<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Cloud HTTP Sensor
The Cloud HTTP sensor monitors the loading time of a web server via HTTP from different locations worldwide via the PRTG Cloud. The locations are distributed among five continents around the globe.
Cloud HTTP Sensor
For a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.
Sensor in Other Languages
- Dutch: Cloud HTTP
- French: Cloud (HTTP)
- German: Cloud HTTP
- Japanese: クラウド HTTP
- Portuguese: HTTP da nuvem
- Russian: Облако HTTP
- Simplified Chinese: 云 HTTP
- Spanish: HTTP de nube
Remarks
Add Sensor
The Add Sensor dialog appears when you manually add a new sensor to a device. It only shows the settings that are required to create the sensor. You can change nearly all settings on the sensor's Settings tab after creation.
Basic Sensor Settings
Click the Settings tab of a sensor to change its settings.
Basic Sensor Settings
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Sensor Name
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Enter a name to identify the sensor.
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Parent Tags
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Shows tags that the sensor inherits from its parent device, parent group, and parent probe.
This setting is for your information only. You cannot change it.
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Tags
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Enter one or more tags. Confirm each tag with the Spacebar key, a comma, or the Enter key. You can use tags to group objects and use tag-filtered views later on. Tags are not case-sensitive. Tags are automatically inherited.
It is not possible to enter tags with a leading plus (+) or minus (-) sign, nor tags with parentheses (()) or angle brackets (<>).
For performance reasons, it can take some minutes until you can filter for new tags that you added.
The sensor has the following default tags that are automatically predefined in the sensor's settings when you add the sensor:
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Priority
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Select a priority for the sensor. This setting determines the position of the sensor in lists. The highest priority is at the top of a list. Choose from the lowest priority () to the highest priority ().
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Usually, a sensor connects to the IP Address/DNS Name of the parent device. See the device settings for details. For some sensors, you can explicitly define the monitoring target in the sensor settings.
HTTP Settings
HTTP Settings
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URL
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Enter the URL that the sensor connects to. If you enter an absolute URL, the sensor uses this address independently of the IP Address/DNS Name setting of the parent device.
The URL must be valid and URL encoded.
You can enter a URL that leads to a web page, for example, to measure the page source code's loading time, or you can enter the URL of an image or other page asset to measure this element's availability and loading time.
PRTG uses a smart URL replacement with which you can use the parent device's IP address or Domain Name System (DNS) name setting as part of the URL. For more information, see section Smart URL Replacement.
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Request Method
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Select an HTTP request method to determine how the sensor requests the URL:
- GET (default): Directly request the web page. We recommend that you use this setting for a simple check of a web page.
- POST: Send post form data to the URL.
- HEAD: Only request the HTTP header from the server without the actual web page.
This setting saves bandwidth because it transfers less data. However, we do not recommend this setting because the measured request time is not the request time that the users experience and you might not be notified of slow results or timeouts.
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Postdata
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This option is only visible if you select POST as Request Method above. Enter the data part for the POST request.
No Extensible Markup Language (XML) is allowed here.
The only content type that sensor supports is application/x-www-form-urlencoded.
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Timeout (Sec.)
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Enter a timeout in seconds for the server request. If the reply takes longer than this value, PRTG cancels the request and shows an error message. 5
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Sensor Display
Sensor Display
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Primary Channel
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Select a channel from the list to define it as the primary channel. In the device tree, the last value of the primary channel is always displayed 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.
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Graph Type
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Define how different channels are shown for this sensor:
- 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).
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Stack Unit
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This setting is only visible if you enable Stack channels on top of each other as Graph Type. Select a unit from the list. All channels with this unit are 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.
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Inherited Settings
By default, all of the following settings are inherited from objects that are higher in the hierarchy. We recommend that you change them centrally in the root group settings if necessary. To change a setting for this object only, click under the corresponding setting name to disable the inheritance and to display its options.
For more information, see section Inheritance of Settings.
Scanning Interval
Click to interrupt the inheritance.
This sensor has a fixed minimum scanning interval for performance reasons. You cannot use a shorter scanning interval. Consequently, shorter scanning intervals in the Monitoring settings are not available for this sensor.
Scanning Interval
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Scanning Interval
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Select a scanning interval from the dropdown list. The scanning interval determines the amount of time that the sensor waits between two scans. Choose from:
- 30 seconds
- 60 seconds
- 5 minutes
- 10 minutes
- 15 minutes
- 30 minutes
- 1 hour
- 4 hours
- 6 hours
- 12 hours
- 24 hours
You can change the available intervals in the system administration of PRTG Network Monitor.
