Prerequisites:

1. PRTG Installation: Ensure PRTG Network Monitor is installed and running in your environment.
2. Access to Container Environment: You need access to the containerized environment you want to monitor, including Docker, Kubernetes, or other container orchestration platforms.
3. Administrator Access: Obtain administrative access to configure sensors and settings in PRTG.

Setting Up Container Monitoring:

1. Add Container Host(s): In PRTG, navigate to "Devices" and add the host(s) where your containers are running. This could be the physical or virtual host running Docker, Kubernetes cluster, etc.
2. Install Docker or Kubernetes Sensors: If you're monitoring Docker containers, add the "Docker Container" sensor. For Kubernetes, use the "Kubernetes" sensor. Go to "Add Sensor" > "By Type" > Search for "Docker" or "Kubernetes" > Select the appropriate sensor.
3. Configure Sensor Parameters: Define the parameters for monitoring, including container resource usage metrics such as CPU, memory, disk, and network utilization.
4. Authentication: Provide necessary authentication details to access the Docker or Kubernetes API.
5. Test Configuration: Verify that the sensors can successfully retrieve container resource usage metrics from the host(s).

Monitoring Container Resource Usage:

1. Real-time Monitoring: Access the PRTG dashboard to view real-time updates on container resource usage metrics.
2. Historical Analysis: Utilize PRTG's reporting and historical data features to analyze past trends in container resource utilization.
3. Alerting: Set up alerts to notify administrators when container resource usage exceeds predefined thresholds. Configure alerts for CPU, memory, disk, and network usage to proactively address performance issues.
4. Customization: Customize dashboards and reports to focus on specific container resource usage metrics that are most relevant to your organization.

Best Practices:

1. Right-sizing: Use PRTG's monitoring data to right-size containers, ensuring optimal resource allocation and cost efficiency.
2. Capacity Planning: Utilize historical data to forecast future resource requirements and plan capacity upgrades accordingly.
3. Performance Optimization: Identify performance bottlenecks and optimize container resource usage based on monitoring insights.
4. Security Monitoring: Monitor container security metrics alongside resource usage to ensure compliance and mitigate security risks.
5. Integration: Integrate PRTG with container orchestration platforms and other monitoring tools for a unified view of your entire infrastructure.

Troubleshooting:

1. Connection Issues: Ensure that PRTG can establish connections to the container hosts and access the Docker or Kubernetes API.
2. Sensor Configuration: Double-check sensor settings, including authentication details and monitoring parameters.
3. Resource Exhaustion: Investigate resource exhaustion issues on container hosts if sensors report consistently high resource usage.
4. Compatibility: Ensure that PRTG supports the version of Docker or Kubernetes you're using and update PRTG if necessary.
5. Performance Tuning: Optimize PRTG server resources to handle monitoring data from a large number of containers efficiently.

By leveraging PRTG Network Monitor to track container resource usage and performance, you can gain valuable insights into your containerized environment's health and efficiency. Real-time monitoring, historical analysis, and proactive alerting enable you to optimize resource allocation, ensure scalability, and maintain optimal performance of your containerized applications.