Software:PRTG Network Monitor

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Short description: Network monitoring software
PRTG Network Monitor
PRTG Logo
PRTG Logo
Developer(s)Paessler AG
Initial release2003; 21 years ago (2003)
Stable release
21.3.69.1333 / July 6, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-07-06)[1]
Written inDelphi
Operating systemWindows
Available inEnglish, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese[1]
TypeNetwork monitoring
Websitewww.paessler.com/prtg

PRTG Network Monitor (Paessler Router Traffic Grapher until version 7) is an agentless network monitoring software from Paessler AG. It can monitor and classify system conditions like bandwidth usage or uptime and collect statistics from miscellaneous hosts as switches, routers, servers and other devices and applications.[2]

The first version of PRTG was released on 29 May 2003 by the German company Paessler GmbH (now: Paessler AG), which was founded by Dirk Paessler in 2001.[3]

In 2015 PRTG 100 was made available for free-of-charge use, which has only one restriction compared to the paid use: it supports up to 100 sensors, stated to be enough to monitor about 20 servers and devices.[4]

Specifications

PRTG Network Monitor has an auto-discovery mode that scans predefined areas of an enterprise network and creates a device list from this data. In the next step, further information on the detected devices can be retrieved using various communication protocols. Typical protocols are Ping, SNMP, WMI, NetFlow, jFlow, sFlow, but also communication via DICOM or the RESTful API is possible.[5]

The tool is only available for Windows systems. In addition, Paessler AG offers the cloud-based monitoring solution "PRTG Hosted Monitor", former known as "PRTG hosted by Paessler".[6][7]

Sensors

The software is based on sensors that are configured for a specific purpose. A PRTG sensor is a single metric on a device. For instance, when managing a switch, a sensor could be measuring network health, or whether the switch's CPU utilization is running above 90%. Most devices require between five and ten sensors to be fully monitored.[8] There are HTTP, SMTP/POP3 (e-mail) application sensors and hardware-specific sensors for switches, routers and servers. PRTG Network Monitor has over 200 different predefined sensors that retrieve statistics from the monitored instances, e.g. response times, processor, memory, database information, temperature or system status.[9][10]

Web interface and desktop client

The software can be operated completely via an AJAX-based web interface. The web interface is suitable for both real-time troubleshooting and data exchange with non-technical staff via maps (dashboards) and user-defined reports.[11] An additional administration interface in the form of a desktop application for Windows, Linux and macOS is available.[8][12][13]

Notifications and reports

In addition to the usual communication channels such as Email and SMS, notification is also provided via push notification on smartphones using an app for iOS or Android.[8] PRTG also offers customizable reports.[14]

Pricing

PRTG Network Monitor's licensing is based on sensors. A version with 100 integrated sensors is available free of charge.[8]

PRTG Enterprise Monitor

Since 2020, Paessler is offering PRTG Enterprise Monitor that focuses on large IT environments. According to Paessler, it is very powerful tool in monitoring distributed locations. Furthermore, it provides an ITOps Boards creating a centralized service-orientated overview board. Through the ITOps board, users are able to visualize complex business processes while merging multiple dashboards into one to easily oversee SLA performance and availability.[15]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "PRTG Network Monitor". https://www.paessler.com/prtg/history. 
  2. Williams, Mike. "PRTG Network Monitor 18.3.43.2323 - Download" (in en-GB). https://www.computerworlduk.com/download/networking-tools/prtg-network-monitor-183432323-3249290/. 
  3. Paessler, Dirk. "How It All Started: 11 Years PRTG Network Monitor" (in en-us). https://blog.paessler.com/how-it-all-started-11-years-prtg-network-monitor. 
  4. Paessler, Dirk (30 April 2018). "Paessler Offers PRTG 100 for Free". https://blog.paessler.com/paessler-offers-prtg-100-for-free. 
  5. "List of Available Sensor Types | PRTG Network Monitor User Manual". https://www.paessler.com/manuals/prtg/available_sensor_types. 
  6. "PRTG Hosted Monitor" (in en). https://www.paessler.com/prtg-hosted-monitor. 
  7. "Paessler Unveils PRTG in the Cloud, a Comprehensive Network Monitoring Service - Media Releases - PC World Australia" (in en-AU). https://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/mediareleases/30482/paessler-unveils-prtg-in-the-cloud-a/. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Daniel Brame (31 July 2020). "Paessler PRTG Network Monitor" (in en-GB). https://uk.pcmag.com/paessler-prtg-network-monitor/84134/review/paessler-prtg-network-monitor. 
  9. "Paessler PRTG Network Monitor 17.4 review" (in en). IT PRO. http://www.itpro.co.uk/network-internet/30681/paessler-prtg-network-monitor-174-review. 
  10. Chakchai, So-In. A Survey of Network Traffic Monitoring and Analysis Tools. 
  11. "Ajax Web Interface—Basic Procedures | PRTG Network Monitor User Manual". https://www.paessler.com/manuals/prtg/ajax_gui_basic. 
  12. "PRTG Desktop" (in en). https://www.paessler.com/prtg/prtg-desktop. 
  13. "PRTG Desktop". https://www.paessler.com/prtg-desktop-app. 
  14. Security sage's guide to hardening the network infrastructure. Andrés, Steven.. Rockland, MA: Syngress Pub. 2004. pp. 255. ISBN 1931836337. OCLC 54985361. https://archive.org/details/securitysagesgui00andr. 
  15. Sharma, Ray. "Paessler Launches PRTG Enterprise Monitor for Large Businesses" (in en). https://www.thefastmode.com/technology-solutions/16946-paessler-launches-prtg-enterprise-monitor-for-large-businesses. 

External links

Literature

  • Andrés, Steven, Brian Kenyon, and Erik Pack Birkholz. Security Sage's guide to hardening the network infrastructure. Elsevier, 2004.
  • Elsayed, Abdellatief, and Nashwa Abdelbaki. "Performance evaluation and comparison of the top market virtualization hypervisors." Computer Engineering & Systems (ICCES), 2013 8th International Conference on. IEEE, 2013.