The minimum scanning interval of this sensor is 10 minutes.
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If a Sensor Query Fails
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Select the number of scanning intervals that the sensor has time to reach and to check a device again if a sensor query fails. Depending on the option that you select, the sensor can try to reach and to check a device again several times before the sensor shows the Down status. This can avoid false alarms if the monitored device only has temporary issues. For previous scanning intervals with failed requests, the sensor shows the Warning status. Choose from:
- Set sensor to down immediately: Set the sensor to the Down status immediately after the first request fails.
- Set sensor to warning for 1 interval, then set to down (recommended): Set the sensor to the Warning status after the first request fails. If the second request also fails, the sensor shows the Down status.
- Set sensor to warning for 2 intervals, then set to down: Set the sensor to the Down status only after the third request fails.
- Set sensor to warning for 3 intervals, then set to down: Set the sensor to the Down status only after the fourth request fails.
- Set sensor to warning for 4 intervals, then set to down: Set the sensor to the Down status only after the fifth request fails.
- Set sensor to warning for 5 intervals, then set to down: Set the sensor to the Down status only after the sixth request fails.
Sensors that monitor via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) always wait at least one scanning interval before they show the Down status. It is not possible to immediately set a WMI sensor to the Down status, so the first option does not apply to these sensors. All other options can apply.
If you define error limits for a sensor's channels, the sensor immediately shows the Down status. None of the interval options apply.
If a channel uses lookup values, the sensor immediately shows the Down status. None of the interval options apply.
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Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window
You cannot interrupt the inheritance for schedules, dependencies, and maintenance windows. The corresponding settings from the parent objects are always active. However, you can define additional schedules, dependencies, and maintenance windows. They are active at the same time as the parent objects' settings.
Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window
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Schedule
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Select a schedule from the list. You can use schedules to monitor during a certain time span (days or hours) every week. Choose from:
- None
- Saturdays
- Sundays
- Weekdays
- Weekdays Eight-To-Eight (08:00 - 20:00)
- Weekdays Nights (17:00 - 09:00)
- Weekdays Nights (20:00 - 08:00)
- Weekdays Nine-To-Five (09:00 - 17:00)
- Weekends
You can create schedules, edit schedules, or pause monitoring for a specific time span. For more information, see section Schedules.
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Maintenance Window
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Select if you want to set up a one-time maintenance window. During a maintenance window, monitoring stops for the selected object and all child objects. They show the Paused status instead. Choose between:
- Do not set up a one-time maintenance window: Do not set up a one-time maintenance window. Monitoring is always active.
- Set up a one-time maintenance window: Set up a one-time maintenance window and pause monitoring. You can define a time span for the pause below.
To terminate an active maintenance window before the defined end date, change the time entry in Maintenance Ends to a date in the past.
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Maintenance Begins
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This setting is only visible if you enable Set up a one-time maintenance window above. Use the date time picker to enter the start date and time of the one-time maintenance window.
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Maintenance Ends
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This setting is only visible if you enable Set up a one-time maintenance window above. Use the date time picker to enter the end date and time of the one-time maintenance window.
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Dependency Type
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Select a dependency type. You can use dependencies to pause monitoring for an object depending on the status of a different object. You can choose from:
- Use parent: Use the dependency type of the parent object.
- Select a sensor: Use the dependency type of the parent object. Additionally, pause the current object if a specific sensor is in the Down status or in the Paused status because of another dependency.
- Master sensor for parent: Make this sensor the master object for its parent device. The sensor influences the behavior of its parent device: If the sensor is in the Down status, the device is 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 is paused if the parent group is paused by another dependency.
To test your dependencies, select Simulate Error Status from the context menu of an object that other objects depend on. A few seconds later, all dependent objects are paused. You can check all dependencies under Devices | Dependencies in the main menu bar.
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Dependency
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This setting is only visible if you enable Select a sensor above. Click and use the object selector to select a sensor on which the current object will depend.
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Dependency Delay (Sec.)
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This setting is only visible if you select Select a sensor above. Define a time span in seconds for the dependency delay.
After the master sensor for this dependency returns to the Up status, PRTG additionally delays the monitoring of the dependent objects by the time span you define. This can prevent false alarms, for example, after a server restart or to give systems more time for all services to start. Enter an integer value.
This setting is not available if you set this sensor to Use parent or to be the Master sensor for parent. In this case, define delays in the parent device settings or in its parent group settings.
