# The Cacti Manual

## Installation

### Requirements

Cacti requires that the following software is installed on your system.

- RRDTool 1.0.49 or greater, 1.4+ recommended

- MySQL 5.x or greater

- PHP 5.1 or greater

- Web Server that supports PHP e.g. Apache or IIS

### Installing Under Unix

Please make sure, the following packages are installed according to your operating systems requirements. Verify, that httpd and mysqld are started at system startup.

#### Required Packages for RPM-based Operating Systems

- `httpd`

- `php`

- `php-mysql`

- `php-snmp`

- `mysql`

- `mysql-server`

- `net-snmp`

#### Ports for FreeBSD

- `www/apache2`

- `net/rrdtool`

- `net/net-snmp`

- `www/php-cgi`

- `lang/php` (With MySQL and SNMP Support)

- `databases/mysql-server`

#### Configure PHP

Please ensure, that PHP support is either builtin or installed for the following PHP extension modules:

- PDO

- pdo-mysql

- snmp (Optional, but recommended)

- xml

- session

- posix (Linux only)

- sockets

- ldap

- json

- pcre

- mbstring

- openssl

- gd

- zlib

- gmp (Recommened for plugins)

- com_dotnet (Windows PHP 5.4.5+)

You may run the following command to get the list of all available PHP modules

    php -m

Please verify, that the modules are installed and configured correctly. There are several ways to do so, please consult PHP configuration instructions for a complete description.

We will continue using the most recommended way of configuring php extension modules. Please find the file `/etc/php.ini` and make the following changes to it:

    extension_dir = /etc/php.d

This will enable PHP to find more configuration directives in that very directory. Other distros point to `/usr/lib/php/modules` instead. In each case, you should locate e.g. `mysql.so` in that directory.

Activate the MySQL extension via /etc/php.d/mysql.ini

    ; Enable mysql extension module
    extension=mysql.so

Activate the SNMP extension via /etc/php.d/snmp.ini

    ; Enable snmp extension module
    extension=snmp.so

If you want to allow template importing, uncomment the following line:

    file_uploads = On

#### Configure the Webserver (Apache)

Please find the file `/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf` or equivalent and make the following changes to it:

    # Load config files from the config directory "/etc/httpd/conf.d".
    Include conf.d/*.conf

Now, please locate the PHP configuration file at `/etc/httpd/conf.d/php.conf`

    # PHP is an HTML-embedded scripting language which attempts to make it
    # easy for developers to write dynamically generated webpages.
    LoadModule php_module modules/libphp.so
    #
    # Cause the PHP interpreter to handle files with a .php extension.
    AddHandler php-script .php
    AddType text/html .php
    #
    # Add index.php to the list of files that will be served as directory
    # indexes.
    DirectoryIndex index.php

#### Configure MySQL

Set a password for the root user

    shell> mysqladmin --user=root password somepassword
    shell> mysqladmin --user=root --password reload

Galera clustering: There are several tables which are set to use the MEMORY storage engine which do not get replicated among nodes which can cause problems. If you configure Cacti to only connect to one node of your cluster and are not load balancing this does not apply to you.

If you are running multiple nodes in a load-balanced environment where you connect to a VIP you should remove all but one node from rotation during Cacti installation or update. After the installation/update login to your MySQL server and execute the following commands to update those tables to use the InnoDB engine:

    							MariaDB [(none)]> use cacti;
    							MariaDB [cacti]>> ALTER TABLE `automation_ips` ENGINE=InnoDB;
    							MariaDB [cacti]>> ALTER TABLE `automation_processes` ENGINE=InnoDB;
    							MariaDB [cacti]>> ALTER TABLE `data_source_stats_hourly_cache` ENGINE=InnoDB;
    							MariaDB [cacti]>> ALTER TABLE `data_source_stats_hourly_last` ENGINE=InnoDB;
    							MariaDB [cacti]>> ALTER TABLE `poller_output` ENGINE=InnoDB;
    							MariaDB [cacti]>> ALTER TABLE `poller_output_boost_processes` ENGINE=InnoDB;

These changes should replicate to the other nodes in your cluster. Allow Cacti to run at least two or three full polling cycles before placing the other nodes back into rotation.

#### Install and Configure Cacti

1. Extract the distribution tarball.

       shell> tar xzvf cacti-version.tar.gz

2. Create the MySQL database:

       shell> mysqladmin --user=root create cacti

3. Import the default cacti database:

       shell> mysql cacti < cacti.sql

4. Optional: Create a MySQL username and password for Cacti.

       shell> mysql --user=root mysql
       mysql> GRANT ALL ON cacti.* TO cactiuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'somepassword';
       mysql> flush privileges;

5. Edit `include/config.php` and specify the database type, name, host, user and password for your Cacti configuration.

       $database_type = "mysql";
       $database_default = "cacti";
       $database_hostname = "localhost";
       $database_username = "cactiuser";
       $database_password = "cacti";

6. Set the appropriate permissions on cacti's directories for graph/log generation. You should execute these commands from inside cacti's directory to change the permissions.

       shell> chown -R cactiuser rra/ log/

   (Enter a valid username for cactiuser, this user will also be used in the next step for data gathering.)

7. Add a line to your `/etc/crontab` file similar to:

       */5 * * * * cactiuser php /var/www/html/cacti/poller.php > /dev/null 2>&1

   Replace cactiuser with the valid user specified in the previous step.

   Replace `/var/www/html/cacti/` with your full Cacti path.

8. Point your web browser to:

   > http://your-server/cacti/

   Log in the with a username/password of admin. You will be required to change this password immediately. Make sure to fill in all of the path variables carefully and correctly on the following screen.

#### (Optional) Install and Configure Spine

Spine is a very fast poller engine, written in C. It is an optional replacement for cmd.php. If you decide to use it, you will have to install it explicitely. It does not come with cacti itself.

The easiest way is to install Spine using rpm or ports. You will find packages for Spine at the main cacti site or from your distribution.

To compile Spine, please download it to any location of your liking. Then, please issue from the downloaded directory following commands

    shell>aclocal

    shell>libtoolize --force  (glibtoolize --force on Max OS)

    shell>autoheader

    shell>autoconf

    shell>automake

    shell>./configure

    shell>make

    shell>make install

Assuming, you've managed to install Spine correctly, you will have to configure it. The configuration file may be placed in the same directory as Spine itself or at /etc/Spine.conf.

    DB_Host	127.0.0.1 or hostname (not localhost)
    DB_Database	cacti
    DB_User		cactiuser
    DB_Password	cacti
    DB_Port		3306

#### Apply Patches

Please visit the Cacti website at http://www.cacti.net/download_patches.php If any patch has been released, you will find installation instructions there.

As an example, please find patch installation instructions for cacti 0.8.8 here. Do not apply those patches to recent releases!

    wget http://www.cacti.net/downloads/patches/0.8.8a/snmpv3_priv_proto_none.patch
    				patch -p1 -N < snmpv3_priv_proto_none.patch

You might need to reapply file/folder security on the files patched. Double check they are correct.

Please pay attention not to break cacti when using SELinux or using NTFS file security. If you encounter

`PHP Warning: include_once(./lib/html_tree.php) [<a href='function.include-once'>function.include-once</a>]: failed to open stream: Permission denied in /var/www/cacti/graphs.php on line 33, referer: http://localhost/cacti/graphs.php`

or the like, it is very likely that your permissions are wrong.

### Installing Under Windows

### Software Components Required

1. (Optional) Apache> - This software is optional if running Windows Internet Information Server.

2. Cacti - Install from the zip distribution and install in the web root or your choice. Many choose to install into a "Cacti" sub folder.

3. Spine - Install from the zip distribution into the `c:\cacti` directory. Make sure your `spine.conf.dist` is located in that directory as well.

4. RRDTool - Install from the Cacti website. Install it into the `c:\cacti` directory.

5. PHP 5.x - Install into the `c:\php` folder. If you choose to install into `c:\Program Files\php`, you will have to use 8.3 filenames to reference it's binaries in Cacti.

6. MySQL 5.x - Install into the default location. This is typically `c:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server X.XX`.

7. (Optional) Cygwin - Download and execute `setup.exe` from the Cygwin website. Keep the `setup.exe` file for later use.

8. (Optional) Net-SNMP - Install to the `c:\net-snmp` directory. If you choose to use `c:\Program Files\net-snmp` you will have tu use 8.3 filenames to reference it's binaries in Cacti.

### Configure PHP

1. Add the following directory to the existing Windows System `PATH` environment variable: `c:\php`. The Windows path can be accessed via the Control Panel at: System | Advanced | Environment Variables | System Variables.

2. Add the following directory to a new Windows System environment variable called `PHPRC`: `c:\php`.

3. Add a new Windows System environment variable called `MIBDIRS` set it to `c:\php\extras\mibs`

4. Rename the file `c:\php\php.ini.dist` to `php.ini`, and make the following changes to it:

   Uncomment the following lines.

       extension_dir = c:\php\ext
       extension=php_mysql.dll
       extension=php_snmp.dll
       extension=php_sockets.dll
       cgi.force_redirect = 0

5. In earlier installation guides to PHP, they recommended moving certain DLL's to the `c:\winnt\system32` directory. If so, you will have to remove those files. Please review the PHP installation documentation for instructions on removing those files.

6. If you want to allow template importing, uncomment the following line:

       file_uploads = On

7. Give the user who will be running the scheduled task, modify rights to the `.index` file in the location pointed to by the `MIBDIRS` Windows System environment variable.

### Configure the Webserver (Apache)

1. Make sure you have stopped any IIS web servers before you proceed with Apache installation, or make sure Apache is configured on an alternate port.

2. If using Apache 2.x and PHP 5, then add the following lines.

       LoadModule php5_module c:\php\php5apache2.dll
       AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
       DirectoryIndex index.html index.htm index.php

### Configure the Webserver (IIS)

1. Start the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, right click on the Default Web Site (in most cases) and select Properties.

2. Under the Home Directory tab, select Configuration and click Add. Browse to the path of `php4isapi.dll` or `php5isapi.dll`, and type in .php as the extension. Note: if using IIS6, Enable All Verbs and Script Engine.

3. Under the ISAPI Filters tab, click Add and browse to the `php4isapi.dll` or `php5isapi.dll` file. Name the filter "php" and click OK.

4. Under the Documents tab, add `index.php` to the list.

5. If using IIS6, goto Web Service Extensions and add a new Web Service Extension. Name the extension "php", and click Add and browse to the `php4isapi.dll` or `php5isapi.dll` file, enable Set Extension status to Enable, and click OK.

6. Give the IUSR_XXXX and IIS_WPG users read & execute permissions to the file `%windir%\system32\cmd.exe`. They will also need read permissions on `cacti_web_root/cacti` and it's subfolders.

7. If using IIS6, give the IIS_WPG user modify permissions to the folders `cacti_web_root/cacti/log` and `cacti_web_root/cacti/rrd`.

8. Completely stop and start the IIS service using the following commands:

       net stop iisadmin
       net start w3svc

### Install Cygwin (optional)

1. Installing a single instance of Cygwin, and using it for all applications that require it is recommended so you do not have different versions of the Cygwin dlls laying around on your system, which can cause conflicts.

2. Run `setup.exe` you previously download.

3. Once you reach the portion of setup entitled Select Packages, install the following:

       Base (include all items)
       Libs
       	libart_lgpl
       	libfreetype26
       	libpng12
       	zlib
       	openssl
       Utils
       	patch
       Web
       	wget

4. Add `c:\cygwin\bin` to your Windows System PATH environment variable.

5. Move `setup.exe` to `c:\cygwin` for future use.

### Install RRDTool

1. Extract the RRDTool zip file from the Cacti web site to `c:\cacti\rrdtool.exe`.

### Install MySQL

1. Extract the MySQL zip file to a temp directory and run `setup.exe`.

2. Install MySQL to the default directory, or for the purposes of this manual to the `c:\mysql` directory.

3. If running an older version of MySQL, start it by running `c:\mysql\bin\winmysqladmin.exe`. In more recent versions, this is not required.

4. Set a password for the root user

       shell> cd mysql\bin
       shell> mysqladmin --user=root password somepassword
       shell> mysqladmin --user=root --password reload

5. Create the MySQL database:

       shell> mysqladmin --user=root --password create cacti

6. Import the default Cacti database:

       shell> mysql --user=root --password cacti < c:\apache2\htdocs\cacti\cacti.sql

7. Create a MySQL username and password for Cacti.

       shell> mysql --user=root --password mysql
       mysql> GRANT ALL ON cacti.* TO cactiuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'somepassword';
       mysql> flush privileges;

8. If you are running MySQl 4.1 and above, you will need to apply the old password setting in order to authenticate with Cacti. To make this change, stop the MySQL service and add the following to the Start Parameter field. Start it again once it has been added.

       --old-password

   You will also need to update the cactiuser account with the old password style.

       shell> UPDATE mysql.user SET Password = OLD_PASSWORD('cactipwd')
       				WHERE Host = 'localhost' AND User = 'cactiuser';
       mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

### Install Net-SNMP

1. If you plan to use any hosts with SNMP v2c support, and are using early versions of PHP, you must download and install the Net-SNMP libraries. Net-SNMP provides installers to install their product. However, caution must be taken if you choose to use long file names as Cacti does not them as long file names. You will have to user 8.3 notation. For example `c:\Program Files\Net-SNMP\bin` becomes `c:\progra~1\net-snmp\bin`.

### Install Spine

1. Extract the Spine zip file to `c:\cacti` and modify the `spine.conf.dist` file to include the following statements.

       DB_Host	127.0.0.1 or hostname (not localhost)
       DB_Database	cacti
       DB_User		cactiuser
       DB_Password	cacti
       DB_Port		3306

   All other pre 0.8.6 settings are obsolete.

2. Spine now comes with a binary distribution. However, we strongly suggest that you install Cygwin and then remove all the DLL files and `sh.exe` from the `c:\cacti` directory.

### Configure Cacti

1. Edit `cacti_web_root/cacti/include/config.php` and specify the MySQL user, password, database, and database port for your Cacti configuration.

       $database_default = "cacti";
       $database_hostname = "localhost";
       $database_username = "cactiuser";
       $database_password = "cacti";
       $database_port = "3306";

2. Point your web browser to:

       http://your-server/cacti/

   Log in using the username and password of admin/admin. You will be required to change this password immediately.

3. From Cacti, go to Settings->Paths and verify/udate your paths to point to the correct locations. Recommended examples are posted below. If you plan on using Spine, then it is very important that all paths include forward slashes instead of backslashes.

   PHP Binary Path:

       c:/php/php.exe

   RRDTool Binary Path:

       c:/cacti/rrdtool.exe

   SNMPGET, SNMPWALK, SNMPBULKWALK, SNMPGETNEXT Paths:

       c:/progra~1/net-snmp/bin/snmpget.exe

       c:/progra~1/net-snmp/bin/snmpwalk.exe

       c:/progra~1/net-snmp/bin/snmpbulkwalk.exe

       c:/progra~1/net-snmp/bin/snmpgetnext.exe

   Cacti Logfile Path:

       c:/mycacti/website/cacti/log/cacti.log

   Spine Path:

       c:/cacti/Spine.exe

4. Click on Devices. Delete the Localhost devices as it intended for Linux environments In the upper right corner, click Add. Fill in the following information and then click Add.

       Description: My Windows localhost
       Hostname: localhost
       Host Template: Windows 2000/XP

5. You should now be looking at the localhost device screen. Right under it's name, there should be some SNMP information listed, if not you should double check the SNMP settings on the server and firewall settings. In the upper right-hand corner, click on Create Graphs for this Host. On the following screen, select a disk partition and network interface. At the bottom of the page, click on Create.

6. Log into the user account you'll be using for the scheduled task and verify starting a Cacti polling cycle works. Do this by running the following from the command prompt:

       php c:/cacti_web_root/cacti/poller.php

   The output should look something like the following:

       C:\>php c:\inetpub\wwwroot\cacti\poller.php
       OK u:0.00 s:0.06 r:1.32
       OK u:0.00 s:0.06 r:1.32
       OK u:0.00 s:0.16 r:2.59
       OK u:0.00 s:0.17 r:2.62
       10/28/2005 04:57:12 PM - SYSTEM STATS: Time:4.7272 Method:cmd.php Processes:1 Threads:N/A Hosts:1 HostsPerProcess:2 DataSources:4 RRDsProcessed:2

   After this has ran once, you should have `cacti.log` in `/cacti/log/` and rrd files in /cacti/rra/.

7. You are going to need to schedule a task while logged on as an Administrator. This task is required to you can run `poller.php` every 5 minutes. Make sure the Task Scheduler service is started and follow the steps below to begin.

   Note: The following instructions are based on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. You should be able to follow these instructions close enough for Windows 2000 as well.

