PRTG Manual: NetFlow V9 Sensor

Sensor Name

Enter a meaningful name to identify the sensor. The name will be shown by default in the device tree and in all alarms.

Tags

Enter one or more tags, separated by space or comma. You can use tags to group sensors and use tag-filtered views later on. Tags are not case sensitive. We recommend using the default value. You can add additional tags to it, if you like. Other tags are automatically inherited from objects further up in the device tree. Those are not visible here.

Priority

Select a priority for the sensor. This setting determines where the sensor will be placed in sensor lists. Top priority will be at the top of a list. You can choose from one star (low priority) to five stars (top priority).

Receive NetFlow Packets on UDP Port

Enter the UDP port number on which the flow packets are received. It must match the one you have configured in the NetFlow export options of your hardware router device. Please enter an integer value. Note: When configuring export, please make sure you select the appropriate NetFlow version for this sensor.

Sender IP

Enter the IP address of the sending device you want to receive the NetFlow from. Enter an IP address to receive data from a specific device only, or leave the field empty to receive data from any device on the specified port.

Receive NetFlow Packets on IP

Select the IP address(es) on which PRTG listens to NetFlow packets. The list of IP addresses shown here is specific to your setup. To select an IP address, add a check mark in front of the respective line. The IP address selected here must match the one configured in the NetFlow export options of your hardware router device. Note: When configuring export, please make sure you select the appropriate NetFlow version for this sensor.

Active Flow Timeout (Minutes)

Enter a time span in minutes after which new flow data must be received. If the timeout is reached and no new data is received, the sensor may switch to an Unknown status. Please enter an integer value. We recommend setting this one minute longer than the respective timeout configured in your hardware router device. Note: If you set this value too low, flow information might get lost!

Log Stream Data to Disk (for Debugging)

Define if the probe will write a log file of the stream and packet data to the data folder (see Data Storage). Choose between:

• None (recommended): Do not write additional log files. Recommended for normal use cases.
• Only for the 'Other' channel: Only write log files of data that is not filtered otherwise and therefore accounted to the default Other channel.
• All stream data: Write log files for all data received.

Note: Use with caution! When enabled, huge data files can be created. Please use for a short time and for debugging purposes only.

Channel Selection

Define the categories the traffic will be accounted to. There are different groups of traffic available. Choose between:

• Web: Internet web traffic.
• File Transfer: Traffic caused by FTP.
• Mail: Internet mail traffic.
• Chat: Traffic caused by chat and instant messaging.
• Remote Control: Traffic caused by remote control applications, such as RDP, SSH, Telnet, VNC.
• Infrastructure: Traffic caused by network services, such as DHCP, DNS, Ident, ICMP, SNMP.
• NetBIOS: Traffic caused by NetBIOS communication.
• Other Protocols: Traffic caused by various other protocols via UDP and TCP.

For each traffic group, you can select how many channels will be used for each group, i.e. how detailed traffic will be divided. For each group, choose between:

• No: Do not account traffic of this group in an own channel. All traffic of this group will be accounted to the default channel named Other.
• Yes: Count all traffic of this group and summarize it into one channel.
• Detail: Count all traffic of this group and further divide it into different channels. The traffic will appear in several channels as shown in the Content column. Note: Extensive use of this option can cause load problems on your probe system. We recommend setting specific, well-chosen filters for the data you really want to analyse.

Include Filter

Define if you want to filter any traffic. If you leave this field empty, all traffic will be included. To include specific traffic only, define filters using a special syntax. For detailed information, please see Filter Rules for xFlow and Packet Sniffer Sensors section.

Exclude Filter

First, the filters defined in the Include Filter field are considered. From this subset, you can explicitly exclude traffic, using the same syntax. For detailed information, please see Filter Rules for xFlow and Packet Sniffer Sensors section.

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 will always be displayed underneath the sensor's name. The available options depend on what channels are available for this sensor.

Chart Type

Define how different channels will be shown for this sensor.

• Show channels independently (default): Show an own 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 will generate an easy-to-read graph which visualizes the different components of your total traffic. Note: This option cannot be used in combination with manual Vertical Axis Scaling (available in the Sensor Channels Settings settings).

