19 November 2018

Sigfox has teamed up with network monitoring specialist Paessler to help customers more effectively monitor and manage their critical IT infrastructure and assets in the IoT.

As part of the partnership, Paessler has delivered its PRTG Network Monitor. Available in both hosted and on premise versions, Paessler’s says PRTG enables IT administrators as well as IoT teams and integrators to see exactly what is happening in real-time across their infrastructure, including networks, systems, hardware, applications and devices.

Sigfox is using the system to visualise the functionality and measurement data from its IT infrastructure sensors, as well as from other objects, devices and machines that are equipped with or support its connectivity.

Paessler says the solution leverages two methods to initiate Sigfox messages to PRTG: callback, where data is sent immediately to the network monitoring system via push; and API, where PRTG requests data in predefined intervals from Sigfox connected devices.

The Germany-based vendor adds that “highly customisable” dashboards can be configured to show exactly what is important, from the overall health of the network, to granular details like the speed of fans in particular servers. PRTG generates alerts or notifications whenever any predetermined performance thresholds of the user’s choosing are met, and also features the ability to automatically launch applications that provide a fix.

As part of the collaboration between both companies, Paessler is actively participating in the Sigfox Partner Network, while Sigfox is contributing to Paessler’s recently launched Uptime Alliance partner programme (see News, May issue).

Sigfox’s global IoT network is designed to connect billions of devices via its LPWAN (low power wide area network). This is expected to be available in 60 countries by the end of 2018.

“Our customers can virtually eliminate the overhead associated with connectivity, including the costs of the smart sensors and objects themselves,” says Sigfox Germany CEO Vincent Sabot. “And with Paessler, our customers gain a single dashboard from which to monitor the connected devices and sensors that comprise their internet of things.”