   1. Select Start --> Settings --> Control Panel and double click on Scheduled Tasks.

   2. Double click on Add Scheduled Task.

   3. Click Next and Browse on the following screen. Find `c:\php` and select `php.exe`. Choose Daily on and click Next.

   4. Click Next again without changing the time or date settings.

   5. When entering a username and password make sure the user has read and write access to the following directories:

          cacti_web_root/cacti/rra
          cacti_web_root/log

      Make sure the user has read, write, and execute access to the following directories:

          c:\php
          c:\php\sapi

   6. Click Next and Finish to close the wizard.

   7. Right click on the task you just created, and select Properties.

   8. Select the Schedule tab.

   9. Make sure Daily is selected and click the Advanced button.

   10. Check the Repeat checkbox, set it for 5 minutes and set the duration for 24 hours.

   11. Click Ok

   12. In the Run textbox enter the following text making sure to use the appropriate paths.

           c:\php\php.exe c:\mycacti\website\cacti\poller.php

       The start in box should say `c:\mycacti\website\cacti`.

### Apply Patches

1. There are two methods of applying patches to Cacti:

   1. If you have Cygwin installed, then the patch instructions which use wget and patch, will work.

   2. The other method requires you to visit http://www.cacti.net/downloads/patches/0.8.6h/pre-patched/ and manually download and replace the patched files.

2. You might need to reapply file/folder security on the files patched. Double check they are correct.

### Upgrading Cacti

1. Backup the old Cacti database.

       shell> mysqldump -l --add-drop-table cacti > mysql.cacti

   Note: You will probably have to specify the -u and -p flags for the MySQL username and password. This user must have permission to read from Cacti's database or you will end up with an empty backup.

2. Backup the old Cacti directory.

       shell> mv cacti cacti_old

3. Extract the distribution tarball.

       shell> tar xzvf cacti-version.tar.gz

4. Rename the new Cacti directory to match the old one.

       shell> mv cacti-version cacti

5. Edit `include/config.php` and specify the MySQL user, password and database for your Cacti configuration.

       $database_type = "mysql";
       $database_default = "cacti";
       $database_hostname = "localhost";
       $database_username = "cactiuser";
       $database_password = "cacti";

6. Copy the *.rrd files from the old Cacti directory.

       shell> cp cacti_old/rra/* cacti/rra/

7. Copy any relevant custom scripts from the old Cacti directory. Some script are updated between versions. Therefore, make sure you only over write if the scripts either don't exist or are newer than the distribution's.

       shell> cp -u cacti_old/scripts/* cacti/scripts/

8. Copy any relevant custom resource XML files from the old Cacti directory. Some resource XML files are updated between versions. Therefore, make sure you only over write if the XML files either don't exist or are newer than the distribution's.

       shell> cp -u -R cacti_old/resource/* cacti/resource/

9. Set the appropriate permissions on Cacti's directories for graph/log generation. You should execute these commands from inside Cacti's directory to change the permissions.

       shell> chown -R cactiuser rra/ log/

   (Enter a valid username for cactiuser, this user will also be used in the next step for data gathering.)

10. Point your web browser to:

    > http://your-server/cacti/

    Follow the on-screen instructions so your database can be updated to the new version.

## Basics

### Principles of Operation

Cacti operation may be divided into three different tasks:

#### Principles of Operation

#### Data Retrieval

First task is to retrieve data. Cacti will do so using its Poller. The Poller is executed from the operating system's scheduler, e.g. crontab for Unix flavored OSes.

In current IT installations, you're dealing with lots of devices of different kind, e.g. servers, network equipment, appliances and the like. To retrieve data from remote targets/hosts, cacti will mainly use the Simple Network Management Protocol SNMP. Thus, all devices capable of using SNMP will be eligible to be monitored by cacti.

Later on, we demonstrate how to extend cacti's capabilities of retrieving data to scripts, script queries and more.

#### Data Storage

There are lots of different approaches for this task. Some may use an (SQL) database, others flat files. Cacti uses RRDTool to store data.

RRD is the acronym for Round Robin Database. RRD is a system to store and display time-series data (i.e. network bandwidth, machine-room temperature, server load average). It stores the data in a very compact way that will not expand over time, and it can create beautiful graphs. This keeps storage requirements at bay.

Likewise, rrdtool will perform some specific tasks. It performs consolidation to combine raw data (a primary data point in rrdtool lingo) to consolidated data (a consolidated data point). This way, historical data is compressed to save space. rrdtool knows different consolidation functions: AVERAGE, MAXIMUM, MINIMUM and LAST.

#### Data Presentation

One of the most appreciated features of RRDTool is the built-in graphing function. This comes in useful when combining this with some commonly used webserver. Such, it is possible to access the graphs from merely any browser on any plattform.

Graphing can be done in very different ways. It is possible, to graph one or many items in one graph. Autoscaling is supported and logarithmic y-axis as well. You may stack items onto another and print pretty legends denoting characteristics such as minimum, average, maximum and lots more.

### Graph Overview

Almost everything in Cacti is somehow related to a graph. At any time, you can list all available graphs by clicking on the Graph Management menu item. While it is possible to manually create graphs through this screen, new users should follow the instructions provided in the next chapter for creating new graphs in Cacti.

For users that are familiar with RRDTool , you will immediately recognize that a graph in Cacti is closely modeled after RRDTool's graphs. This makes sense since Cacti provides a user friendly interface to RRDTool without requiring users to understand how RRDTool works. With this in mind, every graph in Cacti has certain settings and at least one graph item associated with it. While graph settings define the overall properties of a graph, the graph items define the data that is to be represented on the graph. So the graph items define which data to display and how it should displayed, and also define what should be displayed on the legend.

Each graph and graph item has a set of parameters which control various aspects of the graph. Fortunately through the use of graph templates, it is not necessary to understand the function of each field to create graphs for your network. When you are ready to take on the task of creating your own graph templates, extensive field descriptions for both graphs and graph items are provided in that section of the manual.

### How to Graph Your Network

At this point, you probably realize that graphing is Cacti's greatest strength. Cacti has many powerful features that provide complex graphing and data acquisition, some which have a slight learning curve. Do not let that stop you however, because graphing your network is incredibly simple.

The next two sections will outline the two basic steps which are typically required to create graphs for most devices.

#### Creating a Device

The first step to creating graphs for your network is adding a device for each network device that you want to create graphs for. A device specifies important details such as the network hostname, SNMP parameters, and host type.

To manage devices within Cacti, click on the Devices menu item. Clicking Add will bring up a new device form. The first two fields, Description and Hostname are the only two fields that require your input beyond the defaults. If your host type is defined under the host template dropdown, be sure to select it here. You can always choose "Generic SNMP-enabled Host" if you are just graphing traffic or "None" if you are unsure. It is important to remember that the host template you choose will not lock you into any particular configuration, it will just provide more intelligent defaults for that type of host.

##### Adding a New Device

The field definitions are as follows

#### Device Field Definitions

Field | Description
Description | This description will show up in the first column of the device list. You may refer to it e.g. in graph titles
Hostname | Either an IP address or a hostname. The hostname will be resolved using the standard host resolving mechanisms, e.g. Dynamic Name Services (DNS)
Host Template | A Host Template is a container for a list of graph templates that will be related to this host.
Notes | New with cacti 0.8.7. Add notes to a host to add arbitrary text.
Disable Host | Exclude this host from being polled. This is of particular value, if a device is no longer available, but should be kept e.g. as a reference.
Availability/Reachability Options |
Downed Device Detection | NONE: Deactivate downed host detection PING and SNMP: perform both tests SNMP: verify SNMP check on OID .1 and .1.3 ICMP: perform a ping test, see below
Ping Method | Available only for "PING and SNMP" or "PING" ICMP: perform ICMP tests. Requires permissions UDP: perform a UDP test TCP: perform a TCP test
Ping Port | Available only for UDP/TCP PING test types. Please define the port to be tested here. Make sure, that no firewall intercepts the tests
Ping Timeout Value | After this time, the test fails. Measured in units of milliseconds
Ping Retry Count | The number of times Cacti will attempt to ping a host before failing.
SNMP Options |
SNMP Version | Version 1: Use SNMP Version 1. Be aware, that 64bit counters are not supported in this SNMP version Version 2: Referred to as SNMP V2c in most SNMP documentations Version 3: SNMP V3, supporting authentication and encryption
SNMP Community | SNMP read community for this device.
SNMP Port | Enter the UDP port number to use for SNMP (default is 161).
SNMP Timeout | The maximum number of milliseconds Cacti will wait for an SNMP response (does not work with php-snmp support).
Maximum OID's Per Get Request | This is a performance feature. Specifies the number of OID's that can be obtained in a single SNMP Get request. NOTE: This feature only works when using Spine NOTE: Some devices do not support values > 1
Security Options for SNMP V3 |
SNMP Username | The `username` of an SNMP V3 `createUser` statement or equivalent
SNMP Password | The `authpassphrase` of an SNMP V3 `createUser` statement or equivalent
SNMP Auth Protocol | The `authentication type` of an SNMP V3 `createUser` statement or equivalent. Select either MD5 or SHA. This entry defaults to MD5.
SNMP Privacy Passphrase | The `privacy passphrase` of an SNMP V3 `createUser` statement or equivalent.
SNMP Privacy Protocol | The `privacy protocol` of an SNMP V3 `createUser` statement or equivalent. Select either DES or AES. This entry defaults to DES.
SNMP Context | When using the View-Based Access Control Model (VACM), it is possible to specify an SNMP Context when mapping a community name to a security name with a `com2sec` directive, with the `group` directive and the `access` directive. This allows for defining special access models. If using such a parameter with your target's SNMP configuration, specify the context name to be used to access that target here.

After saving your new device, you should be redirected back to the same edit form with some additional information. If you configured SNMP for this host by providing a valid community string, you should see various statistics listed at the top of the page. If you see "SNMP error" instead, this indicates an SNMP problem between Cacti and your device.

Towards the bottom of the page there will be two addition boxes, Associated Data Queries, and Associated Graph Templates. If you selected a host template on the previous page, there will probably be a few items in each box. If there is nothing listed in either box, you will need to associate at least one data query or graph template with your new device or you will not be able to create graphs in the next step. If no available graph template or data query applies to your device, you can check the Cacti templates repository or create your own if nothing currently exists.

##### A Word About SNMP

The SNMP version that you choose can have a great effect on how SNMP works for you in Cacti. Version 1 should be used for everything unless you have reason to choose otherwise. If you plan on utilizing (and your device supports) high-speed (64-bit) counters, you must select version 2. Starting with Cacti 0.8.7, version 3 is fully implemented.

The way in which Cacti retrieves SNMP information from a host has an effect on which SNMP-related options are supported. Currently there are three types of SNMP retrieval methods in Cacti and are outlined below.

##### SNMP Retrieval Types

Type | Description | Supported Options | Places Used
External SNMP | Calls the net-snmp snmpwalk and snmpget binaries that are installed on your system. | All SNMP options | Web interface and PHP poller (poller.php)
Internal SNMP (php-snmp) | Uses PHP's SNMP functions which are linked against net-snmp or ucd-snmp at compile time. | Version 1 Only (Community and Port) | Web interface and PHP poller (poller.php)
Spine SNMP | Links directly against net-snmp or ucd-snmp and calls the API directly. | All SNMP options | C-Based Poller (Spine)

##### SNMP V3 Options Explained

SNMP supports authentication and encryption features when using SNMP protocol version 3 known as View-Based Access Control Model (VACM). This requires, that the target device in question supports and is configured for SNMP V3 use. In general, configuration of V3 options is target type dependant. The following is cited from `man snmpd.conf` concerning user definitions

       SNMPv3 Users
           createUser [-e ENGINEID] username (MD5|SHA) authpassphrase [DES|AES] [privpassphrase]

                  MD5 and SHA are the authentication types to use.  DES and AES are the privacy
                  protocols  to  use. If  the  privacy  passphrase  is not specified, it is assumed
                  to be the same as the authentication passphrase.  Note that the users created will
                  be useless unless they are also added  to  the  VACM access control tables
                  described above.

                  SHA  authentication  and DES/AES privacy require OpenSSL to be installed and the
                  agent to be built with OpenSSL support.  MD5 authentication may be used without
                  OpenSSL.

                  Warning: the minimum pass phrase length is 8 characters.

VACM directives are explained from `man snmpd.conf` as follows

       VACM Configuration
           The full flexibility of the VACM is available using four configuration directives -
           com2sec, group,  view and access.  These provide direct configuration of the underlying
           VACM tables.

           com2sec  [-Cn CONTEXT] SECNAME SOURCE COMMUNITY
                  map  an  SNMPv1 or SNMPv2c community string to a security name - either from a
                  particular range of source addresses, or globally ("default").  A restricted
                  source can either be a specific  hostname (or  address),  or  a  subnet -
                  represented as IP/MASK (e.g. 10.10.10.0/255.255.255.0), or IP/BITS
                  (e.g. 10.10.10.0/24), or the IPv6 equivalents.

                  The same community string can be specified in several separate directives
                  (presumably with different  source  tokens), and the first source/community
                  combination that matches the incoming request will be selected.  Various
                  source/community combinations can also map to the same security name.

                  If a CONTEXT is specified (using -Cn), the community string will be mapped
                  to a security  name  in the named SNMPv3 context. Otherwise the default
                  context ("") will be used.

           group GROUP {v1|v2c|usm} SECNAME
                  maps  a  security name (in the specified security model) into a named group.
                  Several group directives can specify the same group name, allowing a single
                  access setting to apply to several  users and/or community strings.

                  Note  that  groups must be set up for the two community-based models separately -
                  a single com2sec (or equivalent) directive will typically be accompanied by two
                  group directives.

           view VNAME TYPE OID [MASK]
                  defines a named "view" - a subset of the overall OID tree. This is most commonly
                  a single subtree, but  several view directives can be given with the same view
                  name, to build up a more complex collection of OIDs.  TYPE is either included
                  or excluded, which can again define a more complex view (e.g by excluding certain
                  sensitive objects from an otherwise accessible subtree).

                  MASK is a list of hex octets (separated by . or :)
                  with the set bits indicating which subidentifiers in the view OID to match against.
                  This can be used to define a view covering a particular row  (or  rows) in a table.
                  If not specified, this defaults to matching the OID exactly (all bits set), thus
                  defining a simple OID subtree.

           access GROUP CONTEXT {any|v1|v2c|usm} LEVEL PREFX READ WRITE NOTIFY
                  maps from a group of users/communities (with a particular security model
                  and  minimum  security level, and in a specific context) to one of three views,
                  depending on the request being processed.

                  LEVEL is one of noauth, auth, or priv.  PREFX specifies how CONTEXT should be
                  matched against  the context  of  the  incoming  request, either exact or prefix.
                  READ, WRITE and NOTIFY specifies the view to be used for GET*, SET and
                  TRAP/INFORM requests (althought the NOTIFY view is not currently used).  For
                  v1 or v2c access, LEVEL will need to be noauth.

As an example, following definitions in the snmpd configuration create a set of definitions for use with SNMP V3

    # sample configuration for SNMP V3

    # create an SNMP V3 user with an authpassphrase and a privacy passphrase
    ##         username   authProto  authpassphrase  privProto  privpassphrase
    ##         --------   ---------  --------------  ---------  --------------
    createUser gandalf    MD5        myauthpass      DES        myprivpass

    # Second, map the security name into a group name:
    ##    groupName    securityModel  securityName
    ##    ---------    -------------  ------------
    group groupv3      usm            gandalf

    # Third, create a view for us to let the group have rights to:
    ##          incl/excl  subtree   mask
    ##          ---------  -------   ----
    view    all included   .iso      80

    # Fourth, create the access for that group without context
    ##                context sec.model sec.level prefix read   write  notif
    ##                ------- --------- --------- ------ ----   -----  -----
    access groupv3    ""      any       auth      exact  all    all    all

When adding this stuff to your snmp configuration, please remember to restart the agent. Verify this setting using

    shell>snmpwalk -v 3 -a MD5 -A myauthpass -x DES \
    -X myprivpass -u gandalf -l authpriv localhost interface
    IF-MIB::ifNumber.0 = INTEGER: 3
    IF-MIB::ifIndex.1 = INTEGER: 1
    IF-MIB::ifIndex.2 = INTEGER: 2
    IF-MIB::ifIndex.3 = INTEGER: 3
    IF-MIB::ifDescr.1 = STRING: lo
    IF-MIB::ifDescr.2 = STRING: irda0
    IF-MIB::ifDescr.3 = STRING: eth0
    IF-MIB::ifType.1 = INTEGER: softwareLoopback(24)
    IF-MIB::ifType.2 = INTEGER: other(1)
    IF-MIB::ifType.3 = INTEGER: ethernetCsmacd(6)
    ...

