Key points
- Using native RMM policies: Set threshold-based alerts (CPU >85%, RAM >90%, disk space <10%, SMART failures) using built-in RMM templates for standardized monitoring across all devices.
- PowerShell scripts: Query real-time CPU, memory, and disk health directly, then log threshold breaches to the Windows Event Log for centralized RMM tracking.
- Group Policy enforcement: Configure centralized logging and performance alerts via Group Policy Management for domain-connected Windows devices.
- RMM Platforms Give Real-time Visibility into Device Health: They detect hardware failures early and trigger automated alerts before problems reach end users.
This guide provides examples for IT administrators and managed service providers (MSPs) to monitor client hardware health metrics using remote monitoring and management (RMM) platforms.
It includes advice and example PowerShell scripts to create automated health checks consistent across devices, providing information to send alerts when critical thresholds are reached.
Undetected hardware degradation leads to unexpected downtime and costly repairs.
Why you need to remotely monitor client hardware health in enterprise environments
Businesses depend on their IT infrastructure. From underspecced devices running out of resources (for example, insufficient RAM, disk space, or a weak CPU), to hardware failures and damaged devices, monitoring hardware health allows you to proactively resolve end-user problems and ensure that productivity isn’t affected. Hardware failure can lead to data loss and cause compliance issues and costly downtime.
Using RMM platforms to remotely monitor client hardware health provides MSPs with real-time visibility into their clients’ device performance. This enables them to detect early warning signs of hardware failure, resolve problems before they impact business operations, and enhance their reputation with customers.
The key hardware health metrics you should monitor include:
- CPU usage and thermal status
- Memory (RAM) usage and availability
- Disk health (SMART status, capacity thresholds, I/O errors)
- Storage utilization trends
To set up active client hardware health metrics with your chosen RMM platform, you’ll need:
- An active RMM platform (for example: NinjaOne, N-able, Atera, or Datto RMM)
- RMM agent deployed to target endpoints
- Administrator privileges for script execution
- PowerShell support on monitored endpoints
You can also optionally leverage WMI, WinRM, and/or SNMP (for legacy systems) to extend hardware data collection.
Method 1: Using RMM native hardware monitoring templates
Most RMM platforms provide policy templates for monitoring hardware health and resource utilization. The details will vary between RMM products, but will broadly follow these steps:
- Navigate to Monitoring Policies or Condition Templates in your RMM tool
- Create or modify a template to include:
- CPU usage threshold (e.g., >85% for 5 minutes)
- RAM usage threshold (e.g., >90% of physical memory)
- Disk free space threshold (e.g., <10% on system volume)
- SMART failure detection for supported drives
- Set actions to take on a threshold breach, such as sending an alert, running a remediation script, or opening a support ticket
- Assign template to devices, groups, or sites
By using your RMM platform to deploy policies, you can ensure that monitoring across all clients is standardized, and covers all required metrics.
Method 2: Using PowerShell to query hardware metrics
If your RMM does not support collecting the required metrics, or if you wish to script your own solution entirely, you can use PowerShell to access granular real-time hardware information. Note that SMART data availability depends on the underlying hardware and may not be accessible in virtual environments.
Check CPU usage in PowerShell by running the command:
(Get-Counter ‘\Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time’).CounterSamples.CookedValue
Check available memory by running the command:
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem | Select-Object FreePhysicalMemory, TotalVisibleMemorySize
Check disk free space and health by running:
Get-PSDrive -PSProvider ‘FileSystem’ | Select-Object Name, Used, Free
Get-PhysicalDisk | Get-StorageReliabilityCounter | Select-Object DeviceId, Temperature, Wear, ReadErrorsUncorrected, WriteErrorsUncorrected
If an issue is detected, you can then generate a Windows Event Log. This example shows raising a log if high CPU usage is detected:
if ($cpu -gt 85) {
Write-EventLog -LogName Application -Source “HardwareMonitor” -EventID 1501 -EntryType Warning -Message “High CPU usage detected”
}
By writing to the Windows Event Log, you can utilize RMM or other monitoring tools to track specific events, providing a centralized location to monitor them.
Method 3: Using Group Policy to enforce logging and resource alerts
Windows Group Policy allows you to centrally configure domain-connected Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices, including enabling performance logging:
- Open Group Policy Management Console
- Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Performance Logs and Alerts
- Configure the individual settings for Data Collector Sets, Logging policies for CPU, memory, disk, and Audit settings for low disk events
IT staff waste hours manually checking device statuses across their networks.
Additional considerations and troubleshooting
When building scripts to feed device health data to your RMM solution, consider virtual environments as well. Keep track of both host-level performance and incorporate virtualized hardware monitoring.
Consider the type of device you wish to monitor as well. Mobile devices may limit direct hardware access, while some storage devices may not support SMART. Additionally, lightweight devices may have their performance affected by heavy RMM/monitoring clients or too frequent polling.
Common failures in remote client hardware health monitoring include missing data (often due to an inactive RMM agent), script failures resulting from insufficient permissions, inadequate log retention, and thresholds that lead to false positives.
Beyond hardware health monitoring with intelligent RMM tools
NinjaOne RMM provides robust remote hardware monitoring without the need for complex script configuration. It includes hardware monitoring policies to track CPU, RAM, and disk usage with threshold-based alerts. Furthermore, it incorporates SMART status support to proactively identify data storage failures, custom scripting, alert-based automation, and device inventory (including collecting hardware specifications).
Everything is reported and managed through a central web dashboard, featuring unified alerts via email or push notifications, so hardware issues are detected before they can cause data loss and impact productivity. For MSPs, this enables them to scale up and manage more clients and devices while maintaining efficient, focused teams.
Quick-Start Guide
NinjaOne provides robust hardware health monitoring capabilities through several features:
1. Device Health Monitoring
– The dashboard offers a comprehensive Device Health Issues widget that tracks:
– The servers that are currently down – Devices with active threats – Devices with failed/pending patches – Devices with specific conditions – Pending reboots – Backup job statuses
2. Performance Metrics
– NinjaOne can monitor system performance, including:
– CPU usage – Memory utilization – Disk performance – Network metrics
3. Patch Management
– Detailed patch management dashboard shows:
– Patch installation status – Failed patches – Patch compliance – Vulnerability data
4. Network Management
– Network Management System (NMS) allows monitoring of:
– Network device health – Device uptime – Configuration backups
5. Automated Monitoring
– Supports creating custom conditions and alerts– Can generate notifications based on specific hardware health thresholds
