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How and where does PRTG store its data?

Votes:

4

  • What data paths does PRTG use to save data?
  • Where does it store the data?
  • What's the location of the local database?
  • Where is the configuration stored?
  • Where are reports stored?
  • Where is the "write to disk" data of the HTTP Advanced sensor and other sensors stored?
  • Where can I find the logfiles?

data database important logs paths prtg registry storage system

Created on Feb 3, 2010 1:25:56 PM by  Daniel Zobel [Product Manager]

Last change on May 6, 2019 12:10:57 PM by  Maike Guba [Paessler Support] (2,404) 2 1



15 Replies

Accepted Answer

Votes:

7

This article applies as of PRTG 20

Important: The following article will no longer be updated. For up-to-date-information, see the PRTG Manual: Data Storage and the respective section in the PRTG MultiBoard & PRTG app for desktop manual.

How PRTG Network Monitor stores its data

PRTG Network Monitor writes data to several locations:

  • Into the program directory (core installation)
  • Into the data directory (monitoring configuration, monitoring data, logs, etc.)
  • Into the registry (license key, admin login, IP settings, etc.)

Program directory

By default, the PRTG setup program stores the core installation in one of the following directories:

%programfiles%\PRTG Network Monitor

or

%programfiles(x86)%\PRTG Network Monitor

Tip: To directly open an Explorer Window showing the respective directory, click on "Run..." in the Windows Start Menu (shortcut Windows+R), paste the path above into the "Open:" field and click "OK".

However, the default setting can be changed during setup. To find the right path for your PRTG installation, please look it up in the Properties of your Start Menu's PRTG icons.

Note: The Windows ProgramData folder is hidden by default. To show it, open the Windows Explorer, open the View tab, and select Hidden items (on Windows 10 and Windows Server 2012, works similar on other Windows versions).


Data directory

The default setting of the data directory depends on the PRTG Network Monitor version you are using (deprecated PRTG 7/8, or as of PRTG 9), as well as on your Windows version. The paths are also different if you have upgraded from the deprecated PRTG 7/8 versus installed a new version as of PRTG 9.

The default data folder is located as follows, depending on your Windows version:

Windows Server 2012 (R2), Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2:

%programdata%\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor

The path is the same for Windows Vista (deprecated).

Windows XP, Windows 2003 (these Windows versions are not officially supported):

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application data\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor

Tip: To directly open an Explorer Window showing the respective directory, click on "Run..." in the Windows Start Menu (shortcut Windows+R), paste the path above into the "Open:" field and click "OK".

Notes:

  • Depending on the language and version of your Windows installation you might need to translate the substring Application data into your Windows installation's language (for example Anwendungsdaten for some German Windows versions).
  • If you set a custom path for the data directory, you must use folder names that only use ANSI characters. PRTG does not support non-ANSI characters in the directory data path.

However, the default setting can be changed. To find the right path for your PRTG installation, open the PRTG Administration Tool and look up the path in the Core Server tab. You can also change the path there.


Note: For the deprecated PRTG 7 and PRTG 8, the paths are the following:

PRTG 7 (deprecated):

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application data\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor\V7

PRTG 8 (deprecated):

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application data\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor\V8

Files and subfolders in the data directory

The following files and folders are stored in the file system:

FileDescriptionFile Format
Log Database.dbOnly versions before 8.2: Database with the recent event history for the whole system; "Logs" in the web interface. New entries stored in Log Database sub folder.Deprecated: SQLite 3.6.10
PRTG Configuration.datMonitoring configuration (i.e. probes, groups, devices, sensors, users, maps, reports, etc.)XML
PRTG Configuration.oldBackup of previous version of monitoring configurationXML
PRTG Graph Data Cache.datPrecalculated data for the graphs throughout the web interface (if missing, this file is automatically recalculated from the files in the "monitoring database")Proprietary
ToDo Database.dbOnly versions before 8.2: Database with all ToDo entries; "ToDos" in the web interface. New entries stored in ToDo Database sub folderDeprecated: SQLite 3.6.10
FolderDescriptionFile Format
\Configuration Auto-BackupsBackup versions of PRTG Configuration.datZIP / XML
\Log DatabaseDatabase with the recent event history for the whole system; "Logs" in the web interfaceRaw data format (.db)
\Logs (Debug)Text file–based logs of the core and probe system

Note: As of version 18.3.43, the path is Logs\debug. See section Structure of the Logs Folder for more information.
Text
\Logs (Sensors)Text file–based debug logs of the sensors (files named after the ID of a sensor; logs are written only if activated in a sensor's settings)

