PRTG Manual: OPC UA Custom Sensor

The OPC UA Custom sensor monitors up to ten numeric values returned by specific OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) NodeIDs.

OPC UA Custom Sensor

OPC UA Custom 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: OPC UA Aangepast
  • French: OPC UA personnalisé
  • German: OPC UA (Benutzerdefiniert)
  • Japanese: OPC UA カスタム
  • Portuguese: OPC UA customizado
  • Russian: Пользовательский OPC UA
  • Simplified Chinese: OPC UA 自定义
  • Spanish: OPC UA (personalizado)

Remarks

Consider the following remarks and requirements for this sensor:

Remark

Description

Valid port

This sensor requires a valid port for the connection to the OPC UA server.

Credentials

This sensor requires credentials for OPC UA in the settings of the parent device.

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.

Scanning interval

The minimum scanning interval of this sensor is 30 seconds.

Multi-platform probe

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

Knowledge Base

Knowledge Base: Which OPC UA data types does the OPC UA Custom sensor support?

Add Sensor

Setting

Description

Channel #1 – #10 Naming Method

Select the naming method for the channels of the sensor:

  • Use automatic naming (default): The sensor uses the name provided by the OPC UA node.
    i_round_redYou cannot use automatic naming after sensor creation.
  • Enter custom name: Enter a custom name in field Channel #1 - #10 Name.

i_round_blueYou can change this value later in the channel settings of this sensor.

Channel #1 - #10 Unit

Enter the unit for the numeric value that this sensor monitors.

i_round_blueYou can change this value later in the channel settings of this sensor.

Channel #1 – #10 NodeID

Enter the NodeID from which you want to receive numeric data.

i_round_blueA NodeID looks like this, for example: ns=1;i=1234, ns=2;s=test_one, or 'ns=1;s=test_one'[4]. The sensor supports string identifiers, numeric identifiers, and array syntaxes.

Channel #2 - #10

You can define up to 10 channels. You must define at least one channel, so you see all available settings for Channel #1. Specify how to handle all other possible channels:

  • Disable: Do not create this channel.
  • Enable: Create this channel.

i_round_blueIt is not possible to enable or disable channels after sensor creation.

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:

  • opcua
  • opcuacustom

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

OPC UA Specific

OPC UA Specific

OPC UA Specific

Setting

Description

Sensor Message NodeID

Optionally enter the NodeID from which you want to receive a string that the sensor shows as sensor message.

i_round_blueA NodeID looks like this, for example: ns=1;i=1234, ns=2;s=test_one, or 'ns=1;s=test_one'[4]. The sensor supports string identifiers, numeric identifiers, and array syntaxes.

i_round_blueThe sensor only shows the received string if the sensor is in the Up status. If the sensor enters the Down status, the sensor message shows the error message instead.

Channel #x NodeID

The NodeID from which the sensor receives numeric data.

i_round_blueA NodeID looks like this, for example: ns=1;i=1234, ns=2;s=test_one, or 'ns=1;s=test_one'[4]. The sensor supports string identifiers, numeric identifiers, and array syntaxes.

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.

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

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

[Value]

The returned numeric values in up to ten channels

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

Which OPC UA data types does the OPC UA Custom sensor support?

What security features does PRTG include?