PRTG Manual: Cloud HTTP v2 Sensor

The Cloud HTTP v2 sensor monitors the loading time of a web server via HTTP from different locations worldwide via the PRTG Cloud. The locations are distributed among four continents around the globe.

Cloud HTTP v2 Sensor

Cloud HTTP 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: Cloud HTTP v2
  • French: Cloud HTTP v2
  • German: Cloud HTTP v2
  • Japanese: クラウド HTTP v2
  • Portuguese: Cloud HTTP v2
  • Russian: Cloud HTTP v2
  • Simplified Chinese: Cloud HTTP v2
  • Spanish: Nube HTTP v2

Remarks

Consider the following remarks and requirements for this sensor:

Remark

Description

Internet access

  • The probe system requires access to the internet and must be able to reach https://api.prtgcloud.com:443 to communicate with the PRTG Cloud.
  • This sensor requires that the address in the settings of the parent device is reachable via the internet.

Smart URL replacement

This sensor supports smart URL replacement.

IPv6

This sensor supports IPv6.

Performance impact

This sensor has a low performance impact.

Lookups

This sensor uses lookups to determine the status values of one or more channels.

Limits

This sensor has predefined limits for several metrics.

Probe system

To monitor a probe system, enter the URL of the probe system that is reachable via the internet as Custom URL in the Cloud HTTP Specific settings or add a device with the URL in the settings of the device.

Inheritance

This sensor inherits proxy settings from the parent device.

Scanning interval

  • The minimum scanning interval of this sensor is 1 minute.
  • The recommended scanning interval of this sensor is 5 minutes.

Multi-platform probe

You can add this sensor to a multi-platform probe.

Knowledge Base

Knowledge Base: What is the PRTG Cloud Bot?

Basic Sensor Settings

Basic Sensor Settings

Basic Sensor Settings

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

  • cloud
  • cloudhttpsensor
  • http

i_square_cyanFor more information about basic sensor settings, see section Sensor Settings.

Cloud HTTP Specific

Cloud HTTP Specific

Cloud HTTP Specific

Setting

Description

URL

Select if you want to inherit the URL from the parent device or if you want to enter a custom URL:

  • Inherit (default)
  • Custom

Custom URL

This setting is only visible if you select Custom above.

Enter the URL that you want to monitor.

i_round_redThe URL must be valid and URL encoded.

i_round_blueYou can enter a URL that leads to a web page, for example, to measure the page source code's loading time, or you can enter the URL of an image or other page asset to measure this element's availability and loading time.

i_square_cyanPRTG uses a smart URL replacement with which you can use the parent device's IP address or Domain Name System (DNS) name setting as part of the URL. For more information, see section Smart URL Replacement.

Request Method

Select an HTTP request method to determine how the sensor requests the URL:

  • GET (default): Directly request the web page. We recommend that you use this setting for a simple check of a web page.
  • POST: Send post form data to the URL.
  • HEAD: Only request the HTTP header from the server without the actual web page.
    i_round_blueThis setting saves bandwidth because it transfers less data. However, we do not recommend this setting because the measured request time is not the request time that the users experience and you might not be notified of slow results or timeouts.

Postdata

This setting is only visible if you select POST above.

Enter the data part for the POST request.

Region

Select the regions from which you want to check the service:

  • Asia Pacific (Singapore)
  • Asia Pacific (Sydney)
  • Europe (Ireland)
  • US East (Northern Virginia)
  • US West (Northern California)

i_round_bluePRTG creates two channels for every region that you select.

Timeout (Sec.)

Enter a timeout in seconds for the ping. If the reply takes longer than this value, PRTG cancels the request and shows an error message. Enter an integer. You can enter a value between 1 and 30 seconds.

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, PRTG displays the last value of the primary channel 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 this sensor shows different channels:

  • 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 select Stack channels on top of each other above.

Select a unit from the list. PRTG stacks all channels with this unit 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.

Debug Options

Debug Options

Debug Options

Setting

Description

Result Handling

Define what PRTG does with the sensor result:

  • Discard result (default): 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].log. This setting is for debugging purposes. PRTG overwrites this file 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.

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.

Smart URL Replacement

Instead of entering a complete address in the URL field of an HTTP sensor, you can only enter the protocol followed by a colon and three forward slashes (this means that you can enter either http:/// or https:///, or even a simple forward slash / as the equivalent for http:///). PRTG automatically fills in the parent device's IP Address/DNS Name in front of the third forward slash.

Whether this results in a valid URL or not depends on the IP address or Domain Name System (DNS) name of the parent device. In combination with cloning devices, you can use smart URL replacement to create many similar devices.

For example, if you create a device with the DNS name www.example.com and you add an HTTP sensor to it, you can provide values in the following ways:

  • If you enter https:/// in the URL field, PRTG automatically creates the URL https://www.example.com/
  • If you enter /help in the URL field, PRTG automatically creates and monitor the URL http://www.example.com/help
  • It is also possible to provide a port number in the URL field. It is taken over by the device's DNS name and is internally added, for example, http://:8080/

i_round_redSmart URL replacement does not work for sensors that run on the probe device.

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

Asia Pacific (Singapore)

The response time of the target server at the location

i_round_blueThis channel has default limits:

  • Upper error limit: 5000 msec
  • Upper warning limit: 3333 msec

Asia Pacific (Singapore) - HTTP Response Code

The response code of the target server at the location

Asia Pacific (Singapore) - PRTG Cloud Response

If the PRTG Cloud query was successful or not

  • Up status: OK
  • Down status: Failed

Asia Pacific (Sydney)

The response time of the target server at the location

i_round_blueThis channel has default limits:

  • Upper error limit: 5000 msec
  • Upper warning limit: 3333 msec

Asia Pacific (Sydney) - HTTP Response Code

The response code of the target server at the location

Asia Pacific (Sydney) - PRTG Cloud Response

If the PRTG Cloud query was successful or not

  • Up status: OK
  • Down status: Failed

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

Europe (Ireland)

The response time of the target server at the location

i_round_blueThis channel has default limits:

  • Upper error limit: 5000 msec
  • Upper warning limit: 3333 msec

Europe (Ireland) - HTTP Response Code

The response code of the target server at the location

Europe (Ireland) - PRTG Cloud Response

If the PRTG Cloud query was successful or not

  • Up status: OK
  • Down status: Failed

Global Average

The average global loading time

i_round_blueThis channel is the primary channel by default.

i_round_blueThis channel has default limits:

  • Upper error limit: 5000 msec
  • Upper warning limit: 3333 msec

US East (Northern Virginia)

The response time of the target server at the location

i_round_blueThis channel has default limits:

  • Upper error limit: 5000 msec
  • Upper warning limit: 3333 msec

US East (Northern Virginia) - HTTP Response Code

The response code of the target server at the location

US East (Northern Virginia) - PRTG Cloud Response

If the PRTG Cloud query was successful or not

  • Up status: OK
  • Down status: Failed

US West (Northern California)

The response time of the target server at the location

i_round_blueThis channel has default limits:

  • Upper error limit: 5000 msec
  • Upper warning limit: 3333 msec

US West (Northern California) - HTTP Response Code

The response code of the target server at the location

US West (Northern California) - PRTG Cloud Response

If the PRTG Cloud query was successful or not

  • Up status: OK
  • Down status: Failed

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

What is the PRTG Cloud Bot?

What security features does PRTG include?