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Access Rights
Click to interrupt the inheritance.
Access Rights
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User Group Access
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Define the user groups that have access to the sensor. You see a table with user groups and group access rights. The table contains all user groups in your setup. For each user group, you can choose from the following group access rights:
- Inherited: Inherit the access rights settings of the parent object.
- No access: Users in this user group cannot see or edit the sensor. The sensor neither shows up in lists nor in the device tree.
- Read access: Users in this group can see the sensor and view its monitoring results. They cannot edit any settings.
- Write access: Users in this group can see the sensor, view its monitoring results, and edit its settings. They cannot edit its access rights settings.
- Full access: Users in this group can see the sensor, view its monitoring results, edit its settings, and edit its access rights settings.
For more details on access rights, see section Access Rights Management.
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Smart URL Replacement
Instead of entering a complete address in the URL field of an HTTP sensor, you can only enter the protocol followed by a colon and three forward slashes (this means that you can enter either http:/// or https:///, or even a simple forward slash / as the equivalent for http:///). PRTG automatically fills in the parent device's IP Address/DNS Name in front of the third forward slash.
Whether this results in a valid URL or not depends on the IP address or Domain Name System (DNS) name of the parent device. In combination with cloning devices, you can use smart URL replacement to create many similar devices.
For example, if you create a device with the DNS name www.mycompany.com and you add an HTTP sensor to it, you can provide values in the following ways:
- If you enter https:/// in the URL field, PRTG automatically creates the URL https://www.mycompany.com/
- If you enter /help in the URL field, PRTG automatically creates and monitor the URL http://www.mycompany.com/help
- It is also possible to provide a port number in the URL field. It is taken over by the device's DNS name and is internally added, for example, http://:8080/
Smart URL replacement does not work for sensors that run on the probe device.
Channel List
Which channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the monitored device, the available components, and the sensor setup.
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Asia Pacific (Singapore) - Response Code
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The response code of the target server at the location
- Up status: Information, Success
- Warning status: Redirection
- Down status: Client Error, Server Error
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Asia Pacific (Singapore) - Response Time
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The response time of the target server at the location in msec
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Asia Pacific (Sydney) - Response Code
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The response code of the target server at the location
- Up status: Information, Success
- Warning status: Redirection
- Down status: Client Error, Server Error
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Asia Pacific (Sydney) - Response Time
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The response time of the target server at the location in msec
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Asia Pacific (Tokyo) - Response Code
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The response code of the target server at the location
- Up status: Information, Success
- Warning status: Redirection
- Down status: Client Error, Server Error
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Asia Pacific (Tokyo) - Response Time
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The response time of the target server at the location in msec
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Downtime
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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 in percent.
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EU Central (Frankfurt) - Response Code
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The response code of the target server at the location
- Up status: Information, Success
- Warning status: Redirection
- Down status: Client Error, Server Error
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EU Central (Frankfurt) - Response Time
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The response time of the target server at the location in msec
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EU West (Ireland) - Response Code
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The response code of the target server at the location
- Up status: Information, Success
- Warning status: Redirection
- Down status: Client Error, Server Error
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EU West (Ireland) - Response Time
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The response time of the target server at the location in msec
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Global Average - Response Time
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The global average response time in msec
This channel is the primary channel by default.
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South America (São Paulo) - Response Code
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The response code of the target server at the location
- Up status: Information, Success
- Warning status: Redirection
- Down status: Client Error, Server Error
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South America (São Paulo) - Response Time
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The response time of the target server at the location in msec
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US East (Northern Virginia) - Response Code
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The response code of the target server at the location
- Up status: Information, Success
- Warning status: Redirection
- Down status: Client Error, Server Error
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US East (Northern Virginia) - Response Time
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The response time of the target server at the location in msec
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US West (Northern California) - Response Code
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The response code of the target server at the location
- Up status: Information, Success
- Warning status: Redirection
- Down status: Client Error, Server Error
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US West (Northern California) - Response Time
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The response time of the target server at the location in msec
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US West (Oregon) - Response Code
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The response code of the target server at the location
- Up status: Information, Success
- Warning status: Redirection
- Down status: Client Error, Server Error
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US West (Oregon) - Response Time
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The response time of the target server at the location in msec
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More
Knowledge Base
Are there any limits for using Cloud Ping and Cloud HTTP sensors?
What is the PRTG Cloud Bot?
What security features does PRTG include?
Sensor Settings Overview
For more information about sensor settings, see the following sections: