PrtgAPI

PrtgAPI is a C# and PowerShell library designed to manage and maintain PRTG Network Monitor. It abstracts the PRTG interface into type-safe methods and cmdlets.

Key capabilities include:

• Reporting: Generate reports based on custom queries.
• Monitoring: Monitor the monitoring system (e.g., detecting missing sensors or new devices).
• Object Management: Create, modify, or clone sensors, devices, and groups.
• Automation: Deploy notification triggers, maintain standard settings across environments, and pause/resume items from external systems.
• Batch Operations: Perform bulk actions across your PRTG environment.

You can install PrtgAPI using the Install-Package command. It is available on both NuGet.org and the PowerShell Gallery. The library provides targets for both .NET Framework and .NET Standard.

If you are using PowerShell 5.1+ and want to install specifically from the PowerShell Gallery, use the -Source PSGallery flag.

Note for Windows PowerShell users: Because the PowerShell Gallery requires TLS 1.2, you may need to manually enable it in your session before running the installation command.

# Standard installation
Install-Package PrtgAPI

# Install specifically from PowerShell Gallery
Install-Package PrtgAPI -Source PSGallery

# Enable TLS 1.2 if installation fails due to security protocols
[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12

If you prefer not to use a package manager, follow these steps to install PrtgAPI manually:

1. Download the latest build ZIP file.
2. Unblock the file: Right-click PrtgAPI.zip -> Properties -> select Unblock under the Security section on the General tab.
3. Unzip the file.
4. Integration:
   • C# Projects: Add a reference to PrtgAPI.dll. Use net452 for full CLR or netstandard2.0 for Core CLR.
   • PowerShell: Import the module using Import-Module C:\path\to\PrtgAPI.
   • Quick Prompt: Run the included PrtgAPI.cmd (Windows) or PrtgAPI.sh (Linux/macOS) to open a prompt that automatically imports the module for you.

# Example PowerShell import
Import-Module C:\path\to\PrtgAPI

To start using PrtgAPI in PowerShell, use the Connect-PrtgServer cmdlet.

Interactive connection (prompts for credentials):

Connect-PrtgServer prtg.mycoolsite.com

Automated connection using credentials:

Connect-PrtgServer prtg.mycoolsite.com (New-Credential prtgadmin supersecretpassword)

Tip: You can define GoPrtg connections in your $Profile to automate connections in future sessions.

For fields or criteria not directly supported by standard cmdlets, use New-SearchFilter to create a filter that can be piped into a Get- cmdlet.

New-SearchFilter type contains deprecated | Get-Sensor

You can retrieve various PRTG objects (Sensors, Devices, Groups, Probes) using specific Get- cmdlets. Most cmdlets support wildcard matching for names to filter results.

# Retrieve all sensors
Get-Sensor

# Retrieve devices with names matching a pattern
Get-Device *fw*

Before using any PrtgAPI cmdlets, you must authenticate with your PRTG server using Connect-PrtgServer. The credentials provided are saved within the current PowerShell session and will be automatically used by subsequent cmdlets.

Connect-PrtgServer prtg.example.com

To create a WMI Service sensor for a set of services (e.g., those matching a pattern), follow these steps:

1. Retrieve the target device using Get-Device.
2. Use Get-SensorTarget with the WmiService type and a wildcard pattern to find the target services.
3. Pass those targets to New-SensorParameters using the WmiService type.
4. Use Add-Sensor on the device to instantiate the sensor.

$device = Get-Device -Id 1001
$services = $device | Get-SensorTarget WmiService *exchange*
$params = New-SensorParameters WmiService $services
$device | Add-Sensor $params

To update a specific property (like UpperErrorLimit) for a named channel within a sensor, pipe the results of Get-Sensor and Get-Channel into Set-ChannelProperty.

Example: Setting the UpperErrorLimit of the "Total" channel to 90 for all sensors tagged with wmicpuloadsensor.

Get-Sensor -Tags wmicpuloadsensor | Get-Channel Total | Set-ChannelProperty UpperErrorLimit 90

PrtgAPI cmdlets are designed to be piped together. This allows you to retrieve a specific subset of objects through multiple layers of filtering and then perform bulk actions like deletion.

Get-Probe *office* | Get-Device *dc* | Get-Sensor -Tags wmipagefilesensor | Remove-Object -Force