Note: As of version 20.1.56, the path is Logs\sensors. See section Structure of the Logs Folder for more information.
Text
\Logs (System)Text file–based logs of the core, probe, and cluster system, the Enterprise Console, and result files for certain sensors

Note: As of version 18.3.43, Enterprise Console logs are written to Logs\enterpriseconsole. Cluster and core logs are written to Logs\core. See section Structure of the Logs Folder for more information.
Text
\Logs (Web Server)HTTP server logfiles of the PRTG web server

Note: As of version 18.3.43, the path is Logs\webserver. See section Structure of the Logs Folder for more information.
Standard web server log format
\Monitoring DatabaseResults of all monitoring requests for all sensors (required for historic reports)Proprietary
\Report PDFsOlder PDF reports stored in the file systemAdobe PDF
\reporterScreenshots created for reporting issues to supportPNG
\Screenshots (Fullpage Sensor)Screenshots stored by the PhantomJS browser engine of the HTTP Full Web Page SensorJPG (in sub folders)
\StreamLogData logfiles for Packet Sniffer and flow (NetFlow, sFlow) sensors (only available if activated in sensor settings)CSV
\Support DataWhen using the Send Logs to Paessler functionality, logfile data will be collected and compressed into a ZIP file. These files are stored in this folder.LOG / TXT / ZIP
\Syslog DatabaseReceived Syslog messagesProprietary
\System Information DatabaseRetrieved system information for the categories hardware, users (loggedonusers), processes, services, software, system in according subfoldersProprietary (in JSON format)
\ToDo DatabaseDatabase with all ToDo entriesRaw data format (.db)
deprecated as of PRTG 14.1.8
\Ticket DatabaseDatabase with all tickets (ticketdata.dat);
Backup created with the last successful integrity check (ticketdata.old; available as of PRTG 16.x.26)
Raw data format (.dat)
\Toplist DatabaseDatabase for historic Toplists for Packet Sniffer and flow (NetFlow, sFlow) sensorsRaw data format (.top);
Deprecated: SQLite 3.6.10 (.dat)
\Trap DatabaseReceived SNMP Trap messagesProprietary

Structure of the Logs folder

As of version 18.3.43, the structure of the Logs\ subfolder is as follows.

FolderDescriptionFile Format
\appserverNot currently in use.N/A
\coreText file–based logs of the core system and cluster system.Text
\debugText file–based debug logs of the core system and probe system, and core cache recalculation.Text
\desktopclientNot currently in use. PRTG MultiBoard & PRTG app for desktop logs are written to Users/AppData/Roaming/Paessler/PRTG Desktop/data.N/A
\enterpriseconsoleText file–based logs of the Enterprise Console.Text
\probeText file–based logs of the probe system.Text
\reporterText file-based logs of creating PDF reports and screenshots for support.Text
\sensordeprecationText file–based log of deprecated sensors.Text
\sensorsText file-based logs of sensors.Text
\serveradminText file–based logs of the administration system.Text
\webserverHTTP server logfiles of the PRTG web server.Text

Registry

All system settings (except license keys and Enterprise Console settings) of PRTG Network Monitor are stored in the registry under one of the following nodes. The exact location depends on both the kind of system you're running and the installed PRTG version (or which version was installed previously).

32-bit systems:

PRTG 9 or later:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor

PRTG 7 (deprecated):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor\V7

PRTG 8 (deprecated):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor\V8

64-bit systems:

PRTG 9 or later:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor

PRTG 7:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor\V7

PRTG 8:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor\V8

Enterprise Console (PRTG 9 through 19)


Important notice: The Enterprise Console is unsupported and deprecated as of version PRTG 19.4.53. Please switch to PRTG MultiBoard & PRTG app for desktop, our new alternative interface that you can use to connect to the PRTG core server and manage your entire network.


All settings of the Enterprise Console are stored under the following node:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor\WinGUI

For example, you will find all configured PRTG core servers there.


PRTG MultiBoard & PRTG app for desktop

By default, the PRTG MultiBoard & PRTG app for desktop setup program stores the core installation in one of the following directories:

%programfiles%\Paessler\PRTG Desktop or %programfiles(x86)%\Paessler\PRTG Desktop

User data, certificates, and database, for example, are stored in the following data folder: %appdata%\Paessler\PRTG Desktop\data

Qt WebEngine caching and storage files are stored in the following data folder: %localappdata%\Paessler\PRTG Desktop

Registry

All settings of PRTG MultiBoard & PRTG app for desktop are stored under the following node: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Paessler\PRTGDesktop


HTTP Full Web Page sensor

If you use the HTTP Full Web Page sensor, files might also be stored in the following cache folder on the probe system:

C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5

Note: To see this directory, you might have to edit folder options to see hidden files.


