PRTG Manual: WMI File Sensor

The WMI File sensor monitors a file via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).

WMI File Sensor

WMI File 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: WMI Bestand
  • French: Fichier (WMI)
  • German: WMI Datei
  • Japanese: WMI ファイル
  • Portuguese: Arquivo (WMI)
  • Russian: Файл WMI
  • Simplified Chinese: WMI 文件
  • Spanish: Archivo (WMI)

Remarks

Consider the following remarks and requirements for this sensor:

Remark

Description

Performance impact

This sensor has a high performance impact. Stay below 200 WMI sensors per probe. Above this number, consider using multiple remote probes for load balancing.

WoW64

This sensor requires WoW64 (Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit) for target systems that run Windows Server 2016.

Credentials

This sensor requires credentials for Windows systems.

IPv6

This sensor supports IPv6.

Hosted probe

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.

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:

  • wmifilesensor

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

WMI File Monitor

WMI File Monitor

WMI File Monitor

Setting

Description

File Name

Enter the name of the file that you want to monitor. Enter the full local path. The file must exist on the probe system.

i_round_redThe sensor does not support Universal Naming Convention (UNC) paths.

If Time Stamp Changes

Define what the sensor does if the time stamp of the file changes:

  • Ignore (default): Do nothing.
  • Trigger 'change' notification: Send an internal message that indicates a change.
    i_round_blueIn combination with a change trigger, you can use this to trigger a notification if a change occurs.

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].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, 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.

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

File Size

The file size

i_round_blueThis channel is the primary channel by default.

Last Modified

The time since the last modification of the file

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

What security features does PRTG include?

My WMI sensors don't work. What can I do?