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Why will dependent objects not automatically pause when I pause the master object?

Votes:

0

In my network, I use master objects. For example, I have set a Ping sensor as the master object for a device.

When I pause the master sensor either manually or by schedule, I expect that the dependent sensors are paused, too. Why does this not happen?

dependency hierarchy intention master-object object paused-by-dependencies pausing prtg

Created on Oct 25, 2017 12:06:11 PM by Martina Wittmann [Paessler Support]

Last change on Sep 23, 2022 10:40:35 AM by Jacqueline Conforti [Paessler Support]



7 Replies

Accepted Answer

Votes:

5

This article applies as of PRTG 22

How pausing works in PRTG

Generally, there are three ways of pausing an object so that it shows the Paused status in PRTG:

  1. By dependency: If a master sensor is in the Down status, all dependent objects will be paused.
  2. By intention: You can intentionally pause an object, either
    • Manually or
    • By schedule.
  3. By hierarchy: You can pause all master and dependent objects by pausing an object that is higher in the object hierarchy.

The rules in short

  • Pausing by dependency works for all objects (as far as there are other objects that depend on them). PRTG applies this type of pausing to dependent objects for you in case their master sensor is in the Down status.
  • Pausing by intention breaks the rule of pausing by dependency. If you pause a master sensor either manually or by schedule, only the master sensor is paused. All dependent sensors further check their status and display it accordingly.
  • Pausing by hierarchy: If you want to pause all objects at once without pausing every single one, use the object hierarchy relations and pause by hierarchy.

Illustration and reasons

We will use a Ping sensor that is set as the master sensor for a device as an example.

1. Pausing by dependency

If a master sensor changes to the Down status, all other dependent objects are paused. So, monitoring is paused by dependency.

Reason: Because the master Ping sensor is primarily responsible for the entire device, its error status triggers the information that the device is down. That is why all other dependent sensors are paused until the device is up again.

Dependency
Click to enlarge.

When the master Ping sensor changes to the Up status again, all other sensors resume monitoring and show their own states based on the data they retrieve after the rescan.

If you want to test this, you can simulate an error status in PRTG. It has the same effects. Pausing by dependency works with sensors in the Down (Acknowledged) status as well.

2. Pausing by intention

You can, of course, pause monitoring intentionally at any time, no matter which sensor status the master sensor currently has.

To pause an object, you have two options:

  1. Pause manually, for example via the context menu, or
  2. Pause by schedule.

If you pause the master sensor manually or by schedule, only the master sensor is paused, not the other (dependent) sensors on the device. The dependent sensors show their own status instead.

Reason: If you pause a master sensor, PRTG gets the information that the master sensor stops monitoring, the other sensors on the device need to take over. Therefore, all other sensors on the device check their status anew and display it.

Intention
Click to enlarge.

This mechanism is implemented to guarantee maximum monitoring uptime of your network.

3. Pausing by hierarchy

If you want to pause monitoring for all objects at once, including master and dependent objects, pause an object that is higher in the object hierarchy.

For example, to pause a master Ping sensor and other dependent sensors at once, pause the entire parent device.

Hierarchy
Click to enlarge.

More

Created on Oct 25, 2017 1:51:18 PM by Martina Wittmann [Paessler Support]

Last change on Jan 4, 2023 2:55:01 PM by Brandy Greger [Paessler Support]



Votes:

0

Hello Martina, Hello Maike,

is there any intent to expand these possibilities?

I'm currently reorganizeing our structure to get a better overview and I would find the option usefull to pause a dependend Device via pausing the Master Device with the Masersensor. This should not be the default for sure, but the option to set this via Device or Sensor if needed would be really nice.

Short background: I need to split the Sensors of a Device into two Devices with Different Sensors and the Devices will be located in different groups. I will split the really important sensors from the not so important ones. We are working with Maps a lot and we sadly have some Devices where some unimportant Sensors are constanty going into warningstate, so thats why we will split them up. The Ping Sensor will remain with the important Sensors and it would be nice, in case of Maintanance to only need to pause the "Master" Device and the Device with the unimportant Sensors will be paused as well.

Many thanks in advance.

Created on Jul 8, 2019 5:41:24 PM



Votes:

0

Hi Jacqueline,

to pause a selected device, for example due to maintenance work, you can set up a (one-time) maintenance window via the device's Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Windows settings.

If you want to use the dependency relations of your master sensor, try if Simulate Error Status of your master sensor works out for your intentions.

BR, Martina

Created on Jul 9, 2019 8:03:41 AM by Martina Wittmann [Paessler Support]



Votes:

0

Hi Martina,

I'm afraid I did not express myself clearly enough.

If we need to do some maintenance work on our Systems we simply pause them. It is a bit awkward to go to the settings and set the maintenance there just to pause the Devices or Sensors, especially if it isnt clear how long the maintanance work will take.

But that wasnt my Point at all.

Is there a way to pause a Device by pausing another Device?

My first thought was that the dependency settings are the right place for this. And if the Master Sensor is in error state all dependent Devices / Sensors will be paused. But like mentioned above if the Master Sensor is Paused the dependent Devices / Sensors will not be paused.

I dont want you to change your default behavior. I only like to have an option to set an exception via Device or Sensor. So the Device / Sensor will be paused if the Master Sensor is in error state or is paused.

Many thanks in advance.

Created on Jul 9, 2019 1:37:28 PM



Votes:

0

Hi Jacqueline,

Thank you very much for your response.

"Is there a way to pause a Device by pausing another Device?"
No, you will need a sensor to be the determining object to be able to pause another device. I believe that we are speaking from the identical procedure and as we've encountered some issues with recent versions of PRTG speaking about dependencies, please make sure to use the latest available stable version for your purpose.

The procedure would be to define a sensor (let's go with a simple Ping Sensor or use the Green IT sensor).
Afterwards, head over to the desired object (device, group, etc.) that should be paused in case the previously created sensor is 'down'.
Disable the inheritance of 'Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window' and select an object (in your case the previously created sensor) for 'Dependency Type'.

As soon as the sensor is 'down', the object should be paused by dependency.

Best,
Sebastian

Created on Jul 11, 2019 8:34:19 AM by Sebastian Kniege [Paessler Support]



Votes:

0

Hello Sebastian,

Thank you for your answer.

I'm sorry that I have formulated my question wrong. I know that you need a Sensor to be the determining object.

I also understand that as soon as the determining sensor is 'down', the object that has set the determining sensor for Dependencies should be paused.

And there is no Problem and this all works fine.

I only like to know if there will be the possibility in the future to have the option to decide that not only the 'down' state is responsible to trigger the Dependencies and pause the objects. It would be handy in some cases to define the states for yourself. In my case it would be nice if the Dependencies for some objects would be triggered if the determining sensor is 'paused'.

Many thanks in advance.

Created on Jul 11, 2019 12:39:32 PM



Votes:

0

Hello Jacqueline,

Thank you very much for the clarification. In this case we really spoke about different things.

I believe your request is a legitimate and reasonable inquiry, therefore feel encouraged to raise a feature request as described here:
How Can I Propose New Features Or Sensors For PRTG?

This approach allows other PRTG users and the community to vote for the feature request to strengthen it and to raise awareness for our developers.

Best,
Sebastian

Created on Jul 12, 2019 4:04:47 AM by Sebastian Kniege [Paessler Support]




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