<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Update From Previous Versions

If you have a previous PRTG version installed, there are several things you need to consider before you update to the newest PRTG version. See also the system requirements for all requirements.

While in most cases, your monitoring data and configuration are maintained when you update PRTG, we still recommend that you have a backup of both. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: How do I back up all data and configuration of my PRTG installation?

In certain cases, antivirus software like Windows Defender interferes with the PRTG installer. This might cause high CPU load on the PRTG core server, which might prevent an update. Temporarily disable Windows Defender and other antivirus software if you have issues when you install PRTG updates.

On PRTG Hosted Monitor instances, updates are managed automatically, so you do not need to do them manually.

In this section:

Update to PRTG 22.2.77

As of PRTG 22.2.77, PRTG is signed with renewed certificates. To seamlessly update to any version as of PRTG 22.2.77, an intermediate update is required for the PRTG core server and all probes if you run a version previous to PRTG 22.1.75. If you auto-update from previous versions (lower than PRTG 22.1.75), PRTG automatically installs an intermediate version first. The intermediate version you receive via auto-update or from the Paessler support team is PRTG 22.1.75.1594. You must perform an additional auto-update to install the newest version. PRTG notifies you with a ticket about this. Your configuration is kept.

We recommend that you use the auto-update to install the newest PRTG version.

Update from PRTG 16.1.22 or later

If you run any version as of PRTG 16.1.22 or later, install the newest version on top of the previous version. Your configuration is kept. PRTG automatically updates remote probes as well. If you have configured PRTG as a failover cluster, you only need to install an update on any cluster node (master node or failover node). PRTG automatically deploys the new version to the cluster.

We recommend that you use the auto-update to install the newest version. Always make sure that you have a proper backup of your monitoring data.

Important notes:

PRTG 19.3.52: PRTG does not run on Windows XP anymore. Make sure that you install PRTG on an officially supported operating system.
PRTG 19.1.48: Sensors that require the .NET framework need .NET 4.7.2 or later. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: Which .NET version does PRTG require?
PRTG 18.3.43: PRTG does not run on Windows Server 2003 R2 anymore. Make sure that you install PRTG on an officially supported operating system.
PRTG 17.3.34: This version comes with a completely rewritten PRTG web interface. If you have customized the PRTG web interface with one of the dedicated files in a previous version, all your customizations are lost as soon as you install PRTG 17.3.34. You must redo your changes to keep the customizations. For more information, see the Knowledge Base: How can I re-brand and customize the PRTG web interface using CSS and JavaScript?
PRTG 16.3.26: The Mobile Web GUI was removed from PRTG.
PRTG 16.2.25: Several sensors were removed from PRTG.

Update from PRTG 13.1.1 through 16.1.21

As of PRTG 16.1.22, PRTG is signed with renewed certificates. To seamlessly update to PRTG 16.1.22 or later, an intermediate update is required for the PRTG core server and all probes if you run a version previous to PRTG 16.1.21.1691/1692. If you auto-update from previous versions (earlier than PRTG 16.1.21.1691/1692), PRTG automatically installs an intermediate version first. The intermediate version you receive via auto-update or from the Paessler support team is PRTG 16.1.21.1924. You must perform an additional auto-update to install the newest version. PRTG notifies you with a ticket about this. Your configuration is kept.

We recommend that you use the auto-update to install the newest PRTG version. If you update manually with an installer downloaded from the Paessler online shop, the intermediate update is only necessary if you run a version previous to PRTG 16.1.21.1691/1692 with one or more remote probes or in a cluster. If you do not perform this intermediate update, you must update your remote probes and cluster nodes manually. Contact the Paessler support team to get the installer for this version if you do not use the auto-update.

As of PRTG 14, Internet Explorer 9 is no longer officially supported for access to the PRTG web interface.
Also as of PRTG 14, PRTG core server and probes no longer officially support Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 (including SP1 and SP2).
As of PRTG 15, Internet Explorer 10 is no longer officially supported for access to the PRTG web interface.

Removed Sensors as of PRTG 16.2.25

We removed several sensors as of PRTG 16.2.25. Sensors of these types that you still use in your PRTG installation stop monitoring and show the Down status as soon as you update to any version as of PRTG 16.2.25. Most of the affected sensors were deprecated in PRTG 16.2.23 or before. PRTG notifies you with a ticket if your setup is affected.

The sensors concerned were used by very few users and/or created substantial load for both the Paessler support team and development team. We therefore decided to focus on features that many users use every day.

For a list of all discontinued sensors, possible alternatives, and more details about this approach, see the Knowledge Base: Which sensor types will you remove from PRTG and what are the alternatives?

PRTG Web Interface Customizations as of PRTG 13.2.3

As of PRTG 13.2.3, the website subfolder of the PRTG program directory is not used anymore. This means that if you update from a version older than PRTG 13.2.3 to the newest version, all customizations to the PRTG web interface are disabled and you must revise them. You might find a way for a similar customization that you can add to the files in the webroot subfolder that now contains the PRTG web interface files.

For more information, see the Knowledge Base: What about my web interface customizations as of PRTG 13.2.3?.

Update from PRTG 9 and 12

We strongly recommend that you perform a clean install of the newest PRTG version instead of updating from PRTG 9 or 12.

If you use PRTG 9 or 12 now, your configuration is kept when you install the newest PRTG version in Standalone Mode or when you install a master node. However, there are a few things you should consider.

We recommend that you always have a backup of your monitoring data.

Intermediate versions: You must install two intermediate versions before you can update to the newest version.

