<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Dependencies

You can use dependencies to make PRTG pause sensor monitoring based on the status of another (master) sensor to avoid false alarms and incorrect downtime recording. A dependency stops the monitoring of one sensor or a set of sensors as soon as a specific sensor is in a Down status or in a Paused status caused by another dependency. This means, for example, that you can stop monitoring remote network services when the corresponding firewall is down because of connection problems.

When using the auto-discovery function, the Ping sensor on a device is by default set as the master object for this device. This means that monitoring for the entire device is paused if the Ping sensor is in a Down status or in a Paused status caused by another dependency. Usually, it makes little sense to monitor any other parameters while the Ping sensor indicates that the device cannot even be reached.

You do not trigger a status change by dependency if you manually pause a master object or if you pause it by schedule. For more details, see the Knowledge Base: Why will dependent objects not go into paused status automatically when I pause the master object?

To view the list of dependencies, select Devices | Dependencies and the corresponding dependencies path from the main menu bar. From there you can also access the Dependencies Graph that visualizes all dependencies within your network.

Dependencies Graph

For more information about the dependency settings, see the settings of the object that you want to set a dependency for, section Schedules, Dependencies, and Maintenance Window respectively.

Understanding Basic Concepts—Topics

• Architecture and User Interfaces
• Clustering
• Object Hierarchy
• Inheritance of Settings
• Tags
• Dependencies
• Scheduling
• Notifying
• Alerts
• User Access Rights
• Data Reporting
• IPv6