<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Auto-Discovery Tasks

i_round_blueThis feature is only available on the new PRTG user interface.

Use auto-discovery tasks to run more customized auto-discoveries in your network. Each auto-discovery task runs on one target object. You can define device templates and credentials that the task uses to create recommended sensors.

i_round_redAuto-discovery tasks automatically add devices and sensors to your device tree. We recommend that you review the found devices and sensors if you use scheduled auto-discovery tasks.

i_round_blueFor general information about what the auto-discovery is and how PRTG uses it to scan your network and create sensors, see section Auto-Discovery.

In this section:

Auto-Discovery Tasks Overview

To open the auto-discovery tasks, select Auto-discovery from the main menu. The Overview shows a list of all auto-discovery tasks in a table:

Setting

Description

Task name

Shows the name of the auto-discovery task.

Status

Shows the current status of the task:

  • Ready: The last run of the task completed and there are no objects to review. The task is ready to run again.
  • Running: The task is currently scanning the network.
  • Pending review: The last run of the task found devices or sensors that are waiting for a review.
    i_round_blueReview found devices and recommended sensors in the Auto-Discovery Inbox in your device tree.
  • Failed: The last run of the task did not complete because of an error.
  • Waiting: The task is due to run but is waiting for free resources.
  • Deactivated: The task is inactive and does not run. You can activate a task from the task settings.

Target object

Shows the probe, group, or device that the task runs on.

Scanning range

Shows the network section that the task scans.

Last run finished

Shows the date and time when the task last completed a run.

Schedule

Shows how often PRTG runs the task:

  • Once (default)
  • Hourly
  • Daily
  • Weekly

Device Templates

Shows the device templates that the task uses, if any.

Actions

Manage the auto-discovery task. For more information, see section Manage Auto-Discovery Tasks.

Column settings b_more

Change the table settings. You can hide or show columns, reset the entire table, or reset the column sizes.

You can organize the list in the following ways:

  • Search for tasks by name.
  • Filter the list by schedule, status, or by when the tasks last ran.

Manage Auto-Discovery Tasks

You can manage auto-discovery tasks from the auto-discovery overview table.

Setting

Description

Run b_run_task

Manually start the auto-discovery task.

Edit b_edit_task

Open the task settings.

i_round_blueTo activate or deactivate a task, edit the task and toggle the Activate auto-discovery setting.

Delete b_delete_task

Delete a task.

Auto-Discovery Task Settings

You can access the auto-discovery task settings when you create or edit a task. Click b_create_task in the upper right corner to create a new auto-discovery task. Only user accounts with write access rights can create new tasks.

i_round_blueYou can only create auto-discovery tasks on a probe.

The first time you create a task, PRTG creates a group called the Auto-Discovery Inbox in the device tree under the target object. PRTG adds a group for each auto-discovery task in this inbox.

i_round_blueIf you delete the Auto-Discovery Inbox, PRTG creates it again the next time you create or run a task.

Setting

Description

Task name

Enter a unique name to identify the auto-discovery task.

i_round_blueIf the name contains angle brackets (<>), PRTG replaces them with braces ({}) for security reasons. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: What security features does PRTG include?

Activate auto-discovery

This setting is only visible when you edit a task.

Use the toggle to define whether the auto-discovery task is active. If you deactivate a task, PRTG does not run the task.

Probe/Object

Select the parent object of the auto-discovery task.

i_round_blueYou cannot change the parent object after you create the task.

Scanning range

Select how you want to define the IP address range for the auto-discovery:

  • Class C base IP address with start/end (IPv4) (default): Enter an IPv4 class C address range.
  • List of individual IP addresses and DNS names (IPv4): Enter a list of individual IPv4 addresses or Domain Name System (DNS) names.
  • IP address and subnet (IPv4): Enter an IPv4 address and subnet mask.
  • IP address with octet range (IPv4): Enter an IPv4 address range for every IP octet individually. With this, you can define very customizable IP address ranges.
  • List of individual IP addresses and DNS names (IPv6): Enter a list of individual IPv6 addresses or DNS names.
  • Use computers from the Active Directory (maximum 1000 computers): Search in the Active Directory for computers to perform the auto-discovery.
    i_round_blueMake sure that you specify your Active Directory domain in the Core Server settings.

i_round_redPRTG can only discover subnets with up to 65,536 IP addresses. If you define a range with a higher number of addresses, the discovery stops before it is completed.

i_podThe option Use computers from the Active Directory (maximum 1000 computers) does not work in PRTG Hosted Monitor because it requires Active Directory Integration.

IPv4 base

This setting is only visible if you select Class C base IP address with start/end (IPv4) (default) above.

Enter a class C network as the IP base for the auto-discovery. Enter the first three octets of an IPv4 address, for example, 192.168.0.

IPv4 range start

This setting is only visible if you select Class C base IP address with start/end (IPv4) (default) above.

Enter the IP octet of the class C network (specified above) from which PRTG starts the auto-discovery. This completes the IP base to an IPv4 address. For example, enter 1 to discover from 192.168.0.1 onwards.

IPv4 range end

This setting is only visible if you select Class C base IP address with start/end (IPv4) (default) above.

Enter the IP octet of the class C network (specified above) at which PRTG stops the auto-discovery. This completes the IP base to an IPv4 address. For example, enter 254 to discover up to 192.168.0.254.

IPv4 addresses/DNS names

IPv6 addresses/DNS names

This setting is only visible if you select List of individual IP addresses and DNS names (IPv4) or List of individual IP addresses and DNS names (IPv6) above.

Enter a list of IP addresses or DNS names that the auto-discovery scans. Enter each address on a separate line.

IPv4 and subnet

This setting is only visible if you select IP address and subnet (IPv4) above.

