<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Step 2: Smart Setup

PRTG automatically starts the smart setup on a new PRTG installation. This setup assistant, represented by a member of the Paessler team, guides you through the initial setup of your network monitoring system. The smart setup reappears until you have completed all steps. You can skip the introduction altogether right at the beginning.

The smart setup in PRTG hosted by Paessler differs in some details from the smart setup in PRTG on premises. For example, it asks you right at the beginning to install a remote probe in your local network. This is required to monitor your LAN, so we strongly recommend that you follow the smart setup.

First Start

When you log in for the first time, you see the device tree. PRTG on premises already contains several devices with sensors that monitor your network, sorted into different suitable groups. PRTG automatically creates the device tree during the installation process by using the auto-discovery function.

PRTG scans your network by pinging IP addresses in the subnet of your PRTG server and adds all reachable devices to your specific network monitoring structure.

The smart setup scans only for devices with IP addresses in private network ranges. You can manually start an auto-discovery for other subnets later.

You notice a Paessler employee in the upper-right corner of the PRTG web interface. He guides you through 5 setup steps where you can enter more information about your network. PRTG runs another auto-discovery with this information to add additional devices and sensors to your monitoring. You can still edit the settings that you provided during the smart setup later on. And you can always adjust the monitoring to your needs.

Click OK! to start a guided tour.

If you select Skip introduction now, the smart setup assistant never appears again. We strongly recommend that you take the guided tour if you are new to PRTG.

The steps to take are:

• Provide Credentials
• Enter Location Information
• Change Your PRTG Login Password
• Confirm Your Email Address
• Switch to SSL/TLS (if you access PRTG from a different computer)

Step 1: Provide Credentials

Your personal setup assistant Greg asks you to provide credentials for devices in your network. Click OK, show me!, follow the animated mouse pointer, and open the Settings tab of the root group.

In the Settings tab, enter various administrator credentials for your network environment. With these credentials, PRTG can automatically add a large number of additional devices and sensors to your device tree. This way, you do not need to manually add every single device.

• To monitor your Windows clients and servers via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), enter Windows administrator credentials for your network. We recommend that you use domain administrator credentials (if you use an Active Directory). For a general introduction to the technology behind WMI, see section Monitoring via WMI.
• If you have systems that run on Linux, Solaris, or macOS X, enter root access credentials for these systems. For a general introduction to Secure Shell (SSH) monitoring, see section Monitoring via SSH.
• If you use the virtual environments VMware or Citrix XenServer, enter root access credentials for these systems. For a general introduction to the monitoring of virtual environments, see section Monitoring Virtual Environments.
• To monitor your hardware (router, switches, etc.), the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is the most commonly used protocol. Usually, all SNMP-enabled devices use the same settings by default: SNMP v2c, community string public, and SNMP port 161. For a general introduction to the technology behind SNMP, see section Monitoring via SNMP.

PRTG stores these credentials in the root group of your device tree. All dependent devices automatically inherit and use them for monitoring. You can disable the inheritance of settings at any level if you enter other credentials instead.

Click OK, done! to finish this setup step. Click OK, do it! to start a detailed auto-discovery.

For more information about the available options, see section Root Group Settings.

Step 2: Enter Location Information

While PRTG runs a new auto-discovery in your network with the provided credentials, the setup assistant asks you to provide the location of your PRTG core server. This information is displayed in geographical maps. Enter your location and confirm with OK, done!. Click OK, show me! to get back to the device tree.

For more information about the available options, see section Root Group Settings.

Step 3: Change Your PRTG Login Password

Back on the device tree, the PRTG on premises setup assistant asks you to change your password. Click OK, show me! and follow the assistant to your account settings. By default, PRTG uses the PRTG System Administrator user account with the login name prtgadmin and the password prtgadmin. So we strongly recommend that you change the password to protect PRTG from unauthorized access.

Enter your New Password, confirm it with Retype Password. The password must meet the following requirements:

• At least eight characters long
• At least one numeral
• At least one capitalized letter

Click OK, done! to save your new password.

For more information about the available options, see section My Account.

Step 4: Confirm Your Email Address

To complete the smart setup, check whether the email address that you have entered during the installation is correct.

A working email address is absolutely mandatory for PRTG to reach you via email notifications, alarms, and for other important messages.

If the address is correct, click OK, done! and follow the assistant back to the device tree.

For more information about the available options, see section My Account.

Step 5: Switch to SSL/TLS

For PRTG on premises, if you access the PRTG web interface from a computer other than the computer where you installed PRTG, the assistant appears and asks you to switch to a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS) secured connection. We strongly recommend that you run the PRTG web interface secured with SSL/TLS, especially if you make your PRTG web interface available from the internet. Otherwise, your passwords are sent over your network without encryption.

• Click OK, switch now! to get more information about using SSL/TLS for the PRTG web server.
• In the new window, click Yes, switch to SSL/TLS to switch to an SSL/TLS-secured connection.
• PRTG must restart its services to apply the changes and is reachable under an HTTPS URL afterward.
• When the PRTG web interface reloads, most likely it shows a certificate warning. Confirm it to proceed to the login screen.

For more information, see sections User Interface and SSL Certificate Warning.

You Are Done

While you were going through the smart setup, PRTG created additional devices and sensors for you. First monitoring values are available, too.

To become familiar with the PRTG web interface, we recommend that you read on in section General Layout.

More

VIDEO TUTORIAL

Smart setup

• https://www.paessler.com/learn/videos/installation_of_prtg_network_monitor

Quick Start Guide

• Step 1: Download, Installation, and First Login
• Step 2: Smart Setup