#### Creating the Graphs

Now that you have created some devices, it is time to create graphs for these devices. To do this, select the New Graphs menu option under the Create heading. If you're still at the device edit screen, select Create Graphs for this Host to see a screen similar to the image pictured below.

##### Creating New Graphs

The dropdown menu that contains each device should be used to select the host that you want to create new graphs for. The basic concept to this page is simple, place a check in each row that you want to create a graph for and click Create.

If you are creating graphs from inside a "Data Query" box, there are a few additional things to keep in mind. First is that you may encounter the situation as pictured above with the "SNMP - Interface Statistics" data query. If this occurs you may want to consult the section on debugging data queries to see why your data query is not returning any results. Also, you may see a "Select a graph type" dropdown box under some data query boxes. Changing the value of this dropdown box affects which type of graph Cacti will make after clicking the Create button. Cacti only displays this dropdown box when there is more than one type to choose from, so it may not be displayed in all cases.

Once you have selected the graphs that you want to create, simply click the Create button at the bottom of the page. You will be taken to a new page that allows you to specify additional information about the graphs you are about to create. You only see the fields here that are not part of each template, otherwise the value automatically comes from the template. When all of the values on this page look correct, click the Create button one last time to actually create your graphs.

If you would like to edit or delete your graphs after they have been created, use the Graph Management item on the menu. Likewise, the Data Source menu item allows you to manage your data sources in Cacti.

### Viewing Graphs

#### Graph Trees

A graph tree can be thought of as a hierarchical way of organizing your graphs. Each graph tree consists of zero or more headers or branch nodes that contain leaf nodes such as graphs or trees. Multiple graph trees or branches within a single tree can be combined to form a very powerful way of organizing your graphs.

##### Creating a Graph Tree

To create a new graph tree, select the Graph Trees menu item under the Management header. Select Add on this page to create a new tree. The following page will prompt you for a tree name, which will be used to identify the graph tree throughout Cacti. Along with the Name, you may select one of four currently supported Sorting Types

##### Tree Sporting Type Definitions

Field | Description
Name | Name of the tree entry. The sort order of all trees themselves is always alphabetical
Sorting Type | Manual Ordering (No Sorting): You may chance the sequence at your will Alphabetical Ordering: All subtrees are ordered alphabetically, unless specifies otherwise (you may chance sort options at subtree lebel), i.e. 1, Ab, ab Natural Ordering: ie. ab1, ab2, ab7, ab10, ab20 Numeric Ordering: Leading zeroes are not taken into account when ordering numerically, i.e. 01, 02, 4, 04

Once you type a name, click the Create button to continue. You will be redirected to a page similar to the one below, but without all of the items.

###### Editing a Graph Tree

To start adding items to your tree, click add in the Tree Items box. There are currently three different types of tree items you can choose from: header, graph, or host. Simply choose the type you want, fill in the value for that type, and click Create to make your new graph tree item. Clicking the Add link to the right of any branch will add the new item below that branch, you can change the branch that any item belongs to by changing its Parent Item field.

Please note the "++" and the "--" buttons. They will help you managing large trees. Pressing the "--" will collapse all tree levels while "++" expands all of them. You may expand each single subtree of a collapsed tree to reorder, add or delete entries without much scrolling.

### User Management

In addition to giving you the tools to create sophisticated graphs, Cacti enables you to create users that are tailored specifically to their requirements. Each user has certain settings such as login actions, as well as graph viewing settings. There are also two levels of permissions control, realm permissions and graph permissions which enable you to control what the user can see and change.

#### User Management

Out of the box, there are two users that come with every Cacti installation. The "admin" user, is the main user that by default has access to see and change everything in Cacti. This is the user that you first login with in Cacti, and is probably a good idea to keep around unless you know otherwise. The second user is the "guest" user, which controls which areas/graphs are allowed for unauthenticated users. By default this user only has rights to view, but not change all graphs. This enables any unauthenticated user to visit 'graph_view.php' and view your graphs. This behavior can be changed by either changing the realm permissions for the "guest" user, or disabling the guest user altogether under Cacti Settings. By default in 0.8.7 and later, the "guest" user is not set in the setting, effectively disabling "guest" (Unauthenticated) access to Cacti.

#### Editing an existing User

To edit an existing user, select the User Management item under the Utilities heading on the Cacti menu. Once at the user management screen, click username of the user you wish to edit. You will see a screen that looks similar to the image below.

##### Editing a User

At minimum, you must specify a User Name and a Password for each user. Each user field is described in more detail below. In addition to these fields, each user can have their own realm permissions", graph permissions, and graph settings. Each of these items are described in this section of the manual.

#### Field Description: User Management

Name | Description
User Name | This field contains the actual login name for the user. There are no character limits this field, but it would make sense to keep it to alphanumeric characters to maintain simplicity.
Full Name | (Optional) You can use this field as a more descriptive identifier for the user. It is currently only used for display on the user management page.
Password | Enter the password for the user twice, once in each text box. Keep in mind that passwords are case sensitive and the password will remain unchanged if the boxes are both left empty.
Account Options | There are currently two account related options that can be set for each user. The first, 'User Must Change Password at Next Login', forces a password change immediately after the user logs in. The second option, 'Allow this User to Keep Custom Graph Settings', dictates whether the user can maintain their own custom graph viewing settings which includes expanding and collapsing trees.
Graph Options | There are three permission related options that can be set for each user here. The 'User Has Rights to {Tree,List,Preview} View' checkboxes dictate which graph viewing areas the user can see.
Login Options | These options dictate what occurs immediately after the user logs in. The first option, 'Show the page that user pointed their browser to.' will point the user to whatever page they were heading to before being interrupted by the login page. The 'Show the default console screen.' option will always point the user to 'index.php' after a successful login. The last option, 'Show the default graph screen.' will point the user to 'graph_view.php' after a successful login.
Authentication Realm | Multiple types of users can exist in Cacti. This setting allows you to specify a user for use with Local, Web Basic or LDAP Authentication. Template users must be Local.

##### Realm Permissions

Realm permissions control which areas of Cacti a user can access. You can edit a user's realm permissions by selecting User Management and choosing the user you want to edit the permissions for. The Realm Permissions box will be displayed in the lower part of the screen. Each "realm" is a grouping that represents common tasks in Cacti, making it easier to fine tune each user's access.

If you want to create a user that can only view graphs, you should select the View Graphs realm and leave everything else unchecked. See the Graph Permissions section for more information about how to fine tune this even more on a per-graph basis. Conversely, if the user needs to access the console, they will need Console Access and any additional realms that you see fit.

##### Graph Permissions

Graph permissions control which graphs a user is allowed to view, it does not apply to editing graphs. You can edit a user's graph permissions by selecting User Management and choosing the user you want to edit the permissions for. Now select the Graph Permissions tab to view this user's graph permissions. There are three different ways that you can apply graph permissions, by graph, by host, or by graph template. This works by allowing or denying the user to all graphs associated with the particular group. So you can deny a user to a single graph, all graphs associated with a particular host, or all graphs associated with a particular graph template. Combining these three types of assigning graph permissions results in a very powerful graph policy editor.

Each assignment type contains a Default Policy dropdown which can be used to control whether the user should be allowed to view everything or be denied from everything by default in the particular group. It is very important to remember that these policies are evaluated in the order: graph, host, graph template. Therefore, if you set graph's default policy to Deny, but kept host and graph template at Allow, the user's effective policy would be Deny since the graph assignment type is evaluated first. You typically either want to set all default policies to Deny for a restrictive user, or Allow for a non-restrictive user. If you thoroughly understand Cacti's graph permissions system, these default policies can be combined to provide very complex results.

##### Graph Settings

Cacti stores certain graph viewing settings for each user, which enables each user to view graphs in an optimal way. These preferences controls things such as the preview graph size or the default graph viewing mode to use. In addition to managing these settings here under user management, each user can change their own settings by clicking on the Graphs tab and selecting the Settings tab on the following page. If you want to prevent a user from being able to keep their own graph preferences, uncheck the Allow this User to Keep Custom Graph Settings checkbox in user management. The user will be presented with an "Access Denied" error message if they attempt to click the Settings tab when this box is checked.

#### Creating a New User

To create a new user, select the User Management item under the Utilities heading on the Cacti menu. Once at the user management screen, click Add.

##### Adding a User

At minimum, you must specify a User Name and a Password for each user. Each user field is described in more detail in the Editing an existing User section previous to this one. In addition to these fields, each user can have their own realm permissions", graph permissions, and graph settings. Each of these items are described in editing existing users section of the manual.

#### Copying a user

##### Copy a User Part 1

To copy a user to a new user, select the User Management item under the Utilities heading on the Cacti menu. Once at the user management screen, select the user you would like to copy from and select copy from the Action selection box, click Go to continue. If you select multiple users, only the first selected user will be used as the source user.

##### Copy a User Part 2

Specify the New Username, New Full Name and New Realm of the new user. Click Yes to copy the selected template user to the the designated new user. An error will be returned if you attempt to copy over an existing user. If you would like to copy over an existing user, use Batch Copy.

#### Enable/Disable Users

##### Enable/Disable Users Part 1

To enable or disable a set of or a single user, select the User Management item under the Utilities heading on the Cacti menu. Once at the user management screen, select the user(s) you would like to enable or disable and select enable or disable from the Action selection box, click Go to continue.

##### Enable/Disable Users Part 2

Confirm that you want to disable or enable the listed users. Click Yes to perform the action. Disabling your own account is possible and not recommended, as once you logoff you will not be able to return.

#### Batch Copy Users

Batch Copy is a helpful utility that helps Cacti Administrators maintain users. Because Cacti does not yet support groups, it is important that there is some way to mass update users. This what Batch Copy does for you.

##### Batch Copy Users Part 1

To Batch Copy a set of or a single user, select the User Management item under the Utilities heading on the Cacti menu. Once at the user management screen, select the user(s) you would like to batch copy information to and select "Batch Copy" from the Action selection box, click Go to continue.

##### Batch Copy Users Part 2

Select the Template User and confirm that you want to Batch Copy the listed users. Click Yes to perform the action.

It is important to note that when using Batch Copy the original user(s) Full Name, Password, Realm and Enable status will be retained, all other fields will be overwritten with values from the selected template user.

#### Delete Users

##### Delete Users Part 1

To delete a set of or a single user, select the User Management item under the Utilities heading on the Cacti menu. Once at the user management screen, select the user(s) you would like to delete and select delete from the Action selection box, click Go to continue.

##### Delete Users Part 2

Confirm that you want to delete the listed users. Click Yes to perform the action. Deleting your own account is possible and not recommended.

#### Guest (Anonymous) Access

By default in 0.8.7 and later of Cacti, Guest or Anonymous access is disabled. This is shift from previous release that came with the "Guest" user enabled and set.

Enabling "Guest" access is easy. But, you must understand that you should only allow the designated "Guest" user access to what you authorized. It is not sugguested that you give the designated "Guest" user more than just access to graphs. To enable guest access, first, need a designated "Guest" user. Cacti by default comes with one already created that has access to only graphs. It is important to note that the default guest user has access to all graphs on the system. Once you have created the "Guest" user, you need to tell Cacti what the "Guest" user is. This is done by updating the Authenication Settings and selecting the "Guest" user you have designated. The "Guest" user must be enabled and be set as the guest user for anonymous access to work.

## Advanced Topics

### Graph a Single SNMP OID

When dealing with SNMP-enabled devices, there are often times when you want to graph the value of a single OID. This tutorial explains how to do this in Cacti. It also assumes that you have the "SNMP - Generic OID Template" graph template, which is now included in Cacti as of version 0.8.5. If you do not see this template listed under Graph Templates, download the template from the Cacti website in XML form and import it using the Import Templates menu item.

To start the process of creating a new graph for your OID, click the New Graphs menu item and select the host that contains the target OID from the dropdown. Under the Graph Templates box, you will see a dropdown on the last line that reads (Select a graph type to create). From this dropdown, choose "SNMP - Generic OID Template" and click the Create button at the bottom of the page.

You will be presented with several fields that will require input before the new graph can be created. They are described in more detail below.

### Field Description: SNMP - Generic OID Template

Name | Description
(Graph) Title | The title that is to be used for the new graph. It is generally a good idea to keep |host_description| in the title, as to make the graph easier to identify later.
(Graph) Vertical Label | The text that will be printed along the y-axis of the graph. It is generally used to describe units, such as 'bytes' or 'percent'.
(Graph Items) Legend Color | The color that will be used to represent the data on the graph.
(Graph Items) Opacity/Alpha Channel | This optionally provides an opacity (not available with rrdtool-1.0.x) for a colored item.
(Graph Items) Legend Text | The text that will be used to describe the data on the graph legend.
(Data Source) Name | The title that is to be used for the new data source. It is generally a good idea to keep |host_description| in the title, as to make the data source easier to identify later.
(Data Source) Maximum Value [snmp_oid] | The maximum value that will be accepted from the OID. Make sure you choose a value that is reasonable for the data you are trying to graph because anything larger than the maximum will be ignored. If you are graphing a percentage, you should use '100' as the value should never exceed this.
(Data Source) Data Source Type [snmp_oid] | How the data from the OID should be stored by RRDTool and interpreted on the graph. If the value of the OID represents the actual data, you should use GAUGE for this field. If the OID value is a constantly incrementing number, you should use COUNTER for this field. The two remaining field values, DERIVE and ABSOLUTE can be ignored in most situations.
(Custom Data) OID | The actual SNMP OID to graph. It is typically a good idea to enter the number OID here as opposed to using MIB names. For instance, to get the number of open files on a Netware server, you would use ".1.3.6.1.4.1.23.2.28.2.7.0" as the OID.

When finished filling in values for these fields, click the Create button. Your new graph can now be accessed through the Graph Management page or the Graphs tab inside of Cacti.

### Data Input Methods

Data input methods allow Cacti to retrieve data to insert into data sources and ultimately put on a graph. There are different ways for Cacti to retrieve data, the most popular being through an external script or from SNMP.

#### Creating a Data Input Method

To create a new data input method, select the Data Input Methods option under the Management heading. Once on that screen, click Add on the right. You will be presented with a few fields to populate on the following screen.

#### Field Description: Data Input Methods

Name | Description
Name | Give the data query a name that you will use to identify it. This name will be used throughout Cacti to identify the data input method.
Input Type | Select the type of data input method you are trying to create. Valid options here are 'Script/Command', 'SNMP', 'SNMP Query', and 'Script Query'.
Input String | This field is only used when the Input Type is set to 'Script/Command'. It specifies the full path to the script including any per data source variables inside <>'s from the user. For instance, if you are passing an IP address to a script, your input string might look something like: /path/to/script.pl <ip> When the user creates a data source based on this data input method, they will be prompted for an IP address to pass onto the script.
Output String | This field is only here for legacy purposes and will probably go away in a future version of Cacti.

When you are finished filling in all necessary fields, click the Create button to continue. You will be redirected back to the same page, but this time with two new boxes, Input Fields and Output Fields. The Input Fields box is used to define any fields that require information from the user. Any input fields referenced to in the input string must be defined here. The Output Fields box is used to define each field that you expect back from the script. All data input methods must have at least one output field defined, but may have more for a script.

##### Data Input Fields

To define a new field, click Add next to the input or output field boxes. You will be presented with some or all of the fields below depending on whether you are adding an input or output field.

##### Field Description: Data Input Fields

Name | Description
Field/Field Name | Either select or type in the name of the field you want to define. No spaces or other non-alphanumeric characters (except '-' or '_') should be used in this field.
Friendly Name | Enter a more descriptive name for this field which will be used for identification throughout Cacti.
Regular Expression Match (Input Only) | If you want to enforce a certain regular expression pattern when the user enters a value for this field, enter it here. The regular expression must follow POSIX syntax as it will be passed to PHP's ereg() function.
Allow Empty Input (Input Only) | Select whether you want to allow the user to leave the value of this field blank or not.
Special Type Code (Input Only) | Sometimes Cacti needs to reference a field internally, but needs to rely on more than just the field name. For instance, if your field requires an IP address from the user, you can enter 'management_ip' here and Cacti will fill this field in with the current IP address of the selected host. Valid values for this field are: 'hostname', 'management_ip', 'snmp_community', 'snmp_username', 'snmp_password', and 'snmp_version'.
Update RRD File (Output Only) | Check this box if you want Cacti to insert the return value from this field into the RRD file. Obviously, this box needs to be checked for at least one output field per data input source, but can be left blank to have Cacti store the value in the database instead.

When you are finished filling in all necessary fields, click the Create button to continue. You will be redirected back to the data input method edit page. From here you can continue to add additional fields, or click Save on this screen when finished.

#### Making Your Scripts Work With Cacti

The simplest way to extend Cacti's data gathering functionality is through external scripts. Cacti comes with a number of scripts out of the box which are located in the `scripts/` directory. These scripts are used by the data input methods that are present in a new installation of Cacti.

To have Cacti call an external script to gather data you must create a new data input method, making sure to specify Script/Command for the Input Type field. See the previous section, Creating a Data Input Method for more information about how to create a data input method. To gather data using your data input method, Cacti simply executes the shell command specified in the Input String field. Because of this, you can have Cacti run any shell command or call any script which can be written in almost any language.

What Cacti is concerned with is the output of the script. When you define your data input method, you are required to define one or more output fields. The number of output fields that you define here is important to your script's output. For a data input method with only one output field, your script should output its value in the following format:

    <value_1>

So if I wrote a script that outputs the number of running processes, its output might look like the following:

##### Example script output using 1 field

`67`

Data input methods with more than one output field are handled a bit differently when writing scripts. Scripts that output more than one value should be formatted like the following:

    <fieldname_1>:<value_1> <fieldname_2>:<value_2> ... <fieldname_n>:<value_n>

Lets say that I write a script that outputs the 1, 5, and 10 minute load average of a Unix machine. In Cacti, I name the output fields '1min', '5min', and '10min', respectively. Based on these two things, the output of the script should look like the following:

##### Example script output using 3 fields

`1min:0.40 5min:0.32 10min:0.01`

One last thing to keep in mind when writing scripts for Cacti is that they will be executed as the user the data gatherer runs as. Sometimes a script may work correctly when executed as root, but fails due to permissions problems when executed as a less privileged user.

### Data Queries

Data queries are not a replacement for data input methods in Cacti. Instead they provide an easy way to query, or list data based upon an index, making the data easier to graph. The most common use of a data query within Cacti is to retrieve a list of network interfaces via SNMP. If you want to graph the traffic of a network interface, first Cacti must retrieve a list of interfaces on the host. Second, Cacti can use that information to create the necessary graphs and data sources. Data queries are only concerned with the first step of the process, that is obtaining a list of network interfaces and not creating the graphs/data sources for them. While listing network interfaces is a common use for data queries, they also have other uses such as listing partitions, processors, or even cards in a router.

One requirement for any data query in Cacti, is that it has some unique value that defines each row in the list. This concept follows that of a 'primary key' in SQL, and makes sure that each row in the list can be uniquely referenced. Examples of these index values are 'ifIndex' for SNMP network interfaces or the device name for partitions.

There are two types of data queries that you will see referred to throughout Cacti. They are script queries and SNMP queries. Script and SNMP queries are virtually identical in their functionality and only differ in how they obtain their information. A script query will call an external command or script and an SNMP query will make an SNMP call to retrieve a list of data.

All data queries have two parts, the XML file and the definition within Cacti. An XML file must be created for each query, that defines where each piece of information is and how to retrieve it. This could be thought of as the actual query. The second part is a definition within Cacti, which tells Cacti where to find the XML file and associates the data query with one or more graph templates.

#### Creating a Data Query

Once you have created the XML file that defines your data query, you must add the data query within Cacti. To do this you must click on Data Queries under the Data Gathering heading, and select Add. You will be prompted for some basic information about the data query, described in more detail below.

#### Field Description: Data Queries

Name | Description
Name | Give the data query a name that you will use to identify it. This name will be used throughout Cacti when presented with a list of data queries.
Description | (Optional) Enter a more detailed description of the data query including the information it queries or additional requirements.
XML Path | Fill in the full path to the XML file that defines this query. You can optionally use the <path_cacti> variable that will be substituted with the full path to Cacti. On the next screen, Cacti will check to make sure that it can find the XML file.
Data Input Method | This is how you tell Cacti to handle the data it receives from the data query. Typically, you will select "Get SNMP Data (Indexed)" for an SNMP query and "Get Script Data (Indexed)" for a script query.

When you are finished filling in all necessary fields, click the Create button to continue. You will be redirected back to the same page, but this time with some additional information to fill in. If you receive a red warning that says 'XML File Does Not Exist', correct the value specified in the 'XML Path' field.

##### Associated Graph Templates

Every data query must have at least one graph template associated with it, and possibly more depending on the number of output fields specified in the XML file. This is where you get to choose what kind of graphs to generate from this query. For instance, the interface data query has multiple graph template associations, used to graph traffic, errors, or packets. To add a new graph template association, simply click Add at the right of the Associated Graph Templates box. You will be presented with a few fields to fill in:

##### Field Description: Associated Graph Templates

Name | Description
Name | Give a name describing what kind of data you are trying to represent or graph. When the user creates a graph using this data query, they will see a list of graph template associations that they will have to choose from.
Graph Template | Choose the actual graph template that you want to make the association with.

When you are finished filling in these fields, click the Create button. You will be redirected back to the same page with some additional information to fill in. Cacti will make a list of each data template referenced to in your selected graph template and display them under the Associated Data Templates box. For each data source item listed, you must selected the data query output field that corresponds with it. Do not forget to check the checkbox to the right of each selection, or your settings will not be saved.

The Suggested Values box gives you a way to control field values of data sources and graphs created using this data query. If you specify multiple suggested values for the same field, Cacti will evaluate them in order which you can control using the up or down arrow icons. For more information about valid field names and variables, read the section on suggested values.

When you are finished filling in all necessary fields on this form, click the Save button to return to the data queries edit screen. Repeat the steps under this heading as many times as necessary to represent all data in your XML file. When you are finished with this, you should be ready to start adding your data query to hosts.

#### SNMP Query XML Syntax

    <query>
       <name>Get SNMP Interfaces</name>
       <description>Queries a host for a list of monitorable interfaces</description>
       <oid_uptime>.1.3.x.x.x</oid_uptime>
       <oid_index>.1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.1</oid_index>
       <oid_index_parse>OID/REGEXP:.*\.([0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3})$</oid_index_parse>
       <oid_num_indexes>.1.3.6.1.2.1.2.1.0</oid_num_indexes>
       <index_order>ifDescr:ifName:ifIndex</index_order>
       <index_order_type>numeric</index_order_type>
       <index_title_format>|chosen_order_field|</index_title_format>

       <fields>
          <ifIndex>
             <name>Index</name>
             <method>walk</method>
             <source>value</source>
             <direction>input</direction>
             <oid>.1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.1</oid>
          </ifIndex>
       </fields>
    </query>

#### SNMP Query XML Field Reference

Field | Description
query->name | (Optional) You can enter a "friendly name" for the SNMP query here. It will not be used by Cacti, and is for identification only.
query->description | (Optional) You can enter a description for the SNMP query here. It will not be used by Cacti, and is for identification only.
query->oid_uptime | New with 0.8.7: If you have another OID that contains timetics, say for example a Java VM. Then, you can create a data query that specifies an alternate Uptime OID. To implement this for a data query, simply add the oid_uptime XML parameter to your XML file. Then, if you select your re-index method to be Uptime Goes Backaward, Cacti will use that OID to detect whether it is time to re-index the host instead of the standard snmp OID for uptime.
query->oid_index | Every SNMP query must have an OID that represents the index values for the query when walked. As described above, any data query in Cacti must contain a field that uniquely identifies each row returned by the query. In the example above, the oid_index points to the OID of ifIndex in the interface MIB. Note: Starting with version 0.8.6c, Cacti is able to parse unique indexes from the OID itself. While the regular expression used for parsing the value from the OID is defined below, you must still specify an OID that can be walked by Cacti in order to obtain the list of OID's. Any OID defined for one of your input fields should work in this case. The values returned from the snmpwalk walk will be completely disregarded.
query->oid_index_parse | This field should only be used if you are trying to parse the unique index from the OID itself. If this field is defined, to obtain a list of indexes, Cacti walks the OID provided in the `oid_index` field above. It then applies the regular expression provided in this field to the list of OID's that are returned. The matched substrings that remain become the list of indexes for this SNMP query.
query->oid_num_indexes | An OID that can be queried to determine the total number of available indexes. If specified, this will be used to determine when to automatically recache this SNMP query when it is attached to a device.
query->index_order | As of version 0.8.6, Cacti will attempt to find the best field to index off of based on whether each row in the query is unique and non-null. If specified, Cacti will perform this check on the fields listed here in the order specified. Only input fields can be specified and multiple fields should be delimited with a colon.
query->index_order_type | For sorting purposes, specify whether the index is numeric or alphanumeric. `numeric`: The indexes in this SNMP query are to be sorted numerically (ie. 1,2,3,10,20,31) `alphabetic`: The indexes in this SNMP query are to be sorted alphabetically (1,10,2,20,3,31).
query->index_title_format | Specify the title format to use when representing an index to the user. Any input field name can be used as a variable if enclosed in pipes (|). The variable `|chosen_order_field|` will be substituted with the field chosen by Cacti to index off of (see index_order above).
query->fields | Each field contained within the SNMP query must be defined under this tag.
query->fields->ifIndex | Each defined field in the SNMP query must have a unique name given to it. Do not use spaces or any non-alphanumeric characters, this name must be identifiable within Cacti.
query->fields->ifIndex->name | Here you can specify a "friendly name" for the field. This name will be used by Cacti to help the user identify this field.
query->fields->ifIndex->method | Tell Cacti how you want it to gather SNMP information for this field. `get`: The 'get' method performs an snmpget for the OID specified for this field appended by the index values derived from <oid_index>/<oid_index_parse>. `walk`: The 'walk' method does a walk of the OID specified for this field. If all OIDs belong to the same SNMP table, both methods will return the same values, even though the 'walk' method is typically more efficient.
query->fields->ifIndex->source | When Cacti obtains a list for this field, you need to tell it how to derive its value for each row. `value`: The 'value' option simply returns the result of the snmpget for each row. `OID/REGEXP:(regexp_match)`: The 'OID/REGEXP:(regexp_match)' can be used when you need to use a POSIX-based regular expression to derive the value from the OID. The most common example of this is to retreive the IP address of an interface, and can be seen in the 'interface.xml' file. `VALUE/REGEXP:(regexp_match)`: The 'OID/REGEXP:(regexp_match)' option can be used to parse the value based on a regular expression, returning the first match. `index`: Simply use the value of the index for this row as the value. If the index is being parsed from the OID using the `oid_index_parse` field, you must specify `index` here. Omit the <oid>...</oid> field, then.
query->fields->ifIndex->direction | `input`: Input values are the "known" values that you will use to derive the output values, this is where the "query" part of SNMP query comes in. When you create a graph based on an SNMP query, Cacti will prompt you to choose the input value to base the graph on. `output`: Output values are "unknown" values that are returned from the script. An SNMP query may return multiple statistics for a single index. For instance, a single interface could return bytes/sec in, errors, packets/sec, etc. A rule of thumb is that input fields contain semi-static data that is not graphable, while the output fields contain the data that will be graphed.
query->fields->ifIndex->oid | You must specify the actual OID that corresponds with the field. Each value for this field can be obtained by doing an snmpget on 'oid.(each)snmpindex'.

#### Script Query XML Syntax

    <query>
       <name>Get Unix Mounted Partitions</name>
       <description>Queries a list of mounted partitions on a unix-based host with the 'df' command.</description>
       <script_path>perl |path_cacti|/scripts/query_unix_partitions.pl</script_path>
       <arg_index>index</arg_index>
       <arg_query>query</arg_query>
       <arg_get>get</arg_get>
       <arg_num_indexes>num_indexes</arg_num_indexes>
       <output_delimeter>:</output_delimeter>
       <index_order>dskDevice:dskMount</index_order>
       <index_order_type>alphabetic</index_order_type>
       <index_title_format>|chosen_order_field|</index_title_format>

       <fields>
          <dskDevice>
             <name>Device Name</name>
             <direction>input</direction>
             <query_name>device</query_name>
          </dskDevice>
       </fields>
    </query>

#### Script Query XML Field Reference

Field | Description
query->name | (Optional) You can enter a "friendly name" for the script query here. It will not be used by Cacti, and is for identification only.
query->description | (Optional) You can enter a description for the script query here. It will not be used by Cacti, and is for identification only.
query->script_path | Enter the complete path to the script or executable that is going to handle your script query. When in doubt, specify the pull path to all binaries referenced in this path, the query may not execute otherwise.
query->arg_index | Enter the argument that is to be passed to the script to retrieve a list of indexes.
query->arg_query | Enter the argument that is to be passed to the script to retrieve a list of values given a field name.
query->arg_get | Enter the argument that is to be passed to the script to retrieve a single value given a field name and index value.
query->arg_num_indexes | Enter the argument that is to be passed to the script to determine the total number of available indexes. If specified, this will be used to determine when to automatically recache this script query when it is attached to a device.
query->output_delimeter | Enter the one character delimiter that will be used to separate output values. This is only used when you "query" the script in which case it outputs 'index(delimiter)value'.
query->index_order | As of version 0.8.6, Cacti will attempt to find the best field to index off of based on whether each row in the query is unique and non-null. If specified, Cacti will perform this check on the fields listed here in the order specified. Only input fields can be specified and multiple fields should be delimited with a comma.
query->index_order_type | For sorting purposes, specify whether the index is numeric or alphanumeric. `numeric`: The indexes in this script query are to be sorted numerically (ie. 1,2,3,10,20,31) `alphabetic`: The indexes in this script query are to be sorted alphabetically (1,10,2,20,3,31).
query->index_title_format | Specify the title format to use when representing an index to the user. Any input field name can be used as a variable if enclosed in pipes (|). The variable `|chosen_order_field|` will be substituted with the field chosen by Cacti to index off of (see index_order above).
query->fields | Each field contained within the script query must be defined under this tag.
query->fields->dskDevice | Each defined field in the script query must have a unique name given to it. Do not use spaces or any non-alphanumeric characters, this name must be identifiable within Cacti.
query->fields->dskDevice->name | Here you can specify a "friendly name" for the field. This name will be used by Cacti to help the user identify this field.
query->fields->dskDevice->direction | `input`: Input values are the "known" values that you will use to derive the output values, this is where the "query" part of script query comes in. When you create a graph based on a script query, Cacti will prompt you to choose the input value to base the graph on. `output`: Output values are "unknown" values that are returned from the script. A script query may return multiple statistics for a single index. For instance, a single partition could return free disk space, total disk space, fragmentation percentage, etc. A rule of thumb is that input fields contain semi-static data that is not graphable, while the output fields contain the data that will be graphed.
query->fields->dskDevice->query_name | Enter the name that Cacti must use when asking the script for information about this field. For instance, the following should return values: '(script_name) query (query_name)'.

### Templates

The real strength of Cacti is unleashed by using templates. There are three different types of templates with the basic Cacti installation: Data Templates, Graph Templates and Host Templates. While it is perfectly fine to define all data sources and graphs without using Templates at all, the burden of this approach is high. In most installations, there are lots of devices of the same kind. And there are lots of data of the same kind, e.g. traffic information is needed for almost every device. Therefor, the parameters needed to create a traffic rrd file are defined by a Data Template, in this case known as "Interface - Traffic". These definitions are used by all Traffic-related rrd files.

The same approach is used for defining Graph Templates. This is done only once. And all parameters defined within such a Graph Template are copied to all Graphs that are created using this Template.

The last type of Templates are the Host Templates. They are not related to some rrdtool stuff. The purpose of Host Templates is to group all Graph Templates and Data Queries (these are explained later) for a given device type. So you will make up a Host Template e.g. for a specific type of router, switch, host and the like. By assigning the correct Host Template to each new Device, you'll never forget to create all needed Graphs.

There's no need to create all Templates on your own! Apart from the fact, that many common templates are provided out-of-the-box, there's a very simple machnism to Import Templates and to Export Templates.

#### Data Templates

In Cacti, a data template provides a skeleton for an actual data source. If you have many data sources that share most of their characteristics, using a data template would probably make sense. No change of a Data Template is propagated to already existing rrd files. But most of them may be changed by using `rrdtool tune` from command line. Pay attention to not append new Data Source Items to already existing rrd files. There's no `rrdtool` command to achieve this!

##### Creating a Data Template

To create a new data template, select Data Templates under the Templates heading and click Add.

The first thing you must do is give the template a name. This name has nothing to do with the data source name, but is what you will use to identify the template throughout Cacti.

Second, you will notice a list of data source/data source item field names with Use Per-Data Source Value checkboxes next to each one. The nice thing about templates in Cacti is that you can choose whether to template each field on a per-field basis. If you leave the checkbox unchecked, every data source attached to the template will inherit its value from the template. If the checkbox is checked, every data source attached to the template will contain its own value for that particular field. When generating a real data source, you will be prompted to fill those non-templated fields.

