<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Port v2 Sensor

The Port v2 sensor monitors a network service by connecting to one or more of its TCP/IP ports.

i_round_blueDepending on your settings, the sensor can alert you either when the monitored port is open or when it is closed.

i_betaThis sensor is in beta status. The operating methods and the available settings are still subject to change. Do not expect that all functions work properly, or that this sensor works as expected at all.

Port v2 Sensor

Port v2 Sensor

i_square_cyanFor a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.

Sensor in Other Languages

  • Dutch: Port v2
  • French: Port v2
  • German: Port v2
  • Japanese: Port v2
  • Portuguese: Port v2
  • Russian: Port v2
  • Simplified Chinese: Port v2
  • Spanish: Port v2

Remarks

  • This sensor requires that the Beta Sensors experimental feature is enabled.
  • This sensor supports the IPv6 protocol.
  • This sensor has a very low performance impact.

Known Issues

  • The sensor shows the Unknown status if a sensor scan was executed during the scan of the port list. If this issue occurs, reduce the list of monitored ports or increase the Scanning Interval of the sensor. The scan of each port takes about two seconds. For example, if you monitor the ports 1-900, the sensor needs around 1,800 seconds (30 minutes) to complete the port list.

Detailed Requirements

Requirement

Description

Enabled Beta Sensors experimental feature

This sensor requires that the Beta Sensors experimental feature of PRTG is enabled.

i_square_cyanFor more information, see the Knowledge Base: What are beta sensors and how can I use them?

Add Sensor

The Add Sensor dialog appears when you manually add a new sensor to a device. It only shows the settings that are required to create the sensor. You can change nearly all settings on the sensor's Settings tab after creation.

Port Specific

Setting

Description

Goal

Define how the sensor reports on the ports. Choose between:

  • Open: Shows the Up status if the port is open, and the Down status if the port is closed.
  • Closed: Shows the Up status if the port is closed, and the Down status if the port is open.

i_round_blueYou cannot edit this setting after creation. However, you can modify the limits in the channel settings to change the sensor behavior. For more information, see section Channel Settings.

Basic Sensor Settings

Click the Settings tab of a sensor to change its settings.

Basic Sensor Settings

Basic Sensor Settings

Setting

Description

Sensor Name

Enter a name to identify the sensor. By default, PRTG shows this name in the device tree, as well as in alarms, logs, notifications, reports, maps, libraries, and tickets.

i_round_blueIf the name contains angle brackets (<>), PRTG replaces them with braces ({}) for security reasons. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: What security features does PRTG include?

Parent Tags

Shows tags that the sensor inherits from its parent device, parent group, and parent probe.

i_round_blueThis setting is for your information only. You cannot change it.

Tags

Enter one or more tags. Confirm each tag with the Spacebar key, a comma, or the Enter key. You can use tags to group objects and use tag-filtered views later on. Tags are not case-sensitive. Tags are automatically inherited.

i_round_blueIt is not possible to enter tags with a leading plus (+) or minus (-) sign, nor tags with parentheses (()) or angle brackets (<>).

i_round_blueFor performance reasons, it can take some minutes until you can filter for new tags that you added.

The sensor has the following default tags that are automatically predefined in the sensor's settings when you add the sensor:

  • tcp
  • portsensor
  • portrangesensor

Priority

Select a priority for the sensor. This setting determines the position of the sensor in lists. The highest priority is at the top of a list. Choose from the lowest priority (i_priority_1) to the highest priority (i_priority_5).

i_round_blueUsually, a sensor connects to the IP Address/DNS Name of the parent device. See the device settings for details. For some sensors, you can explicitly define the monitoring target in the sensor settings.

Port Specific

Port Specific

Port Specific

Setting

Description

Timeout (Sec.)

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

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

Port-by-Port Delay (ms)

Define how long the sensor waits before it tries to connect to the next port.

Port List

Enter the port numbers that the sensor tries to connect to. Each port number must have its own line. You can also specify port ranges by using A-B, for example 8080-8090. Enter an integer.

Sensor Display

Sensor Display

Sensor Display

Setting

Description

Primary Channel

Select a channel from the list to define it as the primary channel. In the device tree, the last value of the primary channel is always displayed below the sensor's name. The available options depend on what channels are available for this sensor.

i_round_blueYou can set a different primary channel later by clicking b_channel_primary below a channel gauge on the sensor's Overview tab.

Graph Type

Define how different channels are shown for this sensor:

  • 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.
    i_round_redYou 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 enable Stack channels on top of each other as Graph Type. Select a unit from the list. All channels with this unit are stacked 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.

Inherited Settings

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 b_inherited_enabled under the corresponding setting name to disable the inheritance and to display its options.

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Inheritance of Settings.

Scanning Interval

i_round_blueThis sensor has a fixed minimum scanning interval for performance reasons. You cannot use a shorter scanning interval. Consequently, shorter scanning intervals in the Monitoring settings are not available for this sensor.

i_round_blueThe minimum scanning interval of this sensor is 1 minute.

i_round_blueThe recommended scanning interval of this sensor is 5 minutes.

Scanning Interval

Scanning Interval

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Scanning Interval.

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window

i_round_blueYou cannot interrupt the inheritance for schedules, dependencies, and maintenance windows. The corresponding settings from the parent objects are always active. However, you can define additional schedules, dependencies, and maintenance windows. They are active at the same time as the parent objects' settings.

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window.

Access Rights

Access Rights

Access Rights

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Access Rights.

Channel List

i_round_blueWhich channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the target device, the available components, and the sensor setup.

Channel

Description

Closed Ports

The number of ports that are closed

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

The number of errors

i_round_blueThis channel has a default limit:

  • Upper error limit: 0

Maximum Connect Time

The maximum time until a request to connect to a port was accepted

i_round_blueThis channel is the primary channel by default.

Open Ports

The number of ports that are open

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

What are beta sensors and how can I use them?

What security features does PRTG include?