Paessler Blog - All about IT, Monitoring, and PRTG

The Multi-Platform Probe now supports ARM based devices

Written by Michael Becker | Mar 14, 2022

Over a year ago we introduced the Multi-Platform Probe, which allows you to install this probe additionally on non Windows-based platforms like Ubuntu, Debian and CentOS.

Since PRTG version 22.1.74, which we released on February 1st, the Multi-Platform Probe now supports ARM based systems with either ARMv7 or AARCH64 architecture. My colleague Sascha also announced this in his article โ€œFirst steps with the new Paessler PRTG Multi-Platform Probeโ€. This enables you to deploy your probe on systems like Raspberry Pi, AWS EC2 with Graviton CPU, and NAS systems, for example.

Let's talk about ARM

ARM is the industry's leading supplier of microprocessor technology (ARM processor), offering the widest range of microprocessor cores to address the performance, power and cost requirements for almost all application markets. Combining a vibrant ecosystem with over 1000 partners delivering silicon, development tools and software, and more than 30 billion processors sold, with more than 16 million sold every day, ARM truly is "The Architecture for the Digital Worldยฎ"

Most of you use ARM based CPUs every day, in your smartwatch, smartphone or tablet. However ARM CPUs have outgrown this market and now compete directly with x86/x64 CPUs in some ways. The biggest news is certainly Apple's switch to using Apple Silicon CPUs in their MacBooks or AWS' development of ARM CPUs for use in their cloud offering called AWS Graviton.

Supported systems

By supporting ARM with our Multi-Platform Probe we also enable you to reduce power consumption and therefore reduce costs. Here's an overview of the currently supported systems you can use:

CPU Devices

 

ARMv7

Raspberry Pi 2/3

BeagleBone Black

etc.

 

 

AARCH64

AWS Graviton

Raspberry Pi 3/4

Gateways / Routers from
Insys, Moxa, Cisco, etc.

ARM based NAS server, etc.

We have now released versions of NATS and the Multi-Platform Probe that run on 64-bit and 32-bit ARM systems. That means the new Probe will run on just about anything and can run on much cheaper CPU architecture, which not only allows it to run without licensing costs, but also with minimal power costs!

You can find the latest binaries and scripts in our KB article:

๐Ÿ‘‰ What is the Multi-Platform Probe and how can I use it?

Supported platforms

The installation of the Multi-Platform Probe can currently be performed on the following platforms:

iPlease Note

We are currently suspending development of Multi-Platform Probe for Windows. For Microsoft operating systems, please continue to use the remote probe.

๐Ÿ‘‰ For more information, please see the Multi-Platform Probe Release Notes.

  • Microsoft: Windows Server 2016 and later (x64)
  • Microsoft: Windows 10 and later (x64)
  • Linux: Ubuntu, Debian, Raspberry PI OS, RHEL/CentOS (glibc > version 2.28) (x64, ARM32, ARM64)
  • Linux Container (Docker)

Supported sensors

๐Ÿ‘† As the Multi-Platform Probe is in a beta phase, unexpected issues and behavior can occur and therefore we do not recommend using the features on your production system. However, we encourage you to test the new features and share your feedback with us which allows you to contribute to the further development.

๐Ÿ‘‰ roadmap@paessler.com

While the number of sensors that can currently be used is still limited, the following sensor types are already available:

  • Beckhoff IPC System Health
  • Cloud HTTP v2 & Ping v2
  • DNS v2
  • Modbus sensors
  • MQTT sensors
  • OPC UA sensors
  • and more

A continuously updated overview of all supported sensors can also be found in this knowledge base article:

๐Ÿ‘‰ What is the Multi-Platform Probe and how can I use it?

A look into the future

Our developers are currently working on further sensors. In the upcoming releases, we will introduce support for meta-scans and other features. This extends the available sensors on the probes by the following sensor families:

  • Azure
  • AWS
  • FortiGate
  • Redfish
  • Veeam

You can always find a current overview of the supported sensors in this KB article.

We appreciate your feedback

Although the functions of the Multi-Platform Probe are still very limited at the moment, it is very important for us to share the current development status with you as early as possible. To get more insights into your needs, we highly appreciate your feedback!
Share your input with us in the Multi-Platform Probe survey:

๐Ÿ‘‰ Take the survey here ๐Ÿ‘ˆ

Of course, we are also happy about every comment you leave us under this article!