##### Data Templates: Field Description of the Data Source Section

Name | Description
Name | The name of the Data Source that will be created by using this Template. You can use the keyword |host_description| in this field, which will be automatically substituted with the current host description.
Data Input Method | Here is where you tell cacti how it is supposed to fetch data for this data source. There are several data input sources that come with cacti, and you can add your own by going to Data Input Methods. If this RRD file is being populated outside of cacti, make sure to leave this field set to "None".
Associated RRAs | You need to associate the data source with at least one RRA so RRDTool knows how often and for how long to keep its data. You will almost always want to select all of these values however so you can render daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly graphs.
Step | This tells RRDTool how many seconds there will be between updates. The default is 300 seconds (5 minutes), and is sufficient for most installations.
Data Source Active | This is a quick and easy to tell Cacti to stop gathering data for this data source. The data source can still be used on graphs, but no data will be fed to it until it is made active again.

Note: For most data templates, you will want to check the Use Per-Graph Value checkbox for the name field so each data source using this template has its own unique name. It also makes sense to enter an inital value in this field that includes the variable |host_description| for organizational purposes.

When you are finished filling in values for the data template, click Create and you will be presented with a screen similar to the data source edit screen.

###### Adding a Data Template

###### Data Source Items

Like a graph, a data source can have more than one items. This is useful in situations where a script returns more than piece of data at one time. This also applies to data queries, so you can have a single data template that contains both inbound and outbound traffic, rather than having to create a separate data template for each.

###### Data Templates: Field Description of the Data Source Items Section

Name | Description
Internal Data Source Name | This is the name used by RRDTool to identify this particular data source within the RRD file. RRDTool places a limit of 19 alphanumeric characters (plus '_' and '-') on this field.
Minimum Value | Here is where you specify the minimum value that is expected for this data source in the RRD file. If a value lower than the minimum is given, it will be stored as Unknown (U).
Maximum Value | Here is where you specify the maximum value that is expected for this data source in the RRD file. If a value higher than the maximum is given, it will be stored as Unknown (U). Note: It often makes sense to define a reasonable maximum value here to avoid spikes in case of a COUNTER wrap
Data Source Type | Cacti currently supports four types of data that RRDTool can represent for any given data source: COUNTER: is for continuous incrementing counters like the ifInOctets counter in a router. The COUNTER data source assumes that the counter never decreases, except when a counter overflows. It is always a whole INTEGER, floating point numbers are invalid. The update function takes the overflow into account. The counter is stored as a per-second rate. When the counter overflows, RRDTool checks if the overflow happened at the 32bit or 64bit border and acts accordingly by adding an appropriate value to the result. GAUGE: numbers that are not continuously incrementing, e.g. a temperature reading. Floating point numbers are accepted. ABSOLUTE: counters that are reset upon reading DERIVE: like COUNTER but without overflow checks
Heartbeat | As defined by RRDTool: The maximum amount of time that can pass before data is entered as "unknown". This field is usually '600' or 2 data gathering intervals.

###### Custom Data

Assuming you selected a data input source on the previous screen, you should now be presented with a Custom Data box. It will show a single line for every single parameter required for that very data input method. This is how the Data Source glues together with the data input method to provide all run time parameters.

Each custom data field is per-field templatable as all of the other data source fields are. Even if you select the Use Per-Data Source Value checkbox, it might be useful to specify a value that will be used as an "inital value" for any data source using this data template.

##### Applying Data Templates to Data Sources

Applying a data template to a data source is a very simple process. The first thing you must do is select the data source you want to apply the template to under Data Sources. Under the Data Template Selection box, select the data template that you want to apply to the data source and click Save.

Once the template is applied to the data source, you will notice that you can only change values for the fields that you checked Use Per-Data Source Value for.

Now any time a change is made to the data template, it will be automatically propagated to the data sources attached to it.

###### No change of existing rrd files

When changing parameters of a Data Template, existing rrd files will never be changed. If this is required, you will have to apply `rrdtool tune` commands to any related rrd file manually.

#### Graph Templates

In Cacti, a graph template provides a skeleton for an actual graph. If you have many graphs that share most of their characteristics, using a graph template would probably make sense. After a graph is attached to a particular graph template, all changes made to the graph template will propagate out to all of its graphs, unless Use Per-Graph Value has been checked.

##### Creating a Graph Template

To create a new graph template, select Graph Templates under the Templates heading and click Add.

The first thing you must do is give the template a name. This name has nothing to do with the graph title, but is what you will use to identify the template throughout Cacti. Second, you will notice a list of graph field names with Use Per-Graph Value checkboxes next to each one. The nice thing about templates in Cacti is that you can choose whether to template each field on a per-field basis. If you leave the checkbox uncheked, every graph attached to the template will inherit its value from the template. If the checkbox is checked, every graph attached to the template will contain its own value for that particular field.

##### Field Description: Graph Templates

Name | Description
Title | The title of the graph within Cacti and the title that will be printed on the actual graph itself. Note: You can use the keyword |host_description| in this field, which will be automatically substituted with the current host description.
Image Format | Choose whether you would prefer to output your graph images in PNG or SVG. GIF is supported only with rrdtool 1.0.x and has been deleted from rrdtool 1.2.x and later
Height | The height of the graph area in pixels
Width | The width of the graph area in pixels
Slope Mode | RRDtool graphs are composed of stair case curves by default. This is in line with the way RRDtool calculates its data. Some people favor a more "organic" look for their graphs. RRDTool version 1.2 and above support smoothing of graphs, know as slope mode.
Auto Scale | Enable auto scale for the graph. This option must be check to use the next two options. Upper/Lower limit values are ignored when using autoscale since these boundaries are determined automatically.
Auto Scale Options | Choose whether you would like to use --alt-autoscale (ignoring given limits), --alt-autoscale-max (accepting a lower limit), --alt-autoscale-min (accepting an upper limit, requires rrdtool 1.2.x) or --alt-autoscale (accepting both limits, rrdtool default) on the graph. The RRDTool graph manual says: Limits [-u|--upper-limit value] [-l|--lower-limit value] [-r|--rigid] By default the graph will be autoscaling so that it will adjust the y-axis to the range of the data. You can change this behaviour by explicitly setting the limits. The displayed y-axis will then range at least from lower-limit to upper-limit. Autoscaling will still permit those boundaries to be stretched unless the rigid option is set. [-A|--alt-autoscale] Sometimes the default algorithm for selecting the y-axis scale is not satisfactory. Normally the scale is selected from a predefined set of ranges and this fails miserably when you need to graph something like "260 + 0.001 * sin(x)". This option calculates the minimum and maximum y-axis from the actual minimum and maximum data values. Our example would display slightly less than "260-0.001" to slightly more than "260+0.001" (this feature was contributed by Sasha Mikheev). [-J|--alt-autoscale-min] Where "--alt-autoscale" will modify both the absolute maximum AND minimum values, this option will only affect the minimum value. The maximum value, if not defined on the command line, will be 0. This option can be useful when graphing router traffic when the WAN line uses compression, and thus the throughput may be higher than the WAN line speed. [-M|--alt-autoscale-max] Where "--alt-autoscale" will modify both the absolute maximum AND minimum values, this option will only affect the maximum value. The minimum value, if not defined on the command line, will be 0. This option can be useful when graphing router traffic when the WAN line uses compression, and thus the throughput may be higher than the WAN line speed.
Logarithmic Scaling | Choose if you want logarithmic y-axis scaling.
Scientific Units for Logarithmic Scaling | This option is not available for rrdtool-1.0.x. For linear graphs, scientific units (in magnitudes of k=kilo, M=mega, ...) is default. But for logarithmic graphs, exponential notation is default. Choose if you want logarithmic y-axis scaling and scientific units.
Rigid Boundaries Mode | From the RRDTool manual Normally rrdgraph will automatically expand the lower and upper limit if the graph contains a value outside the valid range. With this option you can disable this behavior.
Auto Padding | If you have ever created RRDTool-based graphs manually, you may have realized how annoying it can be to get text to line up properly. With this option Cacti will do its best to make the columns on your graph legend line up. This option works best when your graph legend has a consistent number of columns.
Allow Graph Export | If you choose to use Cacti's static HTML/image export, you can choose whether you want each individual graph to be exported.
Upper Limit | The maximum value that will be displayed on the y-axis. This value is ignored is auto-scaling is turned on.
Lower Limit | The minimum value that will be displayed on the y-axis. This value is ignored is auto-scaling is turned on.
Base Value | Whether you want to base the y-axis labels on 1000 or 1024. This field will typically be set to 1024 for memory and 1000 for traffic measurements.
Unit Grid Value | Sets the unit value for the y-axis (--y-grid). You should probably keep the unit short as to keep it readable.
Unit Exponent Value | Sets the 10^e scaling of the y-axis. Valid values for this field are between -18 and 18. For example, you could use 3 to display everything in 'k' (kilo) or -6 to display everything in 'u' (micro).
Vertical Label | The text to print on the left edge of the graph. Usually is the units the data on the graph is measured in.

Note: For most graph templates, you will want to check the Use Per-Graph Value checkbox for the title field so each graph using this template has its own unique title. It also makes sense to enter an initial value in this field that includes the variable |host_description| for organizational purposes.

When you are finished filling in values for the graph template, click Create and you will be presented with a page similar to the graph edit page.

###### Adding a Graph Template

###### Graph Items

The first thing you should do is create graph items for this graph template, just like for a regular graph. One difference you will notice is that the Data Sources dropdown will contain a list of data template items rather than data source items. It is important that Cacti can make this association here, so that Cacti doesn't have to make unnecessary assumptions later.

###### Field Description: Graph Template Items

Name | Description
Data Source | If this graph item is to represent some sort of data, you must select a your data source here. Keep in mind that not all graph items have a data source. Graph item types such as COMMENT, VRULE, and HRULE typically do not.
Color | Depending on the graph item type, you can select a color for the graph item. This field only applies to the graph item types AREA, STACK, LINE1, LINE2, and LINE3.
Opacity/Alpha Channel | For a colored graph item, you may optionally select an opacity (alpha channel). This option is not available with rrdtool-1.0.x.
Graph Item Type | This field is important because it defines what kind of graph item this is. Types such as AREA, STACK, LINE1, LINE2, and LINE3 are used to represent data on the graph, while COMMENT and GPRINT are used put on the legend. The LEGEND type is specific to Cacti only and can be used if you want to Cacti to automatically create a GPRINT-LAST/GPRINT-AVERAGE/GPRINT-MAXIMUM graph item for you. Note:: You must always put an AREA item before using STACK or your graph will not render.
Consolidation Function | This tells RRDTool which consolidation function to use when representing this data on the graph. You will typically use AVERAGE for most things on the graph area, and LAST/MAXIMUM as well for GPRINT items.
CDEF Function | If you want to apply a CDEF function to the graph item, select one here. Check out the CDEF section of the manual for more information.
Value | This field is only used with the HRULE/VRULE graph item types. Type any valid integer to draw the line at for HRULE or the time of the day HH:MM for VRULE.
GPRINT Type | If this item is a GPRINT, you can choose how you want the number to be formatted. You can add your own in the GPRINT Presets section of Cacti.
Text Format | You can enter text to be displayed on the legend here. This field is applicable for all graph item types except for the virtual LEGEND type.
Hard Return | Check this box to force graph items onto the next line.

###### Graph Item Inputs

After creating graph items for your template, you will need to create some graph item inputs. Graph item inputs are unique to graph templates because of the large number of items they sometimes contain. Graph item inputs enable you to take one graph item field, and associate it with multiple graph items.

To create a new graph item input, click Add on the right of the Graph Item Inputs box. There are various fields that must be filled in for every graph item input:

###### Field Description: Graph Template Items

Name | Description
Name | This will be the name used to identify the graph item input on both the graph template and graph edit pages.
Description | (Optional) This description will be displayed on the graph edit page of any graph using this template if specified.
Field Type | You must choose the field that you are going to associate with one or more graph items.
Associated Graph Items | Choose one or more graph items to associate with the field selected for "Field Type". When the user specifies a value for the field, it will be applied to all of the items you select here.

##### Applying Graph Templates to Graphs

Applying a graph template to a graph is a very simple process. The first thing you must do is select the graph you want to apply the template to under Graph Management. Under the Graph Template Selection box, select the graph template that you want to apply to the graph and click Save. If this is a new graph or the graph and graph template contains an equal number of graph items, the graph template will be automatically applied. If number of graph items varies from the graph to the target graph template, you will be propmted with a warning that your graph will be changed.

Once the template is applied to the graph, you will notice that you can only change values for the fields that you checked Use Per-Graph Value for. You will also notice a new box, called Graph Item Inputs. This is where you can specify values for the graph items inputs that you defined in the graph template. The values specified here will be applied to each graph item tied to the graph item input.

Now any time a change is made to the graph template, it will be automatically propagated to the graphs attached to it.

#### Host Templates

Host templates in Cacti serve a different purpose then data and graph templates. Instead of abstracting the fields of a host, a host template allows you to associate graph templates and data queries with a given host type. This way when you assign a host template to a host, all of the relevant graphs to that host type are only one click away from the user.

##### Adding a Host Template

To create a new host template in Cacti, select the Host Templates option under the Templates heading. Once on that screen, click Add on the right. Type a unique name for the host template and click the Create button. You will be redirected back to the edit page with the Associated Graph Templates and Associated Data Queries boxes. These two boxes allow you to associate certain graph templates or data queries with the host template. Simply select something from the dropdown menu and click Add to associate it with your host template.

###### Adding a Host Template

#### Import Templates

Assume, you're searching for a specific set of templates to monitor a special type of device. Apart from designing templates from scratch, there's a good chance to find a solution in the Scripts and Templates Forum. The set of templates is usually provided as a single XML file holding all required definitions for a data template and a graph template. Depending on the goal of the original author, he/she may have provided a host template as well as part of this XML file.

##### Import Templates

If the XML file was downloaded, you may import it from the filesystem via the search button. As an alternative, you may want to cut and paste the XML into the textbox.

Please pay attention the the Import RRA Settings. By default, current RRA settings will be preserved, even if the imported XML file specifies different settings. This is recommended to avoid accidentally overwriting these global RRA definitions. If you are sure, you may override this default.

For a single OID based template, this will be all. For a script based template, the author will provide the script that has to be downloaded to the Cacti `./scripts` directory. For a SNMP/SCRIPT Data Query, a second XML file holding the Data Query definitions will have to be downloaded to the appropriate directory under `./resources`.

When importing templates, Cacti will perform a version check. All XML templates hold the version of the Cacti system that generated this XML set. Cacti will import only, if your current Cacti version equals or is higher than the exporting one.

#### Export Templates

Now that you know how to import, you may want to know in which way to export as well. Selecting the Export Templates gives

##### Export Templates

You may select to export a graph template, a data template, a host template or a data query. When selecting `Include Dependencies`, e.g. a host template will include all referred templates (graph template, data template and, if defined, data query). Output may be written to the browser or to a file for uploading.

### PHP Script Server

The PHP Script Server is a new feature in Cacti 0.8.6. This new feature allows for the rapid execution of PHP based Data Queries in Cacti. The Script Server process is launched by the poller during every polling cycle. It listens for commands from the poller, executes them, and then waits for an quit signal.

The reason that it is so fast is that PHP is started in memory only one time, and for every Data Query called, it's code is interpreted only once. The resulting Data Query binaries are therefore very efficient. Using the Script Server process over the traditional POPEN process nets a 20+ fold speed improvement in Cacti.

Since PHP scripts are so powerful, this new feature in Cacti, makes it an excellent choice for collecting non-SNMP and SNMP based data.

#### Using the Script Server

Cacti 0.8.6 contains two sample script server routines. They are for the collection of HostMib CPU and Disk Partition information. These two examples are based off the traditional POPEN version of the HostMib functions found in earlier versions of Cacti.

For new installs, the HostMib functions are defaulted to using the PHP Script Server, therefore, you don't need to do anything to use it.

For upgrades, you must make several changes to start using the PHP Script Server for the HostMib CPU and HostMib Partitions Data Queries. To migrate you must follow the step below.

#### Upgrade Steps for the Example HostMib Data Queries

If you are using the two built in script queries, "SNMP - Get Mounted Partitions" and "SNMP - Get Processor Information", you can migrate to the PHP Script Server using the steps below:

1. Verify the existence of New Data Input Method - Go to Data Input Methods, verify that you see the "Get Script Server Data (Indexed)" Data Input Method exists and that it is using the "Script Query - Script Server" method.

2. Disable the Poller - Goto Settings->Poller and uncheck the Poller Enabled checkbox. Press Save.

3. Update Your Data Queries - Go to Data Queries and Edit the two Data Queries below. Change both their Data Input Method to "Get Script Server Data (Indexed)" and in the XML path replace "script_query" with "script_server" as shown below:

   1. SNMP - Get Mounted Partitions

      `<path_cacti>/resource/script_server/host_disk.xml`

   2. SNMP - Get Processor Information

      `<path_cacti>/resource/script_server/host_cpu.xml`

4. Update Your Data Templates - Goto Data Templates, locate the following two data templates and change their data input method to "Get Script Server Data (Indexed)".

