PRTG Manual: Event Log (Windows API) Sensor

Important Notice

This sensor might not work anymore after Windows updates of June 2021. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: My Event Log (Windows API) sensors fail after installing Windows updates. What can I do?

The Event Log (Windows API) sensor monitors Event Log entries via the Windows application programming interface (API).

Event Log (Windows API) Sensor

Event Log (Windows API) Sensor

i_square_cyanFor a detailed list and descriptions of the channels that this sensor can show, see section Channel List.

Sensor in Other Languages

  • Dutch: Event Log (Windows API)
  • French: Journal des événements (API Windows)
  • German: Ereignisprotokoll (Windows API)
  • Japanese: イベントログ(Windows API)
  • Portuguese: Log de eventos (Windows API)
  • Russian: Журнал событий (API Windows)
  • Simplified Chinese: 事件日志 (Windows API)
  • Spanish: Registro de eventos (Windows API)

Remarks

  • This sensor has a very high performance impact. We recommend that you use no more than 50 of this sensor on each probe.
  • This sensor supports IPv6.

i_podYou 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.

Basic Sensor Settings

Basic Sensor Settings

Basic Sensor Settings

Setting

Description

Sensor Name

Enter a name to identify the sensor. By default, PRTG shows this name in the device tree, as well as in alarms, logs, notifications, reports, maps, libraries, and tickets.

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?

Parent Tags

The tags that the sensor inherits from its parent device, parent group, and parent probe.

i_round_blueThis setting is for your information only. You cannot change it.

Tags

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.

i_round_blueIt is not possible to enter tags with a leading plus (+) or minus (-) sign, nor tags with parentheses (()) or angle brackets (<>).

i_round_blueFor 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:

  • wmiapieventlogsensor

Priority

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 (i_priority_1) to the highest priority (i_priority_5).

Windows API Event Log Specific

Windows API Event Log Specific

Windows API Event Log Specific

Setting

Description

Log File

Specify the log file that this sensor monitors. The Windows event log provides several log files:

  • Application
  • System
  • Security
  • Directory Service
  • DNS Server
  • File Replication Service

Filter Event Log Entries

Filter Event Log Entries

Filter Event Log Entries

Setting

Description

Event Type

Specify the type of event that this sensor processes:

  • Any
  • Error
  • Warning
  • Information
  • Security Audit Success
  • Security Audit Failure

i_round_blueThe sensor cannot process other event types.

Filter by Source

Filter all received events for a certain event source:

  • Off: Do not filter events.
  • On: Filter events.
    i_round_blueThe sensor only processes messages that match the value that you define below.

Filter Type

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Select the filter type:

  • Include filter: Include the specified value and disregard all other values.
  • Exclude filter: Exclude the specified value and regard all other values.

Match String (Event Source)

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Enter an event source that you want to filter for. Depending on the kind of filter, the sensor either processes the event source (Include filter option) or it does not process it (Exclude filter option). Enter a string.

Filter by ID

Filter all received events for a certain event ID:

  • Off: Do not filter events.
  • On: Filter events.
    i_round_blueThe sensor only processes messages that match the value that you define below.

Filter Type

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Select the filter type:

  • Include filter: Include the specified value and disregard all other values.
  • Exclude filter: Exclude the specified value and regard all other values.

Match Values (Event ID)

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Enter an event ID that you want to filter for. Depending on the kind of filter, the sensor either processes the event ID (Include filter option) or it does not process it (Exclude filter option).

i_round_blueThe Event Log (Windows API) supports more than one event ID. You can enter a comma-separated list of event IDs to filter for more than one ID. For example, 1100,4627,4747,4884,5050,6422.

Filter by Category

Filter all received events for a certain event category:

  • Off: Do not filter events.
  • On: Filter events.
    i_round_blueThe sensor only processes messages that match the value that you define below.

Filter Type

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Select the filter type:

  • Include filter: Include the specified value and disregard all other values.
  • Exclude filter: Exclude the specified value and regard all other values.

Match String (Event Category)

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Enter a category that you want to filter for. Depending on the kind of filter, the sensor either processes the event category (Include filter option) or it does not process it (Exclude filter option). Enter a string.

Filter by User

Filter all received events for a certain event user:

  • Off: Do not filter events.
  • On: Filter events.
    i_round_blueThe sensor only processes messages that match the value that you define below.

Filter Type

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Select the filter type:

  • Include filter: Include the specified value and disregard all other values.
  • Exclude filter: Exclude the specified value and regard all other values.

Match String (Event User)

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Enter a user name that you want to filter for. Depending on the kind of filter, the sensor either processes the event user (Include filter option) or it does not process it (Exclude filter option). Enter a string.

Filter by Computer

Filter all received events for a certain event computer:

  • Off: Do not filter events.
  • On: Filter events.
    i_round_blueThe sensor only processes messages that match the value that you define below.

Filter Type

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Select the filter type:

  • Include filter: Include the specified value and disregard all other values.
  • Exclude filter: Exclude the specified value and regard all other values.

Match String (Event Computer)

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Enter a computer name that you want to filter for. Depending on the kind of filter, the sensor either processes the event computer (Include filter option) or it does not process it (Exclude filter option). Enter a string.

Filter by Message

Filter all received events for a certain event message:

  • Off: Do not filter events.
  • On: Filter events.
    i_round_blueThe sensor only processes messages that match the value that you define below.

Filter Type

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Select the filter type:

  • Include filter: Include the specified value and disregard all other values.
  • Exclude filter: Exclude the specified value and regard all other values.

Match String (Event Message)

This setting is only visible if you select On above.

Enter a message that you want to filter for. Depending on the kind of filter, the sensor either processes the event message (Include filter option) or it does not process it (Exclude filter option). Enter a string.

i_round_blueThis sensor only checks the last line of the event message for the entered string. This matches the <Data> section of the XML that you can see on the Details tab in the Event Viewer. If you want to check the entire event message, use the WMI Event Log sensor.

i_round_blueYou must use the percent sign (%) as wildcard for any or no character if you want to check if the string is part of the last line of the event message. Otherwise, the whole last line of the event message must match the string.

Sensor Display

Sensor Display

Sensor Display

Setting

Description

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 is always displayed below the sensor's name. The available options depend on what channels are available for this sensor.

i_round_blueYou can set a different primary channel later by clicking b_channel_primary below a channel gauge on the sensor's Overview tab.

Graph Type

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.
    i_round_redYou 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. 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.

Inherited Settings

By default, all of these 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 b_inherited_enabled under the corresponding setting name to disable the inheritance and to display its options.

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Inheritance of Settings.

Scanning Interval

Scanning Interval

Scanning Interval

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Scanning Interval.

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window

i_round_blueYou 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

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window (default).

Access Rights

Access Rights

Access Rights

i_square_cyanFor more information, see section Root Group Settings, section Access Rights.

Channel List

i_round_blueWhich channels the sensor actually shows might depend on the target device, the available components, and the sensor setup.

Channel

Description

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 state

New Records

The number of new records

i_round_blueThis channel is the primary channel by default.

More

i_square_blueKNOWLEDGE BASE

My Event Log (Windows API) sensors fail after installing Windows updates. What can I do?

My Event Log sensor ignores changes in the event log. What can I do?

How can I configure sensors using speed limits to keep the status for more than one interval?

What security features does PRTG include?