PendingUpdates.ps1
Write-Output "$PendingCount
function Cleanup return $true switch ($action) "init" Init "update" Update "cleanup" Cleanup softprober plugins
Write a one-line PowerShell plugin that returns Get-Random -Min 0 -Max 100 . Configure it to update every second. Watch SoftProber draw a live random walk graph. Then replace that random number with your most critical business metric — and you’ll never look at static dashboards the same way again.
function Update status # Status can be OK, WARNING, CRITICAL if ($PendingCount -eq 0) $status = "OK" elseif ($PendingCount -le 5) $status = "WARNING" else $status = "CRITICAL" PendingUpdates
Place this script in plugins\scripts\ , add a corresponding .ini with Interval=3600 (once per hour), and SoftProber will immediately display a gauge showing pending updates. Multi-Metric Plugins A single plugin can return multiple metrics by writing to a shared memory block or returning a JSON array. Example: a MySQL plugin that returns queries per second, slow queries, and thread count in one execution. Stateful Plugins Plugins can maintain state between updates (e.g., storing last value to compute delta, or caching a session token). SoftProber provides a plugin_state folder where plugins can read/write small files without interfering with each other. Alert Correlation Plugins can raise “soft” alerts with metadata. For instance, a log file plugin detecting ERROR in a log can return:
However, its true strength lies in its . SoftProber, by itself, monitors standard performance counters. Plugins transform it into a universal data collector, capable of pulling metrics from virtually any source — a custom application, a weather station, a database, or an industrial controller. The Philosophy Behind the Plugin Architecture SoftProber’s plugin model follows a simple but powerful principle: “Monitor anything that can produce a number, a status, or a string.” Then replace that random number with your most
param($action, $configPath) function Init # Load config if needed return $true
Introduction: What is SoftProber? Before diving into its plugin architecture, it is essential to understand the host application. SoftProber is a powerful, real-time system and network monitoring utility designed primarily for Windows environments, though its agents and probes can extend to Linux, macOS, and network devices via SNMP. Unlike heavier solutions like PRTG or Nagios, SoftProber is lightweight, agent-based, and highly visual, offering a dashboard that updates live with CPU loads, memory usage, disk I/O, network throughput, and process-level details.