<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Script v2 Sensor

File storage

This sensor requires that you store the script or native executable file on the probe system. In a cluster, copy the file to every cluster node.

You must store the script or native executable file in the \Custom Sensors\scripts subfolder of the PRTG program directory of the probe system on Windows systems or in the /opt/paessler/share/scripts directory of the probe system on Linux systems.

Python

To run Python scripts, this sensor requires that Python 3 is installed for the user account that the probe runs under.

PowerShell

To run PowerShell scripts, this sensor requires that 64-bit PowerShell 7 is installed for the user account that the probe runs under.

By default, the sensor automatically detects the PowerShell 7 installation. To use a specific PowerShell executable instead, set the environment variable PRTG_PWSH_PATH. On Windows systems, you can alternatively set the PowerShellPath value in the probe registry. If the specified path does not exist, the sensor ignores the override and falls back to automatic detection.

Executables on Linux

On Linux systems, executables require execute permissions to run.

proc filesystem (procfs)

This sensor requires the target device to have the proc file system (procfs) mounted at /proc. If procfs is not mounted, or is mounted elsewhere, sensor readings may fail or return incomplete data.

This requirement applies only if the environment variable PAESSLER_SENSOR_EXE_SCRIPT_ROOT is not set.

Channel IDs

This sensor supports the channel IDs 10 to 2,147,483,647.

IPv6

This sensor supports IPv6.

Channels

This sensor does not officially support more than 50 channels.

Placeholders

You can define placeholders in credentials for script sensors settings that are higher in the object hierarchy.

Unlike native executables and Python scripts, a PowerShell script does not receive placeholder values on the command line or in the Parameters field. Instead, PRTG passes the placeholder values to the script via standard input (stdin). To retrieve a specific value in your script, use the corresponding Get-ScriptPlaceholder1 to Get-ScriptPlaceholder5 function.

Performance impact

This sensor has a medium performance impact.

Lookups

This sensor uses lookups to determine the status values of one or more channels.

Parameters

This sensor invokes all Python scripts with the -E parameter as a security measure. This parameter ignores all python* environment variables when starting the script.

Example scripts

This sensor comes with example scripts. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: I want to use the Script v2 sensor example scripts. What do I need to know?

JSON Schema

For more information about the JSON schema that this sensor uses, see the Knowledge Base: Where can I find the JSON schema against which a sensor validates my script output?

Scanning interval

• The minimum scanning interval of this sensor is 30 seconds.
• The recommended scanning interval of this sensor is 1 minute.

Hosted probe

You 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.

Multi-platform probe

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

Name

Select one or more scripts or native executables from the list. PRTG creates one sensor for each file that you select. The sensor executes it with every scanning interval.

This list shows all script and native executable files that are available in the \Custom Sensors\scripts subfolder of the PRTG program directory of the probe system on Windows systems or in the /opt/paessler/share/scripts directory of the probe system on Linux systems. To have your scripts and native executables appear in the list, store them in this subfolder. For Python scripts, use the .py extension, for PowerShell scripts, use the .ps1 extension, and for native executables, use the appropriate file extension for your system.

To show the expected values and sensor status, your scripts and native executables must return the expected JSON format to standard output (stdout). The Script v2 sensor validates the results that the script or native executable returns against the provided JSON schema. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: Where can I find the JSON schema against which a sensor validates my script output?.

If you use custom sensors on the cluster probe, copy your files to every cluster node.

You cannot change this value after sensor creation.

Type

The type of the script or executable file.

Timeout (Sec.)

Enter a timeout in seconds for the request. Enter an integer. The maximum timeout value is 900 seconds (15 minutes).

If the reply takes longer than this value, the sensor cancels the request and shows a corresponding error message.

Parameters

If your script or native executable file uses parameters, you can enter them here. You can use placeholders as well. Enter a string or leave the field empty.

You can define placeholders in the credentials for script sensors in the settings of a parent object and use the %host and %sensorid placeholders. The sensor replaces the parameters with their values and passes them to the script or native executable as strings via stdin.

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.

You can set a different primary channel later by clicking 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.
  You 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.

Result Handling

Define what PRTG does with the sensor result:

• Discard result (default): Do not store the sensor result.
• Store result: Store the sensor result and the last response 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.

If you select Store result, the sensor writes the standard error (stderr) streams in clear text to the last sensor result file. Do not return sensitive information via the scripts that you run with this sensor.

In a cluster, PRTG stores the result in the PRTG data directory of the master node.

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.

Execution Time

The execution time of the script or native executable

Status

The status that the script or native executable returns

• Up status: OK
• Warning status: Warning
• Down status: Error
• Unknown status: Unknown

This channel is the primary channel by default.

[Value]

The values that the script or native executable file returns in several channels