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Why is my HTTP Full Web Page sensor generating so many temporary files?

Votes:

0

We have a couple of sensors to monitor web-based site availability, recently we found that the probe device reported low disk usage.

We found that millions of files are being saved to the temp folder C:\Windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\IE after we checked the folder size.

Almost all of them are jscript files and we found that the content scripts are pointing to a URL that we monitored.

After we checked the sensor status, we believe that this is caused by the HTTP Full Web Page sensor. My question is, is there any way to avoid this?

file http tempdir

Created on Aug 13, 2015 2:52:58 AM

Last change on Jan 4, 2023 2:04:18 PM by Brandy Greger [Paessler Support]



Best Answer

Accepted Answer

Votes:

1

Hello Bart,
thank you for your inquiry.

I have tested it and it is indeed an issue when you use Internet Explorer as Browser Engine in the HTTP Full Web Page sensor.

The actual location of these temporary files varies. It could be one of the following:

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5
C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache

The actual path depends on the OS version, Internet Explorer version, or the context in which the PRTG probe service is running. We are not able to avoid generating these files when using Internet Explorer as Browser Engine because this behavior is dictated by the configuration and settings of Internet Explorer.

The best way to avoid this is to switch to one of the other browser engines available in the sensor settings:

  • Chromium (default)
  • PhantomJS (Headless Webkit)

If you have a large number of sensors of this type, you can use the Multi-Edit functionality (via Sensors | By Type | H | HTTP Full Web Page) to batch change them.

If your use case does not allow the usage of a different browser engine, you might want to set up a scheduled task to clear up the folder. This can easily be done using the Task Scheduler and a Batch or PowerShell script.

More

Best Regards,
Luciano Lingnau [Paessler Support]

Created on Aug 16, 2018 9:04:42 AM by Luciano Lingnau [Paessler]

Last change on Aug 1, 2023 6:38:17 AM by Yasodhara Das [Paessler Support]



5 Replies

Votes:

0

Hello Kelvin, we appreciate your contact.

Are you using the latest stable version of PRTG? (Currently 15.3.18.xxxx)

I ask that because in older versions there was a similar issues with the HTTP Full Web Page Sensor, that sensor nowadays also supports the Chromium Browser Engine (Standard Setting) which doesn't have that issue anymore. For the js/temp cache files that are already there you can safely delete them.

If you're using the HTTP Full Web Page Sensor, we recommend checking the sensor's settings and making sure that they're configured to use the Chromium Browser Engine.

Created on Aug 13, 2015 4:40:38 PM by Luciano Lingnau [Paessler]



Votes:

0

Hi Luciano, Thanks for your reply. The version for this reported PRTG is 3.17.XXXX, which means that is a known issue for us.

Appreciated.

Thanks

Created on Aug 14, 2015 1:35:11 AM



Votes:

0

Hello Kelvin,
if you're running version 15.3.17 you'll be able to change any HTTP Full Web Page Sensors to the Chromium Browser Engine, that should resolve any issues.

Best Regards,

Created on Aug 14, 2015 6:28:03 AM by Luciano Lingnau [Paessler]

Last change on Aug 14, 2015 7:32:32 AM by Luciano Lingnau [Paessler]



Votes:

0

Hello,

I recently noticed this problem on my servers too: 73GB of files on

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache

Running Version 18.3.42.1748

Is this still an issue?

grtz Bart

Created on Aug 16, 2018 7:45:08 AM

Last change on Aug 16, 2018 8:55:53 AM by Luciano Lingnau [Paessler]



Accepted Answer

Votes:

1

Hello Bart,
thank you for your inquiry.

I have tested it and it is indeed an issue when you use Internet Explorer as Browser Engine in the HTTP Full Web Page sensor.

The actual location of these temporary files varies. It could be one of the following:

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5
C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache

The actual path depends on the OS version, Internet Explorer version, or the context in which the PRTG probe service is running. We are not able to avoid generating these files when using Internet Explorer as Browser Engine because this behavior is dictated by the configuration and settings of Internet Explorer.

The best way to avoid this is to switch to one of the other browser engines available in the sensor settings:

  • Chromium (default)
  • PhantomJS (Headless Webkit)

If you have a large number of sensors of this type, you can use the Multi-Edit functionality (via Sensors | By Type | H | HTTP Full Web Page) to batch change them.

If your use case does not allow the usage of a different browser engine, you might want to set up a scheduled task to clear up the folder. This can easily be done using the Task Scheduler and a Batch or PowerShell script.

More

Best Regards,
Luciano Lingnau [Paessler Support]

Created on Aug 16, 2018 9:04:42 AM by Luciano Lingnau [Paessler]

Last change on Aug 1, 2023 6:38:17 AM by Yasodhara Das [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.