   1. Host MIB - Hard Drive Space

   2. Host MIB - CPU Utilization

5. Re Enable the Poller - Go to Settings->Poller and check the Poller Enabled checkbox. Press Save.

Following those steps should complete your migration to the new PHP Script Server for the two example HostMIB Data Queries.

#### Migration of Existing PHP Scripts to Script Server

If you have other PHP scripts that you wish to migrate, you must follow the steps below to migrate your scripts to the PHP Script Server required format.

##### Script File Changes

Each PHP Script file must be changed to the new Script Server format. The changes are not dramatic, but required for the proper operation of the PHP Script Server. Follow the steps below to complete.

1. Copy you existing script to a new name. The name must begin "ss_" followed by your script name. The "ss_" identifies the script as being a script server variety of the a PHP script. For example, if you previously had a script called "get_mysql_stats.php", it's new name would be "ss_get_mysql_stats.php".

2. Edit the new PHP script and add the following required lines to the file, where "ss_myfunction" is the same as your filename.

       <?php
       $no_http_headers = true;

       /* display No errors */
       error_reporting(E_ERROR);

       include_once(dirname(__FILE__) . "/../include/config.php");
       include_once(dirname(__FILE__) . "/../lib/snmp.php");

       if (!isset($called_by_script_server)) {
       	array_shift($_SERVER["argv"]);
       	print call_user_func_array("ss_myfunction", $_SERVER["argv"]);
       }

3. What was originally just mainline code, must be replaced with a function name. For example, if your program previously contained the following three lines of code:

       <?php
       $a = 100;
       $b = $a / 10;
       print $b;
       ?>

   Would become:

       function ss_myfunction() {
       	$a = 100;
       	$b = $a / 10;
       	Print $b;
       }

4. If you have any additional functions declared within your script file, you must prefix them to make them unique amongst all functions. Our recommendation would be to prefix all functions with the name of the main function. For example if you have a function called "meme" you would rename it to "ss_myfunction_meme". This guarantee's correct Script Server functionality.

5. The last step is to change the function call that could have traditionally returned the value to the Cacti poller using the PRINT function. You must change that line or lines in your code to utilize the RETURN function instead. However, this does not apply to PRINT statements that are not called from the Poller. For a simple script, this results in

       function ss_myfunction() {
       	$a = 100;
       	$b = $a / 10;
       	Return $b;
       }

   Be careful, when writing Script Server Data Queries. Use the RETURN function for returning results of the GET operation. But use PRINT for INDEX and QUERY operations, e.g.

       	if (($cmd == "index")) {
       		...
       		print $some_index_data . "\n";
       		}
       	} elseif ($cmd == "query") {
       		...
       		print $some_query_data . "\n";
       	} elseif ($cmd == "get") {
       		...
       		result $some_get_data;
       }

##### XML File Changes

If you are using a "Script Query" type function, then you must also change your XML file. Please reference the XML files in the `<path_cacti>/resource/script_server` directory for the specifics related to your required modifications. However, you may also follow the instructions below:

1. Modify the <script_path> tag. Change it from:

       <script_path>|path_php_binary| -q |path_cacti|/scripts/myfucntion.php</script_path>

   to simply the following:

       <script_path>|path_cacti|/scripts/ss_myfunction.php</script_path>

2. Add the following two XML tags below the <script_path> tag. Replace ss_myfunction with your function name:

       <script_function>ss_myfunction</script_function>
       <script_server>php</script_server>

3. Save the XML file.

##### Data Query & Data Template Changes

Your Data Queries and Data Templates must be also changed. Although somewhat self explanatory by now, you must make the following changes:

1. Change it's Input Method to "Get Script Server Data" or "Get Script Server Data (Index)" depending on it's type.

   Change the XML file path to point to the new XML file in the `<path_cacti>/resources/script_server/*.xml` path.

   For all data templates that use the data query you must change their "Data Input Method" accordingly.

Your final step is to go to the System Utilities and Clear Poller Cache to apply the new settings. If you script is operating correctly, you should now be migrated to the script server.

#### Testing Your Script in the Script Server

To test your script in the script server, simply follow the instructions below. When you have finished you testing, simply type "quit" <cr< at the Script Server command line to exit the script server.

1. Start the script server - You can do this by typing the following command:

       shell> php <path_cacti>/script_server.php

   NOTE: Due to a bug in Windows implementation of PHP, you must type the full path name to the `script_server.php` file.

2. Type in your command - Using the example from above, you would type in the following:

       script server> <path_myfunction> my_function argument1 argument2 ...

   In the Windows environment, your example could be the following:

       script server> c:\wwwroot\cacti\scripts\ss_myfunction.php ss_myfunction localhost public 1 get duddle

3. If your function is operating properly, you should get a result.

4. To quit the script server, simply type "quit" <cr> at the command line.

NOTE: If there are errors in your script, you must restart the script server before your retest your code.

### Spine

Spine is the fast replacement for cmd.php. It is written in C to ensure ultimate performance for device polling. Expect a decrease in polling time of an order of magnitude. Polling times far less than 60 seconds for about 20,000 data sources are achievable e.g. on a dual XEON system supplied with 4 GB RAM and standard local disks.

When using Spine, don't change crontab settings! Always use poller.php with crontab! To activate Spine instead of cmd.php, please visit Settings and select the Poller tab. Select Spine and save. Now, poller.php will use Spine on all subsequent polling cycles.

While Spine is really fast, choosing the correct setup will ensure, that all processor resources are used. Required settings for Maximum Concurrent Poller Processes are 1-2 times the number of CPU cores available for Spine.

### Spine Specific Execution Parameters

Name | Description
Maximum Threads per Process | The maximum threads allowed per process. Using a higher number when using Spine will improve performance. Required settings are 10-15. Values above 50 are most often insane and may degrade preformance
Number of PHP Script Servers | The number of concurrent script server processes to run per Spine process. Settings between 1 and 10 are accepted. Script Servers will pre-load a PHP environment. Then, the Script Server Scripts are included into that environment to save the overhead of reloading PHP each and every time.
Script and Script Server Timeout Value | The maximum time that Spine will wait on a script to complete, in units of seconds. If a Script Server Script is terminated due to timeout conditions, the value entered into the rrd file will be NaN
The Maximum SNMP OID's Per SNMP Get Request | The maximum number of snmp get OID's to issue per snmp request. Increasing this value speeds poller performance over slow links. The maximum value is 60 OID's. Please bear in mind, that some type of devices do not accept huge OID numbers and may fail if set above 1. That's why cacti 0.8.7 allows to define this value at device level

## Help

### How To

#### Simplest Method of Going from Script to Graph (Walkthrough)

Written by Kevin der Kinderen, http://kdeuja.com/~kevin/

This HOWTO walks you through the simplest steps of graphing the output of a single value from a script. As a new user of cacti, I had a difficult time understanding how to graph anything that wasn't canned with the original load. After a lot of playing around, I came up with these procedures which can be built upon for more sophisticated collections and graphs.

I do not use templates in this HOWTO. Templates provide a significant advantage if you are graphing the output for multiple instances or creating graphs for multiple hosts. They help to maintain consistency and simplify setup.

The example here is not realistic, but can be used and expanded upon as a model for creating your own graphs.

I've not put a lot of explanations in the procedures. Refer to the Cacti manual for more details.

Have a tested script ready to go. I used the following script located in `/home/cactiuser/bin` called `random2.pl`:

    #!/usr/bin/perl -w

    print int(rand(10));

This script simply prints out a random integer between 0 and 9 every time it's called.

#### The minimal steps to create a graph from a script are simply:

1. Create a Data Input Method to tell Cacti how to call the script and what to expect from it.

2. Create a Data Source to tell cacti how and where the data will be stored.

3. Create a Graph to tell cacti how the data will be presented in graph form.

4. Add Graph to Graph View so you can view the graph.

5. View the Graph

#### The details are below:

1. Create Data Input Method

   - Click the Console tab at the top

   - Click Data Input Methods under Management

   - Click Add

   - Name: Random 2 Input

   - Input Type: Script/Command

   - Input String: /home/cactiuser/bin/random2.pl

   - Click Create

   - Should see "Save Successful." at the top of the page.

   - Click Add by Output Fields (there are no input fields for this example)

   - Field [Output]: random_number

   - Friendly Name: Random Number

   - Update RRD File: checked

   - Click Create

   - Should see "Save Successful." and random_number listed under Output Fields.

   - Click Save

   - Should see "Save Successful." and Random Input listed in Data Input Methods.

2. Create a Data Source

   - Click Data Sources under Management

   - Click Add in the top right

   - The Data Template Section should be None and None, we're not using templates for this example.

   - Click Create.

   - Name: random2ds

   - Data Source Path: blank (Cacti will fill this in)

   - Data Input Source: Random 2 Input (this is the data input method you created in step 1)

   - Highlight each of the Associated RRA's using control-click

   - Step: 300 (300 seconds = 5 minutes)

   - Data Source Active: checked

   - Describe the Data Source Item inside the RRA by...

   - Internal Data Source Name: random_number

   - Minimum Value: 0

   - Maximum Value: 0

   - Data Source Type: GAUGE

   - Heartbeat: 600

   - Click Create

   - Should see "Save Successful." at the top and the Data Source Path should now have a value (my example <path_rra>/random_number_286.rrd)

   - Click Turn On Data Source Debugging Mode to see the results of this step.

   - Click Save

   - Should see "Save Successful" and your new Data Source listed.

3. Create Graph

   - Select Graph Management under Management

   - Click Add

   - Selected Graph Template: None

   - Host: None

   - Click Create

   - Title: RANDOM NUMBERS

   - Image Format: PNG

   - Height: 120

   - Width: 500

   - Auto Scale: checked

   - Auto Scale Options: Use --alt-autoscale-max

   - Logarithmic Scaling: unchecked

   - Rigid Boundaries: unchecked

   - Auto Padding: checked

   - Allow Graph Export: checked

   - Upper Limit: 100

   - Lower Limit: 0

   - Base Value: 1000

   - Unit Value: blank

   - Unit Exponent Value: 0

   - Vertical Label: Random Number

   - Click Create

   - Should see "Save Successful."

   - If you click "Turn On Graph Debug Mode." now you will see: "Error: can't make a graph without contents." We need to add Graph Items:

   - Click Add by Graph Items

   - Data Source: (from list) No Host - random2ds (random_number)

   - Color: 0000FF (Blue)

   - Graph Item Type: LINE2

   - Consolidation Function: AVERAGE

   - CDEF Function: None

   - Value: blank

   - GPRINT Type: Normal

   - Text Format: blank

   - Insert Hard Return: unchecked

   - Click Create

   - Should see "Save Successful.", Item #1 listed and a graph under debug (probably with nothing in it yet)

   - To add a legend, click Add by Graph Items again

   - Data Source: No Host - random2ds (random_number)

   - Color: None

   - Graph Item Type: GPRINT

   - Consolidation Function: LAST

   - CDEF Function: None

   - Value: blank

   - GPRINT Type: Normal

   - Text Format: Cur:

   - Insert Hard Return: unchecked

   - Click Create

   - Should see "Save Successful." and the graph will have a legend showing the current value. Note: your integer random number has been averaged over the past 5 minutes. At the bottom of the page, click save.

   - At the bottom of the page, click Save.

   - Should see "Save Successful." and your graph listed.

4. Add graph to the graph view

   - Click Graph Trees under Management

   - We'll create a tree called "test" to place our graph

   - Click Add

   - Name: test

   - Should see "Save Successful"

   - Click Add beside Tree Items (to add our graph to this tree)

   - Under Tree Items [graph]...

   - Graph: RANDOM NUMBERS (we named this in step 3)

   - Round Robin Archive: Daily (5 Minute Average)

   - Click Create

   - Should see "Save Successful." and RANDOM NUMBERS listed under Tree Items

   - Click Save

   - Should see "Save Successful." and test listed under Graph Trees

5. View Graph

   - Select Graphs tab

   - Select tree view (Tree beside settings tab)

   - Select test tree on left

   - You may see "Random Graph" but no graph. It takes two or three polls (10 - 15 minutes) to see a graph. I believe poll 1 to create the rrd, poll 2 to get the first data point and poll 3 to have graphable points.

   - While waiting, you can click the RANDOM NUMBERS graph. You'll see place holders for 4 graphs. Select [source] under Daily (5 Minute Average). You'll see the source for the call to rrdtool graph. Give it a sanity check.

   - Now be patient. Hit your refresh button every few minutes. After the first poll I got a few empty graphs. A few minutes later data started showing up.

### Frequently Asked Questions

### Using Cacti

How do I create traffic graphs?

Before you can create traffic graphs, Cacti must have working SNMP support. One way to do this is to compile PHP with SNMP support built in, many times you can install the 'php-snmp' package to do this. The second option is to have Cacti call the snmpget and snmpwalk binaries from your ucd-snmp or net-snmp installation. You can use the about page to determine whether to are using "built-in" or "external" SNMP support.

Now that you have working SNMP support, follow these steps.

1. Click Devices on Cacti's menu.

2. Click Add to add a new device.

3. Type a description, hostname, management IP, and SNMP community. Make sure to select "Generic SNMP-enabled Host" under Host Template and click Create.

4. Click Create Graphs for this Host at the top of the page.

5. You should see one or more interfaces listed under the Data Query [SNMP - Interface Statistics] box. Place a check next to each interface that you want to graph. Below the box, select type of graph that you want to create (bits, bytes, summation, etc).

6. Click Create, and Create again on the following screen to create your graphs.

### General

I get a "Undefined variable: _SERVER" error message from Cacti.

Cacti 0.8.6 and above requires that you have at least PHP 4.1 or greater installed.

I get a "Call to undefined function: mysql_connect()" error message from Cacti.

Your installation of PHP does not have MySQL installed or enabled. On binary-based distributions, make sure you have the 'php-mysql' package installed. Also make sure that 'extension=mysql.so' is uncommented in your php.ini file.

I have forgotten my 'admin' password to Cacti, how do I reset it?

To reset the admin account password back to the default of 'admin', connect to your Cacti database at the command line.

    shell> mysql -u root -p cacti

Now execute the following SQL:

    mysql> update user_auth set password=md5('admin') where username='admin';

### Monitoring

I am polling thousands of items and poller.php takes more than 5 minutes to run.

Give Spine, the fast replacement for poller.php a try. Unlike poller.php, Spine is written in c and makes use of pthreads. On a typical installation, it is not uncommon for Spine to poll about 500 items in less then 10 seconds.

I changed x, and now some of my graphs are not updating.

The best thing to do here is to force Cacti to rebuild its poller cache. To do this click Utilities on the Cacti menu, and select Clear Poller Cache.

I am using Redhat 8.0 and SNMP is not working.

Redhat 8.0 comes with a broken php-snmp package. Updating your 'php-snmp' and 'net-snmp' packages to their latest versions should fix this problem.

How do I configure net-snmp so it will work with Cacti?

Run `snmpconf -g basic_setup` and follow the prompts. Also check that the file being used by snmpd is the correct config file. For Redhat Linux, snmpconf creates the `/etc/snmpd.conf`, but snmpd uses `/etc/snmpd/snmpd.conf`.

If this doesn't work a very simple config file is:

    # contact
    syslocation Something
    syscontact "root@someone.com"

    # auth
    rocommunity public

    # disk monitoring
    disk /

### Graphs

I just installed Cacti and all of my graphs appear as broken images.

For you to actually get graph images, poller.php must run at least once so it can create .rrd files in Cacti's 'rra/' directory. Double check that you configured your `/etc/crontab` file to execute poller.php every five minutes. Also make sure that the user poller.php runs as has permission to create new files in Cacti's 'rra/' directory.

If all of your settings appear correct, try running poller.php manually by cd'ing to Cacti's directory and typing:

    shell> php poller.php

If you have files in your 'rra/' directory, but your graphs still appear as broken images, you should enable graph debug mode see exactly why the graphs are not rendering. To do this go into Cacti, select Graph Management from the menu, select any graph listed, and select Turn On Graph Debug Mode.

My graphs render, but they do not contain any data.

More often than not, this problem's cause is permissions. For instance if you run poller.php manually as root for testing, any .rrd files that it creates will be owned by root. Now when poller.php runs from cron, it will not be able to update these .rrd files because they are owned by root. You can double check the owner of your .rrd files by running the following command in your Cacti directory:

    shell> ls -al rra/

If only some of your graphs are not updating correctly, double check the Maximum Value field for all data sources used by these graphs. If the value being fed to the .rrd file exceeds its Maximum Value, RRDTool will insert an Unknown and you will see no data on the graph.

