This article applies as of PRTG 14


We need to move a remote probe in PRTG Network Monitor from an old server to a new server while retaining all sensors and historical data. How can we do this, and what are the procedures?

Moving a Probe

Note: This guide is only relevant if you have Historic Data or Sensors on the "Probe Device" itself which you NEED/want to keep (Packet Sniffer, Syslog Receiver, etc). In most cases you can simply adopt a new probe (with the new GID) and then move any groups or devices from the old to the new probe, the historic data of all sensors will be kept, this does only not apply to sensors on the Probe Device as the Probe device cannot be moved, each probe has it's own Probe Device.


Moving a remote probe to a new host is quite easy (especially if you intend to keep the IP). Please follow these steps:

  1. Install the remote probe on the new machine, and
  2. Configure it to connect to the core server (IP and Port of the Core Server).
  3. The next (and most important) thing is to copy the GID from the old remote probe to this new one. You can find it in the PRTG Administration Tool on the system with your probe. Save these settings.
  4. As soon as you've configured the GID on the new probe, configure the PRTG probe Service on the old remote probe to manual (and stop it) to prevent it from starting automatically again.
    Important: Two probes with the same GID connecting at the same time would lead to a flaky/nonfunctional probe.
  5. If you have any custom sensors on the remote probe, copy the files over to the new host. They are located in this default directory if you have not changed the path: C:\Program Files (x86)\PRTG Network Monitor\Custom Sensors
  6. You can now shut down the old probe PC, and power up the new one under the old IP. If the new server has a new IP, please make sure that this new IP is allowed to establish a probe connection to the core server. You can do this in the PRTG web interface main menu under Setup | System Administration | Core & Probes | Probe Connection Settings | Allow IPs.
    Note: In previous versions, navigate to Setup | System Setup | Probe Management or Setup | System Administration | Probes.
  7. The Core server will send out the 'configuration' to the remote probe with the information what to monitor.
  8. Nearly all sensors will keep their historic data and also continue to work. A few sensors directly from the probe device might not continue to work, these are often Packet Sniffers, WMI Network Card Sensors (and sometimes other WMI Sensors) due to hardware differences.

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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.