<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: VMware Host Hardware (WBEM) Sensor

The VMware Host Hardware (WBEM) sensor monitors information about the hardware of an ESXi server using Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM).

VMware Host Hardware (WBEM) Sensor

VMware Host Hardware (WBEM) 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: VMware Host Hardware (WBEM)
  • French: VMware matériel du serveur hôte (WBEM)
  • German: VMware Host Hardware (WBEM)
  • Japanese: VMware ホストハードウェア(WBEM)
  • Portuguese: Hardware de host VMware (WBEM)
  • Russian: Аппаратные средства узла VMware (WBEM)
  • Simplified Chinese: VMware 主机硬件 (WBEM)
  • Spanish: Hardware de host VMware (WBEM)

Remarks

  • This sensor has a high performance impact. Use it with care. We recommend that you use no more than 200 sensors of this sensor type on each probe.
  • This sensor requires that the CIM interface is enabled on the ESXi host. As of ESXi 6.5, you must manually enable CIM.
  • This sensor requires credentials for Linux/Solaris/macOS (SSH/WBEM) systems in the settings of the parent device.
  • The parent device must be a VMware ESXi server as of version 5.2.
  • We recommend Windows Server 2012 R2 on the probe system for best performance of this sensor.
  • This sensor only supports the IPv4 protocol.

Detailed Requirements

Requirement

Description

Enabled CIM Interface on ESXi Host

To access the ESXi host and retrieve monitoring data via WBEM, the CIM interface must be enabled on the ESXi host. On ESXi 6.5, CIM is disabled by default, so you need to manually activate it.

i_square_cyanFor details, see the Knowledge Base: How do I enable the CIM interface on VMware ESXi 6.5?

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.

i_round_blueThe settings that you select in the Add Sensor dialog are valid for all sensors that you create when you finish the dialog.

ESXi Server Elements

Setting

Description

Hardware Elements

Select the hardware elements that you want to monitor. PRTG creates one sensor for each element that you select.

i_round_blueEnable check boxes in front of the respective lines to select the items. Use the check box in the table header to select all items or to cancel the selection. In large tables, use the search function in the upper-right corner.

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.

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:

  • esxshealthsensor

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).

ESXi Server Elements

ESXi Server Elements

ESXi Server Elements

Setting

Description

Hardware Element

Shows the hardware element that this sensor monitors.

i_round_bluePRTG shows this value for reference purposes only. If you need to change this value, add the sensor anew.

Automatic Sensor Status

Define if the sensor changes its status depending on the health status reading:

  • Set sensor to warning or down status: Set the sensor to the Warning or the Down status when the server returns respective values. The sensor also changes to the Down status if the connection to the server fails.
  • Report the current reading: Never change the sensor's status dependent on the values returned by the server. The sensor only changes to the Down status if the connection to the server fails.

Result Handling

Define what PRTG does with the sensor result:

  • Discard result: Do not store the sensor result.
  • Store result: Store the last sensor result 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.

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

i_round_blueIn a cluster, PRTG stores the result in the PRTG data directory of the master node.

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

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

Current

The current in milliampere (mA)

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 in percent.

Healthstate

The health status

  • Up status: OK Unknown
  • Warning status: Degraded, Minor
  • Down status: Critical, Major, Non Recoverable Error

Power

The average host power usage in watts

Rotational Speed

The fan revolutions per minute (RPM)

Temperature

The temperature

More

i_square_blueKnowledge Base

Why are my VMware sensors not working after upgrading to VCSA 6.5 U1?

How do I enable the CIM interface on VMware ESXi 6.5?

What security features does PRTG include?