A lot of my graphs contain long ifAlias names, but they are being truncated to 15 characters.

Cacti does this by default to better control graph title formatting. You can change this limit, by going to Cacti Settings on the Cacti menu, selecting the Visual tab, and changing the value for Data Queries - Maximum Field Length.

One of my devices rebooted and now I have a huge spike on my graph!

This occurs because the reboot causes SNMP's counters to reset, which can cause a rather large spike on the graph when RRDTool tries to determine the change between the new small counter value and the large previous value. One way to combat this issue is to specify realistic maximum values for your data sources. RRDTool will ignore any value that is larger than the maximum value.

If you already have a spike on one or more of your graphs, there is a really useful Perl script that will remove them for you.

RRDTool Says: ERROR: unknown option '--slope-mode' or RRDTool Says: ERROR: Garbage ':39:24 To 2005/10/22 16:39:24\c' after command: COMMENT:From 2005/10/21 16:39:24 To 2005/10/22 16:39:24\c

This occurs because the version of RRDTool that you are running does not match the RRDTool version Cacti is configured to use. Double check your Cacti Settings and make sure that the RRDTool version matches what version of RRDTool you are running.

### Windows Related

I get a "Fatal error: Cannot redeclare title_trim()" error message from Cacti.

Contrary to previous versions of Cacti, you must not put Cacti in your PHP include path. Check your `php.ini` file to make sure there is not something like `include_path = C:/Apache2/htdocs/cacti`.

## Reference

### Variables

#### Graph Variables

The following variables can be used in the Text Format and Value graph item fields. Below is a description of each of these variables.

##### Date/Time

    |date_time|

This variable will place the date and time of the last poller run on the graph. It can be used to replicate MRTG's "graph last updated" feature.

##### Data Source Title

    |data_source_title|

This variable, |data_source_title|, gets replaced with the name of the data source associated with a particular graph item in a graph template. This change allows the creation of generic graph templates (2-variable line graph, 3-variable stack, etc.) which can be reused with large numbers of data sources. See attached examples to understand usage.

###### Example of a Graph Template using |data_source_title|

###### Example 1 of a Graph making use of |data_source_title|

###### Example 2 of a Graph making use of |data_source_title|

##### Data Query Fields

    |query_field_name|

You can place the value of any data query field on the by including this variable. Make sure to substitute "field_name" with the actual data query field name.

###### Print the IP Address on a traffic graph

`|query_ifIP|`

###### Print the mount point on net-snmp disk graph

`|query_dskPath|`

##### Nth Percentile

    |[0-9]:(bits|bytes):[0-9]:(current|total|max|total_peak|all_max_current|all_max_peak|aggregate_max|aggregate_sum|aggregate_current|aggregate):[0-9]|

Nth percentile is often used by hosting providers to bill customers based on their peak traffic usage while ignoring their top (100 - Nth) percent. This way if a customer has a fairly consistent traffic pattern and decides to download a huge file one day, the large spike will be ignored. Common Nth percentile is 95, which would cut off the top 5% of the traffic.

In Cacti, Nth percentile works just like any other graph variable. To use this variable you must give it five arguments:

##### Nth Percentile Argument Description

Name | Description
`[0-9]` | The first argument is a number between 1 and 99. This number represents the Nth percentile that you would like to calculate.
`(bits|bytes)` | Choose whether you want to represent your Nth percentile in bits or bytes. The only valid values for this field are 'bits' and 'bytes'.
`[0-9]` | This field determines the power of 10 divisor that will be applied to your Nth percentile number. Enter '0' to leave the number alone, '3' for kilo or '6' for mega, etc.
`( current | total | max | total_peak | all_max_current | all_max_peak | aggregate_max | aggregate_sum | aggregate_current | aggregate )` | Nth Percentile Type - Refer to Nth Types
`[0-9]` | Enter the number of digits to use for floating point precision when printing out the final number. The default value for this field is two decimal places.

##### Nth Percentile Types

Type | Description
`current` | Calculates the Nth percentile based off the selected data source on the graph item wich the variable is used. This type requires a selected Data Source Item in the graph item in which it is defined.
`total` | Calculates the Nth percentile based off the selected data source on the graph item wich the variable is used. But unlike current, this function totals the Nth percentile results of all same named data source names on the graph. Example, all traffic_in would have their Nth percentile calculated and then totaled. This type requires a selected Data Source Item in the graph item in which it is defined.
`max` | Calculates the Nth percentile based off the selected data source on the graph item which the variable is used, but it is important to note that it selects the higher of the values for each row in data source and then uses the resulting set to calculate the Nth percentile. Example, you have selected a interface data source for traffic_in, this will evaluate traffic_out and traffic_in for that selected data source (rrdtool file) and select the higher of the two values for each row of data. The resulting max values are used to calculate the Nth percentile value. This type requires a selected Data Source Item in the graph item in which it is defined.
`total_peak` | Calculates the Nth percentile based on the max for each data source defined on the graph. Example, the max is taken for each data source defined on the graph, but it's the max of traffic_in or traffic_out for that data source (rrdtool file). The resulting max values are summed and returned.
`all_max_current` | Calculates the Nth percentile based off the selected data source on the graph item which the variable is used, but it only selects the highest (max) value of all the data source items on the graph. Example, there are 3 data sources defined on the graph, the selected data source is traffic_in, all data sources for traffic_in will be compared against each other and the highest Nth value of all graph items will be selected as the result. This type requires a selected Data Source Item in the graph item in which it is defined.
`all_max_peak` | Calculates the Nth percentile by selecting the highest (max) calculated max Nth percentile value for each data source (rrdtool file) selected on the graph. Example, 3 data sources are defined on the graph, for each data source, the max Nth percentile is calculated, and out of the resulting set of values, the highest value is selected and returned.
`aggregate_max` | Calculates the Nth percentile by selecting the highest value for each summed value of like data sources and selecting the maximum value of that set to calculate the Nth percentile value. Example, you have a graph with 5 traffic_in and 18 traffic_out data sources. The traffic_in rows are summed together, then the traffic_out rows are summed together, then for each row, the higher of the 2 values is selected. The Nth percentile is calculated from the resulting maximum values.
`aggregate_sum` | Calculates the Nth percentile by summing all data sources on the graph row for row and calculates the Nth value on the resulting summed data. Example, you have a graph with 4 traffic_in and 3 traffic_out data sources defined. All the defined traffic_in and traffic_out are summed together and then the Nth percentile value is calculated from that set.
`aggregate_current` | Calculates the Nth percentile by summing items matching the selected data source name row for row from each data source defined on the graph with the same data source name and then returning the Nth percent value calculated. Example, you have a graph with 3 traffic_out and 5 traffic_in data sources defined. The traffic_in is selected on the graph item where this variable is used, so all graph items for traffic_in are summed and then the Nth value is calculated and returned as the variable.
`aggregate` | Calculates the Nth percentile by summing like data source names row for row from each data source defined on the graph and then returning the highest Nth percent value calculated for like data source names. Example, you have a graph with 3 traffic_out and 5 traffic_in data sources defined. The traffic_in and traffic_out are summed then the Nth value is calculated and the higher of the 2 values is returned as the variable.

###### Concerning aggregate Nth percentile functions and rra definitions

All data sources used in a graph MUST have the same rra definitions. If the number of rows do not match when calculations are attempted, the results may produce errors and invalid results. Please also be aware the aggregate functions take more memory and processor power when used. Recommended minimum of 64 megs memory limit for php when querying large ranges or graphs with a large ammount of aggregated data sources.

###### Output in the following format, for 95th percentile: 42.58 mbit

`|95:bits:6:max:2|`

##### Bandwidth Summation

    |sum:([0-9]|auto):(current|total):([0-9]):([0-9]+|auto)|

Bandwidth summation is useful for summing up all values in an RRD file for a given time range. This is typically useful on traffic graphs where you can see a total of all traffic that has gone through an interface in a given time period.

In Cacti, bandwidth summation works just like any other graph variable. To use this variable you must give it three arguments:

##### Bandwidth Summation Argument Description

Name | Description
`([0-9]|auto)` | This field determines the power of 10 divisor that will be applied to your number. Enter '0' to leave the number alone, '3' for kilo or '6' for mega, etc. You can also enter 'auto' for this field to have Cacti automatically scale the number and insert the appropriate label.
`(current|total)` | You can choose to calculate the summation based on the current data source or a total of all data sources used on the graph. The only valid values for this field are 'current' and 'total'.
`[0-9]` | Enter the number of digits to use for floating point precision when printing out the final number. The default value for this field is two decimal places.
`([0-9]+|auto)` | Enter the number of seconds in the past to perform the summation calculation for. For instance '86400' for 24 hours, '172800' for 48 hours, etc. You can also enter 'auto' for this field to have Cacti use the graph timespan.

###### Output in the following format: 36.47 GB

`|sum:auto:current:2:auto|`

#### Host Variables

Host variables represent host data and can be placed in graph or data source titles. The following table describes which host variables can be used and which host fields the correspond to.

#### Host Variables

Variable Name | Description
`|host_description|` | Description
`|host_hostname|` | Hostname
`|host_snmp_community|` | SNMP Community
`|host_snmp_version|` | SNMP Version
`|host_snmp_username|` | SNMP Username (v3)
`|host_snmp_password|` | SNMP Password (v3)
`|host_snmp_auth_protocol|` | SNMP Authetication Protocol (v3)
`|host_snmp_priv_passphrase|` | SNMP Privacy Passphrase (v3)
`|host_snmp_priv_protocol|` | SNMP Privace Protocol (v3)
`|host_snmp_context|` | SNMP Context (v3)
`|host_snmp_port|` | SNMP Port
`|host_snmp_timeout|` | SNMP Timeout
`|host_ping_retries|` | SNMP Retries
`|host_max_oids|` | SNMP Maximum OIDs on a bulkwalk (v2, v3)
`|host_id|` | Cacti internal ID for that Host

### RRDTool Specific Features

#### GPRINT Presets

A GPRINT is a graph item type that enables you to print the values of data sources on a graph. They are typically used to represent legend values on the graph. The output format of these numbers are controlled by a printf-like format string. Cacti enables you to keep a global list of these strings that can be applied to any graph item throughout Cacti.

##### Creating a GPRINT Preset

To create a new GPRINT preset, select the Graph Management menu item under the Management heading, and select GPRINT Presets. Click Add to the right and you will be presented with an edit page containing two fields. Enter a name for your GPRINT preset, and the actual printf-like string in the GPRINT Text field. When you are finished, click the Create button to create your new GPRINT preset.

#### CDEFs

CDEFs allow you to apply mathematical functions to graph data to alter output. The concept of a CDEF comes straight from RRDTool, and are written in reverse polish notation (RPN). For more information regarding the syntax of CDEFs, check out the CDEF tutorial.

##### Creating a CDEF

To create a new CDEF in Cacti, select the Graph Management option under the Management heading, and select CDEFs. Once at this screen, click Add to the right. You will be prompted for a CDEF name, for which you can type anything used to describe your CDEF. Click the Create button so you are redirected back to the edit page, now with an empty CDEF Items box. Construct your CDEF by adding an item for each element in the CDEF string, common types such as operators and functions are enumerated for your convenience. Below is a basic description of each CDEF item type.

##### CDEF Item Types

Type | Description
Function | You can choose a CDEF function to use as the item. The RRDTool graph manual describes the purpose of each CDEF function.
Operator | Just your standard math operators, including modulo (%).
Special Data Source | A special data source is basically a flag to tell Cacti to do some special processing when it encounters this CDEF item. The "Current Graph Item Data Source" type basically inserts the name of the data source that is referenced by the graph item that references to this CDEF. Both of the "All Data Sources" types insert a summation of all data sources used on a graph.
Another CDEF | You can recursively use another CDEF within this CDEF.
Custom String | Sometimes it's just easier to type out the literal CDEF string manually. When referencing to data sources on the graph, remember that Cacti names them 'a', 'b', 'c', '...', starting with the first data source on the graph.

##### Special Data Source

The Special Data Souce selection introduces some variables not known to plain vanilla rrdtool. Let's spend some few words of them to unleash their power.

##### CDEF Special Data Source

Special Data Source | Description
Current Graph Item Data Source | Will be replaced by the DEF name of the rrdtool data source referred by the graph item this CDEF is associated to.
All Data Sources (Don't Include Duplicates) | Will add up all data sources of the whole graph to form a total. A data source that appears more than once will be counted only once. Data sources that differ by consolidation functions only are NOT counted as different data sources (e.g. traffic_in:AVERAGE and traffic_in:MAX are counted only once). It is NOT required to associate the graph item to any data source!
All Data Sources (Include Duplicates) | Will add up all data sources of the whole graph to form a total. A data source that appears more than once will be counted for each time of it's appearance. Data sources that differ by consolidation functions only are NOT counted as different data sources (e.g. traffic_in:AVERAGE and traffic_in:MAX are counted only once). It is NOT required to associate the graph item to any data source!
Similar Data Sources (Don't Include Duplicates) | It is REQUIRED to associate the graph item to the data source that shall be totalled! Let's assume the data source is named "traffic_in". Then, cacti will add up all data sources "traffic_in" of the whole graph to form a data source specific total (e.g. Total traffic In). Data sources with different consolidation functions are counted as same data sources (e.g. traffic_in:AVERAGE and traffic_in:MAX are counted once)
Similar Data Sources (Include Duplicates) | It is REQUIRED to associate the graph item to the data source that shall be totalled! If a data source appears multiple times, it will be added this many times.
Current Data Source Item: Minimum Value | Taken from the Data Template - Data Source Item related to this graph item: fetches the minimum value defined for the given data template. Caution: This is NOT the smallest entry of the given data source!
Current Data Source Item: Maximum Value | Taken from the Data Template - Data Source Item related to this graph item: fetches the maximum value defined for the given data template. Caution: This is NOT the highest entry of the given data source!
Graph: Lower Limit | Taken from the Graph Template: fetches the Lower Limit defined to the Graph Template. This is independant of all --alt-autoscaling options. It is NOT the dynamically determined lower boundary of the graph!
Graph: Upper Limit | Taken from the Graph Template: fetches the Upper Limit defined to the Graph Template. This is independant of all --alt-autoscaling options. It is NOT the dynamically determined upper boundary of the graph!
Count of All Data Sources (Don't Include Duplicates) | Will count the number of all data sources of the whole graph. A data source that appears more than once will be counted only once. Data sources that differ by consolidation functions only are NOT counted as different data sources (e.g. traffic_in:AVERAGE and traffic_in:MAX are counted only once). It is NOT required to associate the graph item to any data source!
Count of All Data Sources (Include Duplicates) | Will count the number of all data sources of the whole graph. A data source that appears more than once will be counted for each time of it's appearance. Data sources that differ by consolidation functions only are NOT counted as different data sources (e.g. traffic_in:AVERAGE and traffic_in:MAX are counted only once). It is NOT required to associate the graph item to any data source!
Count of Similar Data Sources (Don't Include Duplicates) | It is REQUIRED to associate the graph item to the data source that shall be counted! Let's assume the data source is named "traffic_in". Then, cacti will count all data sources "traffic_in" of the whole graph. Data sources with different consolidation functions are counted as same data sources (e.g. traffic_in:AVERAGE and traffic_in:MAX are counted once)
Count of Similar Data Sources (Include Duplicates) | It is REQUIRED to associate the graph item to the data source that shall be counted! If a data source appears multiple times, it will be counted this many times.

