This article explains how to move an installation of PRTG Network Monitor to another computer. The instructions are valid for a standalone installation, or for the Masternode, when running PRTG in failover clustering mode.
PRTG Network Monitor writes data to several locations:
If you run PRTG in failover cluster mode, the instructions in this article apply to aMaster node core server.
If you plan to move a Failover node core server to another system, you can follow the procedure of this article as well. However, if you can afford losing your Failover node's data, it is an easier way to install a completely new Failover node and join the cluster. The new Failover node will receive the monitoring configuration from the Master node automatically. The only procedure additionally necessary beforehand: Log in to the Master node's web interface and navigate to Setup | System Administration | Cluster. Delete the entry of the Failover node that you want to remove from the cluster. Save your settings.
Check PRTG and Windows Version
In order to successfully move a PRTG installation, make sure you install the same PRTG build on source and target computer! You may have to update the source computer to the latest PRTG version before proceeding.
If you want to transfer PRTG from a 32bit Windows to another 32bit Windows, or from 64bit to 64bit, please follow the steps below.
If you want to transfer PRTG from a 32bit Windows to a 64bit Windows, or vice versa, then you have to perform some steps manually:
In order to migrate an installation from a source computer to a target computer the following steps are necessary:
Step 1: Install PRTG on the target system
Warning: Please make sure you have a proper system backup before manipulating the Windows registry!
Note: If you migrate PRTG from a 32bit to a 64bit Windows, the following instructions will not work. Please see Step 6a in this case.
Warning: Please make sure you have a proper system backup before manipulating the Windows registry!
Note: If you migrate PRTG from a 32bit to a 64bit Windows, the following instructions will not work. Please see Step 6a in this case.
If you move your PRTG installation from a 32bit Windows to a 64bit Windows, registry export and import as described in steps 5 and 6 will not work. You have to copy the settings manually:
Step 7: Only When Using Remote Probes: Check Core Server Settings
On the target system, please open the "PRTG Server Administrator" program. In theCore Server tab, make sure the settings for Probe Connection Management are correct: If you use Remote Probes, this setting must not be set to the first (default) option, but you must allow connections from remote probes; either on all IPs, or on specific IPs you define here.
Note: This step is necessary, because the import of registry settings does not always work flawlessly here, depending on the Windows version used.
Step 8: Check Data Path
On the target system, please open the "PRTG Server Administrator" program. In theCore Server tab, make sure the folder for Local Storage of Data Files and Monitoring Database matches the path you copied the data to (in Step 4). Change the setting to the correct path, if necessary.
Step 9 (optional): Adjust settings of existing Remote Probe installations
After a migration you may need to look at the following aspects, depending on your configuration.
If the IP Address of the Server Has Changed
PRTG Network Monitor writes data to several locations:
- Into the program directory (core installation)
- Into the data folder (monitoring configuration, monitoring data, logs, etc.)
- Into the registry (license key, admin login, IP settings, etc.)
If you run PRTG in failover cluster mode, the instructions in this article apply to aMaster node core server.
If you plan to move a Failover node core server to another system, you can follow the procedure of this article as well. However, if you can afford losing your Failover node's data, it is an easier way to install a completely new Failover node and join the cluster. The new Failover node will receive the monitoring configuration from the Master node automatically. The only procedure additionally necessary beforehand: Log in to the Master node's web interface and navigate to Setup | System Administration | Cluster. Delete the entry of the Failover node that you want to remove from the cluster. Save your settings.
Check PRTG and Windows Version
In order to successfully move a PRTG installation, make sure you install the same PRTG build on source and target computer! You may have to update the source computer to the latest PRTG version before proceeding.
If you want to transfer PRTG from a 32bit Windows to another 32bit Windows, or from 64bit to 64bit, please follow the steps below.
If you want to transfer PRTG from a 32bit Windows to a 64bit Windows, or vice versa, then you have to perform some steps manually:
- either a manual modification of registry keys (i.e. (re)move the "Paessler" branch from/to the "Wow6432Node" node)
- or a manual transfer of the settings of both the "PRTG Server Administrator" and the "PRTG Probe Administrator" tools from the old to the new system (instead of performing Step 5 and Step 6 of this guide). Please see Step 6a.
In order to migrate an installation from a source computer to a target computer the following steps are necessary:
Step 1: Install PRTG on the target system
- Requires you to enter the license key and to activate the software. As long as the old installation is active this license will run as freeware.
- Both systems: In the "PRTG Server Administrator" program choose the "Start/Stop" tab and click on "Stop Core Server"
- Both systems: In the "PRTG Probe Administrator" program choose the "Start/Stop" tab and click on "Stop Probe Service"
- Both systems: In the "PRTG Server Administrator" program choose the “Core Server” tab and click on "Local Storage of Data Files and Monitoring Database"
- Overwrite all files on the target system
- Note: The following folders are not necessary for the migration:
- Configuration Auto-Backups
- Logs (System)
- Logs (Debug)
- Logs (Web Server)
- Report PDFs Consider copying the Monitoring-Database Folder prior to starting the entire move, depending on the number of sensors the Monitoring Database could be quite large and so the copy-process could take quite a while.
Warning: Please make sure you have a proper system backup before manipulating the Windows registry!
Note: If you migrate PRTG from a 32bit to a 64bit Windows, the following instructions will not work. Please see Step 6a in this case.
