<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Windows Process Sensor

The Windows Process sensor monitors a Windows process via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) or Windows performance counters, as configured in the Windows Compatibility Options of the parent device.

Windows Process Sensor

Windows Process 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: Windows Proces
  • French: Windows processus
  • German: Windows Prozess
  • Japanese: Windows プロセス
  • Portuguese: Processo Windows
  • Russian: Процесс Windows
  • Simplified Chinese: Windows 进程
  • Spanish: Proceso Windows

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 credentials for Windows systems in the settings of the parent device.
  • This sensor requires at least Windows Server 2008 R2 on the probe system.
  • This sensor requires that the Remote Registry Windows service runs on the target computer.
  • This sensor requires WoW64 (Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit) for target systems that run Windows Server 2016.
  • The sensor cannot show values above 4 GB for 64-bit processes if you use performance counters.
  • This sensor can use a hybrid approach with Windows performance counters and WMI as fallback to query data.
  • This sensor supports the IPv6 protocol.

i_podYou cannot add this sensor to the hosted probe of a PRTG Hosted Monitor instance. If you want to use this sensor, add it to a remote probe device.

Detailed Requirements

Requirement

Description

Windows credentials

This sensor requires credentials for Windows systems in the settings of the parent device. Preferably, use Windows domain credentials.

i_round_redIf you use local credentials, make sure that the same Windows user accounts (with the same user name and password) exist on both the probe system and the target computer. Otherwise, a connection via performance counters is not possible. However, WMI connections might still work.

Windows version

For this sensor to work with Windows performance counters, make sure that at least Windows Server 2008 R2 is installed on the probe system (on every cluster node, if on a cluster probe).

i_round_redWoW64 must be installed on target systems that run Windows Server 2016. This allows 32-bit applications to be run on 64-bit systems. This is necessary because the PRTG probe service only runs with 32-bit support. Without it, WMI sensors do not work.

Remote Registry Windows service

For this sensor to work with Windows performance counters, make sure that the Remote Registry Windows service runs on the target computer. If this service does not run, a connection via performance counters is not possible. However, WMI connections might still work.

To enable the service, log in to the respective computer and open the services manager (for example, via services.msc). In the list, find the respective service and set its Start Type to Automatic.

Hybrid Approach: Performance Counters and WMI

i_round_blueBy default, this sensor uses WMI to request monitoring data. You can change the default behavior to a hybrid approach in the Windows Compatibility Options of the parent device's settings on which you create this sensor: if you choose this option, the sensor first tries to query data via Windows performance counters and uses WMI as a fallback if performance counters are not available. When running in fallback mode, the sensor tries to connect via performance counters again after 24 hours.

i_round_redSensors that use the WMI protocol have a high impact on the system performance. Try to stay below 200 WMI sensors per probe. Above this number, consider using multiple remote probes for load balancing.

i_round_blueFor a general introduction to the technology behind WMI, see section Monitoring via WMI.

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.

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:

  • wmiprocesssensor

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).

Windows Process Monitor

Windows Process Monitor

Windows Process Monitor

Setting

Description

Executable

Enter the name of the process that you want to monitor. Provide the name of an executable file without the .exe extension (for example, enter firefox to monitor firefox.exe).

i_round_blueThe sensor shows the Down status if the process is not active on the target device.

Debug Options

Debug Options

Debug Options

Setting

Description

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 name is Result of Sensor [ID].Data.txt. This setting is for debugging purposes. PRTG overwrites this file with each scanning interval.

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 Unit Configuration

i_round_blueWhich channel units are available depends on the sensor type and the available parameters. If no configurable channels are available, this field shows No configurable channels.

Channel Unit Configuration

Channel Unit Configuration

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Channel Unit Configuration.

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

CPU Usage (Average Per Instance)

The average CPU usage (if multiple instances are running) in percent

i_round_blueFor the CPU Usage (average per instance) value, the summed up CPU usage value is divided by the number of all instances. It shows the average CPU usage of a single instance of the process on one CPU.

CPU Usage (Total)

The total CPU usage in percent

i_round_blueFor the CPU Usage (Total) value of a process, all CPU usage values are summed up. The total is divided by the number of all CPUs and the maximum value is 100%. This corresponds to the CPU usage of all instances of this specific process.

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.

Handles

The number of handles

Instances

The number of instances

Private Bytes

The private bytes

Threads

The number of threads

Working Set

The working set in bytes

i_round_blueThis channel is the primary channel by default.

More

i_square_blueKnowledge Base

What security features does PRTG include?

My Windows sensors do not work when using direct performance counter access. What can I do?