Enter an expression in the format address/subnet, for example, 192.168.3.0/255.255.255.0. You can also use the short form like 192.168.3.0/24. If you want to include multiple addresses and subnets, enter them as a list separated by a comma, for example, 192.168.3.0/255.255.255.0, 192.169.0.0/255.255.255.0. PRTG scans the complete host range (without network and broadcast address) that is defined by the IP address and the subnet mask.

IPv4 octet range

This setting is only visible if you select IP address with octet range (IPv4) above.

Enter an expression in the format a1.a2.a3.a4, where a1, a2, a3, and a4 are each a number between 0-255, or a range with two numbers and a hyphen like 1-127. PRTG calculates all permutations of all ranges. For example, 10.0.1-10.1-100 results in 1,000 IP addresses that PRTG scans during the auto-discovery.

Organizational unit

This setting is only visible if you select Use computers from the Active Directory (maximum 1000 computers) above.

Enter an organizational unit (OU) to restrict the Active Directory search to computers that are part of this OU. For top-level OUs, use the distinguished name (DN) format without OU= and without the domain components (DCS). If you leave this field empty, there are not any restrictions.

Example:

  • For the DN OU=Domain Controllers,DC=example,DC=com, enter only Domain Controllers.

If you have sub-OUs, use the DN format without the leading OU= and without the DCS.

Examples:

  • For the DN OU=webserver,OU=production,DC=example,DC=com, enter only webserver,OU=production.
  • For the DN OU=intranet,OU=webserver,OU=production,DC=example,DC=com, enter only intranet,OU=webserver,OU=production.

i_round_blueMake sure that the OU contains computer accounts. If the OU is empty, you receive an error message.

i_round_redDo not enter the domain components. PRTG automatically uses the domain components from the domain name you enter in the Core Server settings.

Schedule

Select when PRTG runs the auto-discovery:

  • Once (default): Run the auto-discovery only once. PRTG adds new devices and sensors once. If you select this option, you must manually start the auto-discovery.
  • Hourly: Run the auto-discovery for new devices and sensors every 60 minutes.
    i_round_redUse this option with caution. Frequent auto-discoveries might cause performance issues, in particular when PRTG scans large network segments every hour.
  • Daily: Run the auto-discovery for new devices and sensors every 24 hours. The first auto-discovery runs immediately. All other discoveries start at the time that you define in the Monitoring settings, section Auto-Discovery.
  • Weekly: Run the auto-discovery for new devices and sensors every 7 days. The first auto-discovery runs immediately. All other discoveries start at the time that you define in the Monitoring settings, section Auto-Discovery.

i_round_blueFor performance reasons, PRTG sets Schedule to Once (default) on all devices that the scheduled auto-discovery creates.

i_round_blueFrequent auto-discoveries of large network segments can cause performance issues. We recommend that you only schedule recurring auto-discoveries where necessary.

Use DNS names

Enable the checkbox if you want PRTG to monitor newly discovered devices via their DNS names when available. We recommend that you use this option.

i_round_blueThis setting does not affect how PRTG shows the device in the device tree.

Skip known devices

Enable the checkbox if you want PRTG to skip devices with a known IP address. We recommend that you use this option.

i_round_redIf you include known devices, PRTG might recommend sensors that you deleted previously.

Use device templates

Define if you want the auto-discovery task to use a device template to recommend sensors. Click Select template to specify the exact device template that the auto-discovery task uses. If you do not specify one or more device templates, PRTG uses all of them during discovery.

The following device templates are available by default:

  • ADSL
  • Buffalo TeraStation NAS
  • Cisco ASA VPN
  • Cisco Device (Generic)
  • Dell EqualLogic
  • Dell MDi Disk
  • DNS Server
  • Environment Jacarta
  • Environment Poseidon
  • FTP Server
  • Generic Device (Ping Only)
  • Generic Device (SNMP Enabled)
  • Generic Device (SNMP Enabled, Detailed)
  • HTTP Web Server
  • Hyper-V Host Server
  • IPMI-enabled Device
  • Juniper NS Device
  • Linux/UNIX Device (SNMP or SSH Enabled)
  • Mail Server (Generic)
  • Mail Server (MS Exchange)
  • Microsoft SharePoint 2010
  • MQTT Round Trip
  • NAS LenovoEMC
  • NAS QNAP
  • NAS Synology
  • NetApp
  • NTP Server
  • OPC UA
  • Printer (Generic)
  • Printer (HP)
  • Proxmox
  • RDP Server
  • RMON-compatible Device
  • Server (Cisco UCS)
  • Server (Compaq/HP Agents)
  • Server (Dell)
  • Server (Fujitsu)
  • Server (IBM)
  • SNMP Rittal CMC III Hardware Status
  • SonicWall
  • SSL Security Check
  • Switch (Cisco Catalyst)
  • Switch (Cisco IOS Based)
  • Switch (HP Procurve)
  • UNIX/Linux Device
  • UPS Health (APC)
  • UPS Health (Generic)
  • UPS Health (Liebert)
  • VMware ESXi / vCenter Server
  • Web Server
  • Windows (Detailed via WMI)
  • Windows (via Remote PowerShell)
  • Windows (via WMI)
  • Windows IIS (via SNMP)
  • XenServer Hosts
  • XenServer Virtual Machines

Once the auto-discovery is finished, PRTG creates a new ticket if it found devices and created sensors. PRTG lists the device templates that it used to create new sensors in the device history.

Credentials

Define specific credentials for an auto-discovery task. This can help PRTG identify the device type and recommend suitable sensors.

i_round_blueBy default, a task inherits credentials from the parent object. Credentials that you define for a task override the inherited credentials, but only for that task. The task does not change the credentials of the object that it scans.

Auto-discovery tasks support the following credentials: