<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: VMware Host Performance (SOAP) Sensor
The VMware Host Performance (SOAP) sensor monitors a VMware host server using Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).
It can show the following:
- CPU usage in percent
- Network usage
- Disk usage
- Disk read and write speed
- Active memory in bytes
- Consumed memory in bytes and percent
- Used memory swap
- Disk and data store latency (read and write)
- Network received and transmitted speed
- Power status
Which channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the monitored device and the sensor setup.
VMware Host Performance (SOAP) Sensor
Click here to enlarge: http://media.paessler.com/prtg-screenshots/vmware_host_performance_soap.png
- Requires .NET 4.0 to be installed on the probe system.
- For this sensor type credentials for VMware servers must be defined for the device you want to use the sensor on. Ensure you enter a user with sufficient access rights to obtain statistics (read-only usually works).
- The parent device must be a VMware ESX/ESXi server version 3.5, 4.0, 5.0, 5.1, or 5.5. We recommend to not use this sensor type on your vCenter. Reliable hardware information can only be provided when this sensor is created on your physical host server as parent device.
- We recommend Windows 2012 R2 on the probe system for best performance of this sensor.
- If you consider timeouts (error code PE121), try increasing the connection limit on the VMware system. See the Knowledge Base: How can I increase the connection limit on VMware systems?
- Note: If you use this sensor on a probe that runs on Windows Server 2003 (including SP1 and SP2) and the target system is VMware ESXi 5.1 or later, you might receive the error message "The underlying connection was closed: An unexpected error occurred on a send." Please note that PRTG does not officially support Windows Server 2003! For details, please see the Knowledge Base: Monitoring ESXi 5.1 and higher: Handshake Failure on Windows XP/Server 2003
- Note: This sensor type can have a high impact on the performance of your monitoring system. Please use it with care! We recommend using not more than 50 sensors, on each probe, of this type of sensor.
This sensor type requires the Microsoft .NET Framework to be installed on the computer running the PRTG probe: Either on the local system (on every node, if on a cluster probe), or on the system running the remote probe. If the framework is missing, you cannot create this sensor. Note: You need to install the exact version required (a higher version will usually not work; an exception applies to .NET 3.5 which comprises .NET 2.0 and .NET 3.0). Generally, it is possible to run several .NET Framework versions on the same machine side-by-side. Please install the latest update available for the required version.
Required .NET version: 4.0 (with latest update). Please see section More below for details.
Settings on VMware Host System
If you set up this sensor on different probes (for example, when using remote probes or when running a cluster setup), you might need to change the settings of your VMware host, so it accepts more incoming connections. Otherwise you might get connection timeouts when running plenty of VMware sensors with a short scanning interval.
For details about this setting, please see More section below.
The Add Sensor dialog appears when adding a new sensor on a device manually. It only shows the setting fields that are imperative for creating the sensor. Therefore, you will not see all setting fields in this dialog. You can change all settings in the sensor's Settings tab later.
On the details page of a sensor, click on the Settings tab to change its settings.
Note: Usually, a sensor connects to the IP Address or DNS Name of the parent device on which you created this sensor. See section Device Settings for details. For some sensor types, you can define the monitoring target explicitly in the sensor settings. Please see below for details about available settings.
Basic Sensor Settings |
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Sensor Name |
Enter a meaningful name to identify the sensor. By default, PRTG shows this name in the device tree, and in alarms, logs, notifications, reports, maps, libraries, and tickets. |
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 is placed in sensor lists. Top priority is at the top of a list. You can choose from one star (low priority) to five stars (top priority). |
Vmware host Settings |
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MoID |
Shows the Managed Object ID (MoID) of the host that this sensor monitors. Once a sensor is created, you cannot change this value. It is shown for reference purposes only. If you need to change this, please add the sensor anew. |
Sensor Display |
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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. Note: You can set another primary channel later by clicking on the pin symbol of a channel in the sensor's overview tab. |
Chart Type |
Define how different channels will be shown for this sensor.
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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. |
By default, all following settings are inherited from objects higher in the hierarchy and should be changed there, if necessary. Often, best practice is to change them centrally in the Root group's settings. To change a setting for this object, disable inheritance by clicking on the check mark symbol in front of the respective setting name. You will then see the options described below.
Scanning Interval |
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Scanning Interval |
Select a scanning interval (seconds, minutes, or hours) from the list. The scanning interval determines the time the sensor waits between two scans. You can change the available intervals in the system administration. |
When a Sensor Reports an Error |
Define the number of scanning intervals a sensor has to report an error until the sensor will be set to a Down status. The sensor can try reaching a device several times, depending on your setup you can specify here, to help avoid false alarms if the monitored device has only temporary issues. For previous scanning intervals with failed requests, the sensor will show a Warning status. Choose between:
Note: Sensors that monitor via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) always wait at least one scanning interval until they show an error. It is not possible to set a WMI sensor "down" immediately, so the first option will not apply to these sensor types (all other options can apply). Note: If a sensor has defined error limits for channels, this sensor will always be set to a Down status immediately, so no "wait" option will apply. Note: If a channel uses lookup values, the sensor will always be set to a Down status immediately, so no "wait" options will apply. |
Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window |
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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. |
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Schedule |
Select a schedule from the list. Schedules can be used to monitor for a certain time span (days, hours) throughout the week. With the period list option it is also possible to pause monitoring for a specific time span. 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:
Note: To terminate a current maintenance window before the defined end date, you can change the time in Maintenance End At field to a date in the past. |
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:
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. You can check all dependencies in your PRTG installation by selecting Devices | Dependencies from the main menu bar. |
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 |
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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:
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. For more details about access rights, please see section User Access Rights. |
Knowledge Base: How can I increase the connection limit on VMware systems?
Knowledge Base: Monitoring ESXi 5.1 and higher: Handshake Failure on Windows XP/Server 2003
Knowledge Base: Which .NET version does PRTG require?
To change display settings, spike filter, and limits, switch to the sensor's Overview tab and click the gear icon of a specific channel. For detailed information, please see Sensor Channels Settings section.
Click the Notifications tab to change notification triggers. For detailed information, please see Sensor Notifications Settings section.
For more general information about settings, please see Object Settings section.
For information about sensor settings, please see the following sections:
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