<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Monitoring via SSH

Monitoring via Secure Shell (SSH) enables you to gather performance and system data from many Linux and Unix distributions, as well as from certain macOS X systems. If your system is supported, this monitoring technology works without any additional software on the target systems.

How Monitoring via SSH Works

To monitor remote machines via SSH, PRTG needs the credentials (preferably root access) of the devices. If you use SSH sensors, you can enter the necessary credentials in the settings of the parent device or group, or in the root group, in the Credentials for Linux/Solaris/macOS (SSH/WBEM) Systems section. The sensors then inherit these settings by default.

With each scanning interval, PRTG logs in to your devices and queries data by executing specific commands.

For more information about all SSH sensors, see section List of Available Sensor Types.

For a list of encryption algorithms that the SSH sensors support, see the Knowledge Base: Which encryption algorithms do PRTG SSH sensors support?

Limitations When Using SSH Monitoring

Because of the plurality of Linux/Unix derivatives, SSH sensors cannot support all distributions on the market. Also, only certain macOS systems are supported.

For a list of successfully tested distributions, see the Knowledge Base: Which Linux or macOS distributions are supported by the Linux/Unix sensors (SSH, SNMP)?

Authentication via SSH Private Key

PRTG supports authentication via password or via private key.

When you use a private key, make sure that you do the following:

• Provide the key in OpenSSH RSA format.
• The key cannot be encrypted. PRTG does not support password-protected keys.
• The key must be provided as an RSA key, you cannot use DSA keys.

When you provide an unencrypted RSA private key in OpenSSH RSA format, copy the entire key, including the

-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

and

-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

lines, into the designated text field in PRTG and Save your settings. Once you have pasted in and saved the private key, PRTG shows it as

***************************

 
Make sure that a corresponding public key exists on the target device.

For more information about how to convert and use an SSH key, see the Knowledge Base: How can I use private keys for my SSH sensors with PRTG?

More

KNOWLEDGE BASE

Which encryption algorithms do PRTG SSH sensors support?

• https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/90689

Which Linux or macOS distributions are supported by the Linux/Unix sensors (SSH, SNMP)?

• https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/6733

How can I use private keys for my SSH sensors with PRTG?

• https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/32883

How do I enable SSH on my macOS system?

• https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/33113