Stack Unit

This setting is only available if stacked graphs are selected above. Choose a unit from the list. All channels with this unit will be 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.

Primary Toplist

Define which will be your primary toplist. It will be shown in maps and initially when selecting the Toplists tab. Choose from:

• Top Talkers
• Top Connections
• Top Protocols
• [Any custom toplists you have added]

Scanning Interval

Scanning Interval

The scanning interval determines the time the sensor waits between two scans. Select a scanning interval (seconds, minutes, or hours) from the list. You can change the available intervals in the system administration.

Note: Inheritance for schedules, dependencies, and maintenance windows cannot be interrupted; the according settings from the parent objects will always be active. However, you can define additional settings here. They will be active in parallel to the parent objects' settings.

Schedule

Select a schedule from the list. Schedules can be used to pause monitoring for a certain time span (days, hours) throughout the week. You can create new schedules and edit existing ones in the account settings. Note: Schedules are generally inherited. New schedules will be added to existing ones, so all schedules are active.

Maintenance Window

Specify if you want to set-up a one-time maintenance window. During a maintenance window this object and all child objects will not be monitored. They will enter a paused state then. Choose between:

• Not set (monitor continuously): No maintenance window will be set.
• Set up a one-time maintenance window: Pause monitoring within a maintenance window.

Maintenance Begins At

This field is only visible if maintenance window is enabled above. Use the date time picker to enter the start date and time of the maintenance window.

Maintenance End At

This field is only visible if maintenance window is enabled above. Use the date time picker to enter the end date and time of the maintenance window.

Dependency Type

Define a dependency type. Dependencies can be used to pause monitoring for an object depending on the status of another. You can choose between:

• Use parent: Pause the current sensor if the device it is created on is in a Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency.
• Select object: Pause the current sensor if the device it is created on is in an Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency. Additionally, pause the current sensor if a specific other object in the device tree is in a Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency. Select below.
• Master object for parent: Make this sensor the master object for its parent device. The sensor will influence the behavior of the device it is created on: If the sensor is in a Down status, the device will be paused. For example, it is a good idea to make a Ping sensor the master object for its parent device to pause monitoring for all other sensors on the device in case the device cannot even be pinged. Additionally, the sensor will be paused if the parent group of its parent device is in a Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency.

Note: Testing your dependencies is easy! Simply choose Simulate Error Status from the context menu of an object that other objects depend on. A few seconds later all dependent objects should be paused.

Dependency

This field is only visible if the select object option is enabled above. Click on the reading-glass symbol and use the object selector to choose an object on which the current sensor will be dependent on.

Delay (Seconds)

Define a time span. After the master object for this dependency comes back to an Up status, monitoring of the depending objects will be additionally delayed by the defined time span. This can help avoid false alarms, for example, after a server restart, by giving systems more time for all services to start up. Please enter an integer value in seconds. Note: This setting is not available if you choose this sensor to be the Master object for parent. In this case, please define delays in the parent Device Settings or the superior Group Settings.

Access Rights

User Group Access

Define which user group(s) will have access to the object you're editing. A table with user groups and right is shown; it contains all user groups from your setup. For each user group you can choose from the following access rights:

• Inherited: Use the settings of the parent object.
• None: Users in this group cannot see or edit the object. The object does not show up in lists and in the device tree. Exception: If a child object is visible to the user, the object is visible in the device tree, though not accessible.
• Read: Users in this group can see the object and review its monitoring results.
• Write: Users in this group can see the object, review its monitoring results, and edit the object's settings. They cannot edit access rights settings.
• Full: Users in this group can see the object, review its monitoring results, edit the object's settings, and edit access rights settings.

You can create new user groups in the System Administration—User Groups settings. To automatically set all objects further down in the hierarchy to inherit this object's access rights, set a check mark for the Revert children's access rights to inherited option.

Channel Unit Configuration

Channel Unit Types

For each type of sensor channel, define the unit in which data is displayed. If defined on probe, group, or device level, these settings can be inherited to all sensors underneath. You can set units for the following channel types (if available):

• Bandwidth
• Memory
• Disk
• File
• Custom

Note: Custom channel types can be set on sensor level only.