I want to use the multi-platform probe on my Synology. How do I set up a docker container to do this?

This article applies as of PRTG 24 and multi-platform probe 3.0.0

Requirements

To use this guide, you must meet the following requirements: 

  • You must have a NATS server set up. 
  • You must configure your PRTG to accept multi-platform probe connections. 
  • You must have an access key on PRTG for use with the multi-platform probe.

How to set up the containerized multi-platform probe on a Synology NAS

Step 1: Download the multi-platform probe docker image

  1. Open the Container Manager on Synology.
  2. Click on Registry on the menu tabs.
  3. Enter paessler/ in the search bar.
  4. Click on paessler/multi-platform-probe.
  5. Select a tag. If you want the most recent version, use the latest tag.
  6. Click Apply.

You can now find the multi-platform-probe image in the Image tab.

Step 2: Create a configuration file

We recommend that, before you create a container, you create a folder on your Synology to place all the multi-platform probe files in. You can place the configuration file in this folder, as well as any certificates or scripts you need to use.

  1. In your file station on your local system, organize where you want to place your multi-platform probe files. For example, you can use the path /docker/multi-platform-probe.
  2. In the multi-platform-probe folder, create a new configuration file following the guidelines in the Multi-Platform Probe for PRTG manual that contains the following:
    access_key:
nats:
  url:
  authentication:
    user:
    password:
  3. Save the configuration file as config.yml.

Step 3: Create a new container

  1. In the Container Manager, click Container.
  2. Click Create.
  3. Select the paessler/multi-platform-probe image.
  4. Enter a name for the container.
    Note: This is the name that PRTG uses for the multi-platform probe.
  5. Click Next.
  6. In Advanced Settings | Volume Settings, click Add Folder.
  7. Enter /config as the name of the folder and leave the access rights as Read/Write.
  8. (Optional) If you want to use custom scripts, add another folder with the following parameters:
    - Name: /opt/paessler/share/scripts
    - Access rights: Read only
  9. In Advanced Settings | Capabilities, click Configure capabilities.
  10. Enable both NET_ADMIN and NET_RAW and click Save.
  11. Click Next to finish.

Step 4: Approve probe in PRTG

Once you save the container in your Synology container manager, go to PRTG to approve the probe. Note: Do not click Approve and auto-discover. If you want to use auto-discovery with device templates, do so after you approve the probe.

You multi-platform probe is set up!

Reconfiguration

You can use environmental variables to rename your multi-platform probe or .....

Update

The container manager in Synology notifies you when there is an update available for an image. When you update an image, it updates all the containers that run with that image. This means that you can use the Synology container manager to update all of you multi-platform probe containers simultaneously.

  1. In Container Manager | Image, click on Update available next to the multi-platform-probe image.
  2. In the Update Image dialog box that pops up, you can see the current tag and the new tag that you will update to. You can also see a list of all the containers affected by the update.
  3. Click Update.
  4. Click Update on the warning pop-up that appears.

And you are done!