If you run PRTG 12.4.5.3164/3165 or lower, install the intermediate version PRTG 12.4.7.3507 before you proceed.
If you have installed version 12.4.7.3507, install the intermediate version PRTG 16.1.21 before you proceed. Afterward, you can seamlessly update to the newest version. For details about this intermediate update, see section Update from PRTG 13.1.1 through 16.1.21.
We recommend that you use the auto-update. In this case, PRTG automatically installs the intermediate versions. Run the auto-update three times if you come from a version previous to PRTG 12.4.7.3507, run it twice if you come from a version previous to PRTG 16.1.21.1691/1692. If you do not use the auto-update, contact the Paessler support team to get the installers for these intermediate versions.

Discontinued sensors: Instances of the following sensors stop working as of PRTG 12 and must be replaced with their successor sensors.

VMware Host Server (SOAP)
VMware Virtual Machine (SOAP)
Xen Virtual Machine

If your configuration contains these sensors, they stop monitoring after you update to the newest version. We recommend that you pause them to keep their data. To continue monitoring, add the sensors anew (for example, via the auto-discovery).

Install .NET 4.0: We strongly recommend that you install .NET 4.0 on every PRTG core server system (and remote probe system). Otherwise, the following features do not work: VMware auto-discovery and monitoring, Citrix XenServer auto-discovery and monitoring, SIP Options Ping sensor, Windows Last Update sensor (deprecated as of PRTG 16.x.23).
Changed Geo Maps provider: When you update to the newest version, the provider for geographical maps automatically switches from Google Maps to MapQuest (using Open Street Map data).
Windows 2000 not supported: As of PRTG 7, we do not officially support Windows 2000 systems anymore. This means that you cannot install PRTG on systems that run Windows 2000, and you cannot officially monitor Windows 2000 systems (for example, via WMI). However, if you were able to successfully monitor your Windows 2000 systems with PRTG 9, this might actually not be possible anymore with the newest version.

We recommend that you have a look at the system requirements before you update. Officially supported operating systems, browsers, and other requirements may have changed since PRTG 9.

Update from PRTG 7 or 8

We strongly recommend that you perform a clean install of the newest version instead of updating from PRTG 7 or 8.

If you use PRTG 7 or 8 now, you must update PRTG to intermediate versions first to ensure all data is transferred correctly. You cannot update to PRTG 15 or later directly from PRTG 7 or 8.

We recommend that you first update to the newest PRTG 8 version.
From the newest PRTG 8 version, update to PRTG version 9.
From PRTG 9, update to both intermediate versions PRTG 12.4.7.3507 and 16.1.21.1691/1692, then to the newest PRTG version.

Contact the Paessler support team to obtain download links for these versions. Always keep a proper backup of your configuration and monitoring data.

Updating from PRTG 7 or 8 to Newest PRTG Version

Packet Sniffer (Content) sensors are not supported anymore. Sensors of this type automatically switch to Packet Sniffer (Header) sensors after the update. As a benefit, you can now also sniff IPv6 traffic.
Internet Explorer 8 is no longer supported for access to the PRTG web interface.
You might experience a slow Enterprise Console (deprecated; former 'Windows GUI') because different reasons.
When you install a failover node on top of a standalone PRTG 7, 8, 9, 12, or 13+ installation, the configuration cannot be kept and is written to a backup folder. Afterward, the new configuration is received from the master node. As all cluster nodes work with the same configuration, a failover node's old configuration and monitoring data can no longer be used. If you want to keep a configuration of PRTG 7, install the master node on top of the old installation and use other servers for the failover node installations.

Since PRTG 9, SNMP sensors use the IPv4 outgoing IP set for the PRTG probe service (this setting was formerly ignored by those sensors, which used the automatic setting instead). If you experience sensors that fail, check the setting in the probe settings.
If you (manually) configured the PRTG probe service or PRTG core server service to run under a different Windows user account (for example, for successful internet access through an ISA server firewall), apply the respective Windows user account for the PRTG probe service and/or PRTG core server service again after you install the newest PRTG version.
For system requirements for the PRTG core server and probes, see section System Requirements.
If you use the default data path in your PRTG setup, it is changed automatically. Up to PRTG 8, all data was stored in a subfolder that reflected a PRTG version number (v7 or v8). As of PRTG 9, this subfolder is omitted, and data is stored directly in %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application data\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor. During setup, all data is moved to the new directory. If you use a custom data path, it is not changed.
Up to PRTG 8, all data in the registry was stored in a subkey that reflected a PRTG version number (v7 or v8). As of PRTG 9, this subkey is omitted and registry data is stored directly under the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor (on 32-bit systems), respectively HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Paessler\PRTG Network Monitor (on 64-bit systems). During setup, all registry values are moved to the new key.

We strongly recommend that you see the system requirements before you update to the newest version. Officially supported operating systems, browsers, and other requirements may have changed since PRTG 8.

Updating from PRTG 7 to Newest PRTG Version

Regarding custom sensors, the interpretation of returned values is handled more strictly as of PRTG 8. If you use custom sensors with PRTG 7, these may not work with the newest PRTG version if they do not fully apply to the API definition.

Update from Older PRTG Products

For all other previous products, a direct data import to the newest version is not possible.

If you use IPCheck 5 or PRTG Traffic Grapher 6, perform a clean installation of PRTG and set up your configuration anew. Use the auto-discovery to quickly configure monitoring of your entire network.

For more information, see section Quick Start Guide.

Knowledge Base