Auto-update

Downloaded software versions are automatically saved in the PRTG program directory in the \download subfolder. The prtg.zip that contains all necessary files is also cached in this folder.

Note: If you receive the error "Error reading ZIP-File" while updating your PRTG version, this could be because the file has been corrupted by a virus scanner. To avoid such issues, we recommend that you make the appropriate exclusions for the PRTG program directory.


More

How can I change the data directory of my PRTG installation?

Created on Feb 3, 2010 1:34:43 PM by  Daniel Zobel [Product Manager]

Last change on Aug 29, 2023 10:04:33 AM by  Jacqueline Conforti [Paessler Support]



Votes:

0

How can I open .top extension files, located in Toplist Database folder, for further analyze or can I export Top Talkers data to other format like. xls ?

Created on Jan 12, 2015 9:18:44 AM



Votes:

0

The .top Toplist Database files cannot be opened (exported) with other applications. Only PRTG itself can open and access these files to display the Toplists.

Created on Jan 12, 2015 9:55:34 AM by  Torsten Lindner [Paessler Support]



Votes:

0

I have tried removing and reinstalling PRTG twice now following this article and I still have data populated from before? The second time I tried reinstalling in a different directory even though I deleted the old one and followed every step in the article. Where is this data coming from??

Created on Sep 21, 2015 8:57:07 PM



Votes:

1

is it planned in the future to transfer the monitoring database into an SQL database?

Created on Jan 10, 2017 1:44:59 PM



Votes:

0

There are no plans to make the PRTG databases transfare-able to SQL DBs. Sorry.

Created on Jan 10, 2017 3:33:55 PM by  Torsten Lindner [Paessler Support]



Votes:

0

I can't find where the XML files for stored reports are stored on the server and this artcile doesn't seem to answer the question at the top of "Where are reports stored?"

Created on Oct 31, 2017 10:51:39 PM



Votes:

0

Robert, the XML-Files should also be stored in the

\Report PDFs

subfolder (in there sorted via ID of the reports). bear in mind though, data files are only written with data table type reports.

Created on Nov 1, 2017 8:21:51 AM by  Torsten Lindner [Paessler Support]



Votes:

0

I want to clarify, this list is common for Core Server and Remote Probes? i'm asking because we want to schedule a backup of all our remote probes custom data folders.

Created on Oct 4, 2019 12:21:33 PM



Votes:

0

I can not see where the XML files for the reports stored on the server are stores and this article where are the reports stored? it does not answer the question above

Created on Oct 31, 2022 2:03:46 PM



Votes:

0

Hi Everett,

you should find these files also in \Report PDFs. The XML files are stored together with the pdf files.


Kind regards
Felix Wiesneth - Team Tech Support

Created on Nov 2, 2022 8:07:32 AM by  Felix Wiesneth [Paessler Support]



Votes:

0

Hi Everett,

you should find these files also in \Report PDFs. The XML files are stored together with the pdf files.


Kind regards
Felix Wiesneth - Team Tech Support

Created on Nov 2, 2022 8:07:35 AM by  Felix Wiesneth [Paessler Support]



Votes:

0

Hi, does accessing the log files(Historical data, I'm guessing Log Database.db) cause problems if PRTG is running? I wish to potentially extract sensor data, but afraid if it will interrupt the running PRTG by opening the files. I tried looking at the historic data function of the API, but it's limited to 5 requests per minute, which is troublesome with a large amount of sensors and each call being for one sensor's data.

  1. Is it safe to open the log/.db files while PRTG is running on the server?
  2. Is there another way to access historic data across all sensors?

Created on Nov 30, 2022 10:04:03 AM

Last change on Dec 1, 2022 7:14:45 AM by  Felix Wiesneth [Paessler Support]



Votes:

0

Hi smalk,

Since the monitoring database is saved in a proprietary format you can't open the files with another tool. This means copying the files to another location won't help to analyze the data.


Kind regards

Felix Wiesneth - Team Technical Support

Created on Dec 1, 2022 10:20:18 AM by  Felix Wiesneth [Paessler Support]



Votes:

0

Hi smalk,

Since the monitoring database is saved in a proprietary format you can't open the files with another tool. This means copying the files to another location won't help to analyze the data.


Kind regards

Felix Wiesneth - Team Technical Support

Created on Dec 1, 2022 10:20:19 AM by  Felix Wiesneth [Paessler Support]




Disclaimer: The information in the Paessler Knowledge Base comes without warranty of any kind. Use at your own risk. Before applying any instructions please exercise proper system administrator housekeeping. You must make sure that a proper backup of all your data is available.