes. After clicking the Save button, a dialog box appears which asks you to confirm the required core server restart. Click OK to trigger the restart and follow the instructions on the screen. During the restart all the users of the PRTG web interface, of the Enterprise Console, or of PRTG Apps for Mobile Network Monitoring will be disconnected and reconnected.

icon-prtg-on-demandThis option is not available in PRTG in the cloud.

Active Directory Integration

icon-prtg-on-demandThis option is not available in PRTG in the cloud.

Domain Name

To use the Active Directory Integration enter the name of your local domain. Please enter a string or leave the field empty.

icon-i-round-redPRTG does not support trusted domains or AD subdomains. For more important notes about AD integration, please see section Active Directory Integration—Notes and Limitations.

Access Type

Define which user account PRTG will use to configure Active Directory (AD) access. PRTG uses this account to query the AD for existing groups. Choose between:

  • Use the PRTG core service account (usually LOCAL SYSTEM): Use the same Windows user account configured for the "PRTG Core Server Service". In a default installation, this is the "local system" Windows user account. If this account does not have the right to query all groups of your Active Directory, do not use this option.
  • Use explicit credentials: Define a user account that PRTG will use to authenticate against the Active Directory. This should be a user account with full access to all of your Active Directory groups.

Access User

This field is only visible if you enable the use of explicit credentials above. Enter the Windows user account name that PRTG will use to authenticate for Active Directory configuration.

Access Password

This field is only visible if you enable the use of explicit credentials above. Enter the password for the Windows user account that PRTG will use to authenticate for Active Directory configuration.

Historic Data Purging: Define for how many days historic data remains accessible

Data purging enables you to automatically delete unnecessary data to free up disk space and improve system performance. You can define different time spans for several kinds of data. Select here for how many days historic data remains accessible.

icon-book-arrowsFor further information on storage locations, please see the Data Storage section.
 

icon-prtg-on-demandThis option is not available in PRTG in the cloud.

icon-prtg-on-demandPRTG in the cloud purges historic data using the default purging limits of PRTG on premises (see the table below). You cannot modify historic data purging limits in PRTG in the cloud.

Logfile Records

Define how long records in the system logfile Log Database.db will be kept. Enter a value in days. All entries older than this value will be deleted from the logfile automatically. This also affects the content of the Logs tab of monitoring objects like sensors. Keep this value as low as possible to enhance system performance.

icon-i-roundDefault value is 30 days.

Web Server Log Records

PRTG creates one web server logfile every day. Define how many web server logfiles are kept. Enter a value in days. All web server logfiles older than this value will be deleted automatically.

icon-i-roundDefault value is 30 days.

Historic Sensor Data

Define for how many days historic sensor data are kept for all sensors. It is used to create reports of monitoring data. Enter a value in days.

Depending on the used intervals and the number of sensors in your setup, the file containing this data can become large. For smaller installations (500 sensors or less) a value of 365 is usually fine.

icon-i-round-redHistoric sensor data is the basis for reports on monitoring data. If you decrease this value, there will be less historic monitoring data available!

icon-i-roundDefault value is 365 days.

Toplist Records

Define how long toplist records for Flow and Packet Sniffer sensors are kept. Enter a value in days. We recommend using 30 days here.

icon-i-roundOld toplist data will be purged automatically as soon as a limit of 2 GB is reached. The oldest data is deleted first from the database.

icon-i-roundDefault value is 30 days.

Closed Tickets

Define how long tickets that are in status closed are kept. Enter a value in days.

icon-i-roundDefault value is 365 days.

Reports

Reports generated in PDF format are stored on disk for later reference. Define the maximum age for these reports. Enter a value in days. All reports older than this value are deleted automatically.

icon-i-roundDefault value is 365 days.

Configuration Auto-Backups

PRTG creates one backup of your configuration every day. Define the maximum age for these backups. Enter a value in days. All configuration backup files older than this value will be deleted automatically.

icon-i-roundDefault value is 365 days.

Full HTTP Sensor Screenshots

Define how long the screenshots of the HTTP Full Web Page Sensor (PhantomJS browser engine) are kept. Enter a value in days. PRTG will delete older screenshots with every sensor scan.

icon-i-roundDefault value is 10 days.

Click Save to save your settings. If you change tabs or use the main menu, all changes to the settings will be lost!

Remote Probe Setup

Find more information about setting up remote probes in the Multiple Probes and Remote Probes section.

More

Knowledge Base: Where can I find PRTG Mini Probes which are ready to use?

 

 

Others

There are some settings that you must make in the PRTG Administration Tool, available as native Windows application. For more details, please see the sections:

Keywords: Configure,Configure Probe,Probe Connection