<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Add a Sensor

This 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.

To add a sensor manually, select Sensors | Add Sensor from the main menu. Then an assistant will appear, leading you through two steps. For a faster setup, you can select Add Sensor... in the context menu of the device that you want to add the new sensor to. This will skip the device selection and take you directly to step 2.

Step 1 - Select Device

Add Sensor Dialog

Click here to enlarge: https://media-s3.paessler.com/prtg-screenshots/addsensor2_new.png

Select Add sensor to an existing device (default setting).
Choose the device you want to add the new sensor to.
Click Continue.

The add sensor assistant appears.

Step 2 - Choose Sensor Type

Add Sensor Assistant

Click here to enlarge: https://media-s3.paessler.com/prtg-screenshots/addsensor3.png

The add sensor assistant helps you choose the correct sensor (see screenshot above).

Narrow down the sensor types:

Enter (parts of) the name into the search box.
Choose appropriate criteria to filter the shown sensor types.
Go through the detailed list of sensors matching the selected device.
If you cannot find a suitable sensor, search for custom sensors in our PRTG Script World. Just click Looking For More Sensor Types?. See section List of Available Sensor Types—Script World Sensors for more information.

Choose which sensor best monitors the parameters you require.
Click the sensor box to select this sensor.

The sensor settings dialog opens.

Enter suitable sensor settings.

PRTG suggests sensor types to create on the selected device. This recommendation is automatically calculated based on the current user's sensor usage and shows the ten most commonly used sensor types (if enough sensor types are already in use).

If you are unsure which sensor type will provide the information you require, then we recommend that you use the filter categories to progressively narrow down your choices.

You can either:

Select the type of parameter you want to monitor via Monitor What?.
Specify the type of target system you want to monitor and see what sensors are available for this type of hardware in Target System Type?.
Choose the technology that you want to use for monitoring (for example SNMP or WMI) in Technology Used?.

Please also consider whether a sensor’s performance impact is high or low by checking the bar in the lower left corner of the sensor box. For further information, see this Knowledge Base article: How to Speed Up PRTG (especially section 4 - Sensor Type and Monitoring Considerations)

This bar indicates that this sensor has a high performance impact.

This bar indicates that this sensor has a low performance impact.

Confirm via Continue.

PRTG will now create the sensor. The device tree opens.

For more information about a sensor type, please see the manual section of the respective sensor (directly accessible via the “?”-symbol in the top-right corner). You can also go to the List of Available Sensor Types section to find a comprehensive overview of sensor types.

Knowledge Base: How can I change the number of entries in most used sensor types?

https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/59788

Knowledge Base: How to Speed Up PRTG (especially section 4 - Sensor Type and Monitoring Considerations)

https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/2733

Ajax Web Interface—Device and Sensor Setup—Topics

Other Ajax Web Interface Sections