- On the old system, open the Windows registry editor and navigate to the PRTG registry key. The exact location varies, depending on the Windows operating system installed (32bit vs. 64bit).
Code:
32bit:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor
Code:
64bit:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor- Right-click on PRTG Network Monitor and Export the selected branch to a *.reg file. Save the file to a USB stick or network share.
- Note: The new PRTG server will use the same IP address as your existing server. Please make sure the new server actually owns the old IP addresses, and shut down the old server. If you need to change the IP address during migration, so the new server owns a different IP address, please follow the additional notes in the “After Migration” section below.
Warning: Please make sure you have a proper system backup before manipulating the Windows registry!
Note: If you migrate PRTG from a 32bit to a 64bit Windows, the following instructions will not work. Please see Step 6a in this case.
- On the new system, make sure the installed Windows version matches the one of the old system, regarding the bit version. That means, if the old system ran a 32bit Windows, make sure that the Windows version on the new server is 32bit, too. Or 64bit, accordingly. Note: If you want to import settings from a 32bit Windows to a 64bit Windows version (or vice versa), please change the branch of the registry settings manually; we do not officially support this procedure.
- Import the PRTG settings to the Windows registry of the new server, for example, by double-clicking the *.reg file you exported on the old server.
- Note: The new PRTG server will use the same IP address as your existing server. Please make sure the new server actually owns the old IP addresses, and shut down the old server. If you need to change the IP address during migration, so the new server owns a different IP address, please follow the additional notes in the “After Migration” section below.
If you move your PRTG installation from a 32bit Windows to a 64bit Windows, registry export and import as described in steps 5 and 6 will not work. You have to copy the settings manually:
- Open PRTG Server Administrator on both the source (old) and the target (new) system.
- Open PRTG Probe Administrator on both the source and the target system.
- Manually transfer the settings from the source to the target system.
- Ensure that you copy all settings!
Step 7: Only When Using Remote Probes: Check Core Server Settings
On the target system, please open the "PRTG Server Administrator" program. In theCore Server tab, make sure the settings for Probe Connection Management are correct: If you use Remote Probes, this setting must not be set to the first (default) option, but you must allow connections from remote probes; either on all IPs, or on specific IPs you define here.
Note: This step is necessary, because the import of registry settings does not always work flawlessly here, depending on the Windows version used.
Step 8: Check Data Path
On the target system, please open the "PRTG Server Administrator" program. In theCore Server tab, make sure the folder for Local Storage of Data Files and Monitoring Database matches the path you copied the data to (in Step 4). Change the setting to the correct path, if necessary.
Step 9 (optional): Adjust settings of existing Remote Probe installations
- This step is only necessary if your PRTG configuration uses Remote Probes and if the IP address of the core server changes during this migration
- Connect to each Remote Probe system, open the "PRTG Probe Administrator" program and enter the new IP address of the target server
- You might also need to change settings in the PRTG web interface so your new installation accepts incoming remote probe connections (on all IP addresses, if applicable). Please change settings under Setup | System Administration | Core & Probes.
- Target system: In the "PRTG Server Administrator" program choose the "Start/Stop" tab and click on "Start Core Server"
- Target system: In the "PRTG Probe Administrator" program choose the "Start/Stop" tab and click on "Start Probe Service"
- Check if the migration was successful.
- We recommend you always keep your systems up to date.
After a migration you may need to look at the following aspects, depending on your configuration.
If the IP Address of the Server Has Changed
- The PRTG core server automatically switched its web server to “localhost”. In order to make the web interface available again under the IP address of the core server, please open the “PRTG Server Administrator” and change settings in the “Web Server” tab accordingly.
- If the IP address of the server changed you may need to change firewall settings and/or NAT settings which apply to the old address
- If you use a SMTP relay server for email delivery out of PRTG you may need to allow relaying for the new IP address
- When running a PRTG cluster: If the IP address of the server changed, please open the PRTG web interface of the Master node and navigate to Setup | System Administration | Cluster.
- If you moved a Master node: Change the IP address entry of the master node, so existing Failover nodes are able to re-connect to the new server.
- If you moved a Failover node: Change the IP address entry of the failover node, so the Master node is able to re-connect to the new failover server.
- Please navigate to Setup | System Administration | User Interface ("System & Website" in previous versions) and check the DNS Name field. Make sure you enter the same DNS Name you used before, so all existing links to public Maps and all connections configured in clients' Enterprise Consoles continue working.
- If relevant in your network, you should go to the Notification Delivery tab and check the HELO Ident field. Make sure it uses a value that is accepted by your mail server.
- The following folders may contain your own custom files which must also be moved to the new system. The given paths are for a standard installation of PRTG:
- Custom sensor files:
C:\Program Files\PRTG Network Monitor\Custom Sensors - Webserver certificate:
C:\Program Files\PRTG Network Monitor\cert - Device templates:
C:\Program Files\PRTG Network Monitor\devicetemplates - SNMP oidlib libraries:
C:\Program Files\PRTG Network Monitor\snmplibs - Custom notifications:
C:\Program Files\PRTG Network Monitor\Notifications - Custom Maps objects:
C:\Program Files\PRTG Network Monitor\website\mapobjects - Custom Maps background images:
C:\Program Files\PRTG Network Monitor\website\mapbackground
- Custom sensor files: