<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: PRTG Status—Auto-Update

Whenever a new version of PRTG is available from the Paessler website, PRTG automatically downloads the setup file if a direct internet connection is available. The PRTG System Administrator user then receives a ToDo ticket with instructions to initiate the update installation.

If you are using a Freeware or Trial Edition, automatic software updates are available at any time. If you are using a Commercial Edition, you need to have an active maintenance contract to receive updates.

icon-prtg-on-demandThis option is not available in PRTG hosted by Paessler.

Status

icon-i-roundThis documentation refers to the PRTG System Administrator user accessing the PRTG web interface on a master node. If you use other user accounts, interfaces, or nodes, you might not see all of the options in the way described here. If you use a cluster installation, note that failover nodes are read-only by default.

To view the auto-update page of your PRTG installation, select Setup | Auto-Update from the main menu bar. On the Status tab, you can download and install updates.

Using Auto-Update

If there is a new version available, you see detailed information about the available version. Read these notes carefully. You find a summary of current and past release notes below the update section. For detailed release notes, click PRTG Release Notes and Version History, which redirects you to the version history page on paessler.com.

To install the latest available version, click Install Update [version number]. PRTG asks you to confirm installation and license.

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

Automatic Software Update Page

Automatic Software Update Page

Manually Install an Interim Update

Not all available updates from Paessler are pushed to all customers, but they are still available from the website. Sometimes Paessler Support may ask you to update to the latest version.

In this case, click the Check For Latest Update and Download button. PRTG connects to the Paessler servers and downloads the setup file, regardless of the status of the update check. Then Install Update [version number].

icon-i-round-redTo use this function, a direct internet connection is necessary on the computer running the PRTG core server.

Select Other Release Channel

PRTG is available in three different release channels. To change the release channel you receive updates from, open the auto-update Settings tab and choose the desired release channel in the Release Channel section.

Log

Click the Log tab to show log information about the update status of PRTG, newest first. In the table list, you can filter the items by using the respective options.

icon-book-arrowsFor more information, see section Logs.

Settings

Click the Settings tab to configure the PRTG Software Auto-Update.

Software Auto-Update

When a New Version is Available

Define what to do when software updates are available:

  • Automatically download and install the latest version: PRTG automatically downloads and installs any new version as soon as PRTG detects that a newer version is available (PRTG checks this once per day).
    icon-i-round-redThe installation of a new version restarts the PRTG Windows services and may also include a server restart.
  • Automatically download the latest version and alert the admin: PRTG automatically downloads any new version as soon as PRTG detects that a newer version is available (PRTG checks this once per day). After successful download, PRTG creates a ToDo ticket for the PRTG System Administrator user.
  • Alert the admin only: When PRTG detects that a newer version is available, it does not automatically download updates, but only creates a ToDo ticket. You can still manually download updates on the Auto-Update page.

Installation Time

If you select the automatic installation option above, choose the desired time for the installation of updates from the dropdown menu. You can also choose As soon as the update is available, which can be at any time of the day.

Release Channel

PRTG updates are delivered in different release channels. You can choose between maximum stability, or most early access to new features. Choose from:

  • Stable: Updated about once per month (most conservative option, recommended): These are our best tested versions. Choose this channel for live environments that you depend on.
  • Preview: Updated about once per month (thoroughly tested in our labs, do not use on production systems): Versions in this channel are already thoroughly tested in our labs, but may still contain limitations in certain monitoring configurations. Choose this channel if you are willing to take a little risk for the benefit of getting new features and bug fixes a little earlier.
    icon-i-redWe strongly recommend that you not use those versions in live environments you depend on.
  • Canary: Updated daily (testing only, should not be used on production systems): Updated every night. Use with CAUTION! Software versions in this channel are not tested yet, might contain severe bugs, and are provided for testing purposes only.
    We strongly recommend that you not use those versions in live environments you have to depend on.

icon-i-round-redSave your settings. If you change tabs or use the main menu, all changes to the settings are lost.

Notes

There are a few things we ask you to consider regarding automatic software updates:

  • For auto-update to work, the machine running the PRTG core server needs direct internet access. If a proxy connection is needed, configure it in the System Administration—Core & Probes settings.
    icon-book-bulbFor details about the update servers, see the Knowledge Base: Which servers does PRTG connect to for Software Auto-Update and for Activation?
  • During installation, the PRTG core server may be restarted without notice.
  • PRTG automatically updates existing remote probes, causing short downtimes in monitoring of remote locations. In rare cases, a manual update of remote probes is required after you update the PRTG core server. In these cases, you are notified in the device tree, and monitoring of remote locations is interrupted until you perform the manual update on the system) running the remote probes. If a server with a probe uses several network connections with different IP addresses, ensure these addresses are included in the list of allowed IPs. Otherwise the remote probe on this machine might be disconnected after an update.
  • In a cluster installation, the update needs to be installed on one node only. The new version is then automatically deployed to all other cluster nodes (causing a short downtime for the monitoring on the cluster nodes, one after another).
  • If you run several individual PRTG core servers that are not in a cluster, for example, in combination with PRTG Desktop, an update has to be initiated and confirmed for each single PRTG core server.
  • You can disable automatic downloading on the Auto-Update Settings tab. Updates are then only downloaded on request, when you click the Check For Latest Update and Download button.
  • PRTG does not start auto-update downloads if less than 500 MB disk space is available on the core server system. If this is the case, you can check this on the Log tab.
  • Virus scanners can potentially cause issues when downloading or installing software updates. To avoid such issues, we recommend that you make the appropriate exclusions for the PRTG program directory.

More

Knowledge Base: Which servers does PRTG connect to for Software Auto-Update, Activation, etc.?

Knowledge Base: Which information does PRTG send back to Paessler?

Knowledge Base: How and where does PRTG store its data?

Others

There are some settings that you must make in the PRTG Administration Tool, available as native Windows application. For more details, see the sections:

Keywords: Automatic Software Update