While the `All Data Sources/Similar Data Sources` pseudo CDEF variables perform totaling, the `Count All Data Sources/Count Similar Data Sources` pseudo CDEF Variables simply count the occurences of the related data sources. Thus, it is easy to compute e.g. an average of all similar data sources by creating the CDEF

    CDEF=SIMILAR_DATA_SOURCES_NODUPS,COUNT_SIMILAR_DS_NODUPS,/

##### Using Special Data Source

Let's have some examples:

###### Sum up all Data Sources Omitting Duplicates

This is the list of graph items defined. Please note, that Item#17-20 are duplicates of Item#1-4. Even if it usually does not make sense, for this discussion it is very valuable. Item#21-24 are related to a cdef=ALL_DATA_SOURCES_NODUPS

    Graph Item  Data Source                         Graph Item Type  CF Type
    Item # 1    (traffic_in): 1. Target Traffic In 	          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 2    (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 3    (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 4    (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 5    (traffic_in): 2. Target Traffic In            LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 6    (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 7    (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 8    (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 9    (traffic_out): 1. Target Traffic Out          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 10   (traffic_out): Current:                      GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 11   (traffic_out): Average:                      GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 12   (traffic_out): Maximum:[HR]                  GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 13   (traffic_out): 2. Target Traffic Out          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 14   (traffic_out): Current:                      GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 15   (traffic_out): Average:                      GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 16   (traffic_out): Maximum:[HR]                  GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 17   (traffic_in): 1. Target Again Traffic In      LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 18   (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 19   (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 20   (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 21   (No Task): AllDsNoDups                        LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 22   (No Task): Current:                          GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 23   (No Task): Average:                          GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 24   (No Task): Maximum:[HR]                      GPRINT      MAX

And this is the rrd graph statement:

    /usr/bin/rrdtool graph - \
    --imgformat=PNG \
    --start=-86400 \
    --end=-300 \
    --title="Traffic AllDsNoDups" \
    --base=1000 \
    --height=120 \
    --width=500 \
    --alt-autoscale-max \
    --lower-limit=0 \
    --vertical-label="" \
    --slope-mode \
    --font TITLE:12: \
    --font AXIS:8: \
    --font LEGEND:8: \
    --font UNIT:8: \
    DEF:a="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_in:AVERAGE \
    DEF:b="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_in:MAX \
    DEF:c="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_in:AVERAGE \
    DEF:d="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_in:MAX \
    DEF:e="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_out:AVERAGE \
    DEF:f="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_out:MAX \
    DEF:g="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_out:AVERAGE \
    DEF:h="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_out:MAX \
    CDEF:cdefca=TIME,1202925514,GT,a,a,UN,0,a,IF,IF,TIME,1202925514,GT,c,c,UN,0,c,IF,IF,TIME,1202925514,GT,e,e,UN,0,e,IF,IF,TIME,1202925514,GT,g,g,UN,0,g,IF,IF,+,+,+ \
    LINE1:a#FFFF00FF:"1. Target Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:a:LAST:"      Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:a:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:b:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:c#FFD660FF:"2. Target Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:c:LAST:"      Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:c:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:d:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:e#CAF100FF:"1. Target Traffic Out"  \
    GPRINT:e:LAST:"     Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:e:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:f:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:g#CCBB00FF:"2. Target Traffic Out"  \
    GPRINT:g:LAST:"     Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:g:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:h:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:a#FF0000FF:"1. Target Again Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:a:LAST:"Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:a:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:b:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:cdefca#000000FF:"AllDsNoDups"  \
    GPRINT:cdefca:LAST:"               Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:cdefca:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:cdefca:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"

The data sources are denoted by the letters a to h. cdefca represents the important part. You surely notice, that all data sources using consolidation function AVERAGE are taken into account while MAX is skipped. Please pay attention to the data source denoted by a. Even though the data source appears twice, the cdef shows it only once. This is due to the duplicate suppression.

###### Sum up all Data Sources Including Duplicates

This is the list of graph items defined. Please note, that Item#17-20 are duplicates of Item#1-4. Even if it usually does not make sense, for this discussion it is very valuable. Item#21-24 are related to a cdef=ALL_DATA_SOURCES_DUPS

    Graph Item  Data Source                         Graph Item Type  CF Type
    Item # 1    (traffic_in): 1. Target Traffic In 	          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 2    (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 3    (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 4    (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 5    (traffic_in): 2. Target Traffic In            LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 6    (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 7    (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 8    (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 9    (traffic_out): 1. Target Traffic Out          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 10   (traffic_out): Current:                      GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 11   (traffic_out): Average:                      GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 12   (traffic_out): Maximum:[HR]                  GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 13   (traffic_out): 2. Target Traffic Out          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 14   (traffic_out): Current:                      GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 15   (traffic_out): Average:                      GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 16   (traffic_out): Maximum:[HR]                  GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 17   (traffic_in): 1. Target Again Traffic In      LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 18   (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 19   (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 20   (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 21   (No Task): AllDsDups                          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 22   (No Task): Current:                          GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 23   (No Task): Average:                          GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 24   (No Task): Maximum:[HR]                      GPRINT      MAX

And this is the rrd graph statement:

    /usr/bin/rrdtool graph - \
    --imgformat=PNG \
    --start=-86400 \
    --end=-300 \
    --title="Traffic AllDsDups" \
    --base=1000 \
    --height=120 \
    --width=500 \
    --alt-autoscale-max \
    --lower-limit=0 \
    --vertical-label="" \
    --slope-mode \
    --font TITLE:12: \
    --font AXIS:8: \
    --font LEGEND:8: \
    --font UNIT:8: \
    DEF:a="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_in:AVERAGE \
    DEF:b="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_in:MAX \
    DEF:c="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_in:AVERAGE \
    DEF:d="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_in:MAX \
    DEF:e="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_out:AVERAGE \
    DEF:f="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_out:MAX \
    DEF:g="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_out:AVERAGE \
    DEF:h="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_out:MAX \
    CDEF:cdefca=TIME,1202925583,GT,a,a,UN,0,a,IF,IF,TIME,1202925583,GT,c,c,UN,0,c,IF,IF,TIME,1202925583,GT,e,e,UN,0,e,IF,IF,TIME,1202925583,GT,g,g,UN,0,g,IF,IF,TIME,1202925583,GT,a,a,UN,0,a,IF,IF,+,+,+,+ \
    LINE1:a#FFFF00FF:"1. Target Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:a:LAST:"      Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:a:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:b:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:c#FFD660FF:"2. Target Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:c:LAST:"      Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:c:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:d:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:e#CAF100FF:"1. Target Traffic Out"  \
    GPRINT:e:LAST:"     Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:e:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:f:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:g#CCBB00FF:"2. Target Traffic Out"  \
    GPRINT:g:LAST:"     Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:g:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:h:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:a#FF0000FF:"1. Target Again Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:a:LAST:"Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:a:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:b:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:cdefca#000000FF:"AllDsDups"  \
    GPRINT:cdefca:LAST:"                 Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:cdefca:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:cdefca:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"

Again, the data sources are denoted by the letters a to h and cdefca represents the important part. Please pay attention to the data source denoted by a appearing twice in this cdef. This is, because it appears twice (Item#17-20) in the graph item list and duplicate suppression is not in effect.

###### Sum up Similar Data Sources Omitting Duplicates

Everything is very much like the above; again Item#17-20 are duplicates of Item#1-4. Item#21-24 are related to a cdef=SIMILAR_DATA_SOURCES_NODUPS and are associated with the data source traffic_in of the 1. target (it does not matter, which target is chosen, as long as you only choose a traffic_in data source)

    Graph Item  Data Source                         Graph Item Type  CF Type
    Item # 1    (traffic_in): 1. Target Traffic In 	          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 2    (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 3    (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 4    (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 5    (traffic_in): 2. Target Traffic In            LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 6    (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 7    (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 8    (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 9    (traffic_out): 1. Target Traffic Out          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 10   (traffic_out): Current:                      GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 11   (traffic_out): Average:                      GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 12   (traffic_out): Maximum:[HR]                  GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 13   (traffic_out): 2. Target Traffic Out          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 14   (traffic_out): Current:                      GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 15   (traffic_out): Average:                      GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 16   (traffic_out): Maximum:[HR]                  GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 17   (traffic_in): 1. Target Again Traffic In      LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 18   (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 19   (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 20   (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 21   (traffic_in): SimilarDsNoDups                 LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 22   (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 23   (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 24   (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX

And this is the rrd graph statement:

    /usr/bin/rrdtool graph - \
    --imgformat=PNG \
    --start=-86400 \
    --end=-300 \
    --title="Traffic SimilarDsNoDups" \
    --base=1000 \
    --height=120 \
    --width=500 \
    --alt-autoscale-max \
    --lower-limit=0 \
    --vertical-label="" \
    --slope-mode \
    --font TITLE:12: \
    --font AXIS:8: \
    --font LEGEND:8: \
    --font UNIT:8: \
    DEF:a="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_in:AVERAGE \
    DEF:b="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_in:MAX \
    DEF:c="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_in:AVERAGE \
    DEF:d="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_in:MAX \
    DEF:e="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_out:AVERAGE \
    DEF:f="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_out:MAX \
    DEF:g="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_out:AVERAGE \
    DEF:h="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_out:MAX \
    CDEF:cdefca=TIME,1202924474,GT,a,a,UN,0,a,IF,IF,TIME,1202924474,GT,c,c,UN,0,c,IF,IF,+ \
    CDEF:cdefcd=TIME,1202924474,GT,b,b,UN,0,b,IF,IF,TIME,1202924474,GT,d,d,UN,0,d,IF,IF,+ \
    LINE1:a#FFFF00FF:"1. Target Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:a:LAST:"      Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:a:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:b:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:c#FFD660FF:"2. Target Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:c:LAST:"      Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:c:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:d:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:e#CAF100FF:"1. Target Traffic Out"  \
    GPRINT:e:LAST:"     Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:e:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:f:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:g#CCBB00FF:"2. Target Traffic Out"  \
    GPRINT:g:LAST:"     Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:g:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:h:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:a#FF0000FF:"1. Target Again Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:a:LAST:"Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:a:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:b:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:cdefca#000000FF:"SimilarDsNoDups"  \
    GPRINT:cdefca:LAST:"           Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:cdefca:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:cdefcd:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"

cdefca calculates the SUM of all traffic_in data sources, but pays attention only to consolidation function AVERAGE. Duplicate suppression makes sure, that the second occurrence of the 1. target is not taken into account. So it's only summing data source a and c. cdefca is used the the LINE1 graph item with exact match for consolidation function AVERAGE as well as for the best matched consolidation functions LAST and MIN.

cdefcd calculates the SUM of all traffic_in data sources, but pays attention only to consolidation function MAX. Again, duplicate suppression is in effect. So it's only summing data source b and d. cdefcd is used for the graph item with exact match for consolidation function MAX only. This is, because my rra settings only define AVERAGE and MAX, where LAST and MIN are omitted. This may differ for installations defining LAST and MIN as well.

###### Sum up Similar Data Sources Including Duplicates

Again, please note, that Item#17-20 are duplicates of Item#1-4. Item#21-24 are related to a cdef=SIMILAR_DATA_SOURCES_DUPS and are associated with the data source traffic_in of the 1. target (it does not matter, which target is chosen, as long as you only choose a traffic_in data source)

    Graph Item  Data Source                         Graph Item Type  CF Type
    Item # 1    (traffic_in): 1. Target Traffic In 	          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 2    (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 3    (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 4    (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 5    (traffic_in): 2. Target Traffic In            LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 6    (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 7    (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 8    (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 9    (traffic_out): 1. Target Traffic Out          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 10   (traffic_out): Current:                      GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 11   (traffic_out): Average:                      GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 12   (traffic_out): Maximum:[HR]                  GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 13   (traffic_out): 2. Target Traffic Out          LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 14   (traffic_out): Current:                      GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 15   (traffic_out): Average:                      GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 16   (traffic_out): Maximum:[HR]                  GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 17   (traffic_in): 1. Target Again Traffic In      LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 18   (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 19   (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 20   (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX
    Item # 21   (traffic_in): SimilarDsDups                   LINE1  AVERAGE
    Item # 22   (traffic_in): Current:                       GPRINT     LAST
    Item # 23   (traffic_in): Average:                       GPRINT  AVERAGE
    Item # 24   (traffic_in): Maximum:[HR]                   GPRINT      MAX

And this is the rrd graph statement:

    /usr/bin/rrdtool graph - \
    --imgformat=PNG \
    --start=-86400 \
    --end=-300 \
    --title="Traffic SimilarDsDups" \
    --base=1000 \
    --height=120 \
    --width=500 \
    --alt-autoscale-max \
    --lower-limit=0 \
    --vertical-label="" \
    --slope-mode \
    --font TITLE:12: \
    --font AXIS:8: \
    --font LEGEND:8: \
    --font UNIT:8: \
    DEF:a="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_in:AVERAGE \
    DEF:b="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_in:MAX \
    DEF:c="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_in:AVERAGE \
    DEF:d="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_in:MAX \
    DEF:e="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_out:AVERAGE \
    DEF:f="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_traffic_in_235.rrd":traffic_out:MAX \
    DEF:g="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_out:AVERAGE \
    DEF:h="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target2_traffic_in_8.rrd":traffic_out:MAX \
    CDEF:cdefca=TIME,1202925634,GT,a,a,UN,0,a,IF,IF,TIME,1202925634,GT,c,c,UN,0,c,IF,IF,TIME,1202925634,GT,a,a,UN,0,a,IF,IF,+,+ \
    CDEF:cdefcd=TIME,1202925634,GT,b,b,UN,0,b,IF,IF,TIME,1202925634,GT,d,d,UN,0,d,IF,IF,TIME,1202925634,GT,b,b,UN,0,b,IF,IF,+,+ \
    LINE1:a#FFFF00FF:"1. Target Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:a:LAST:"      Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:a:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:b:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:c#FFD660FF:"2. Target Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:c:LAST:"      Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:c:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:d:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:e#CAF100FF:"1. Target Traffic Out"  \
    GPRINT:e:LAST:"     Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:e:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:f:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:g#CCBB00FF:"2. Target Traffic Out"  \
    GPRINT:g:LAST:"     Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:g:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:h:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:a#FF0000FF:"1. Target Again Traffic In"  \
    GPRINT:a:LAST:"Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:a:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:b:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"  \
    LINE1:cdefca#000000FF:"SimilarDsDups"  \
    GPRINT:cdefca:LAST:"             Current\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:cdefca:AVERAGE:"Average\:%8.2lf%s"  \
    GPRINT:cdefcd:MAX:"Maximum\:%8.2lf%s\n"

cdefca and cdefcd represents the important part. You surely notice, that all data sources using consolidation function AVERAGE are taken into account for calculation cdefca, while MAX is calculated with cdefcd. Please pay attention to the data source denoted by a and b, respectively, appearing twice in those cdefs as expected.

##### More CDEF Examples

###### Disk Usage as a Percentage

This example is based on the standard data template ucd/net - Hard Drive Space. Cacti ships an associated graph template named ucd/net - Available Disk Space. Often, users complain about the fact, tha tthis template prints free and used space as absolute figures only. But instead of knowing, that your data partition has about 10GB used space, you may be interested in the percentage used. So let's create a simple example to show the power of the recently introduced special data sources.

To make it work, we need two new CDEFs. The first one may come in useful for a bunch of different graph templates. It's named Make Current Data Source 0. On a first glance, you may wonder why this CDEF is needed. It is used for those data sources, that will be used for calculations but shall not show up themselves. Here's the definition

    cdef=CURRENT_DATA_SOURCE,0,*

Now, the other one, named Current DS as Percentage of all DS

    cdef=CURRENT_DATA_SOURCE,ALL_DATA_SOURCES_NODUPS,/,100,*

Here's a short discussion. The first three elements read: Take the current data source and divide it by "The Sum of All Data Sources (Don't include Duplicates)". To form a percentage, you will have to multiply by 100. This is done by adding the elements four and five.

Now, let's build up the new graph

    Graph Item   Data Source         Graph Item Type  CF Type  Item Color
        Item#1   (hdd_used):         LINE1            AVERAGE
        Item#2   (hdd_free):         LINE1            AVERAGE
        Item#3   (hdd_used): % Used  AREA             AVERAGE  FF0000

Item#1+2 in most cases will exceed the maximum percentage of 100 by magnitudes. So they are associated with the CDEF named Make Current Data Source 0 to make them zero. This adds the data sources to the graph but avoids them showing up. The pseudo-color of "None" is associated to both of them.

Iten#3 is associated to the data source hdd_used as we want to print the "% Used" of the partition. The CDEF is Current DS as Percentage of all DS, the color is set to "red (FF0000)".

And this is the rrd graph statement:

    /usr/bin/rrdtool graph - \
    --imgformat=PNG \
    --start=-86400 \
    --end=-300 \
    --title="gandalf - Disk Space - / %used" \
    --rigid \
    --base=1024 \
    --height=120 \
    --width=500 \
    --alt-autoscale-max \
    --lower-limit=0 \
    --vertical-label="Percent" \
    --slope-mode \
    --font TITLE:12: \
    --font AXIS:8: \
    --font LEGEND:8: \
    --font UNIT:8: \
    DEF:a="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_hdd_free_236.rrd":hdd_used:AVERAGE \
    DEF:b="/var/www/html/cacti/rra/target1_hdd_free_236.rrd":hdd_free:AVERAGE \
    CDEF:cdefa=a,0,* \
    CDEF:cdefb=b,0,* \
    CDEF:cdefc=a,TIME,1203272123,GT,a,a,UN,0,a,IF,IF,TIME,1203272123,GT,b,b,UN,0,b,IF,IF,+,/,100,* \
    LINE1:cdefa:""  \
    LINE1:cdefb:""  \
    AREA:cdefc#FF0000FF:"% Used"

cdefa and cdefb are used to make the according graph items zero. cdefc performs the percentage calculation.

You may of cource add GPRINT legends as usual. If you do this for the "% Used" entry only, you will get surprising results, if your rrd file holds either MAXIMUM, LAST and/or MINIMUM consolidation function(s). This is left as an exercise to you ;-)

###### Background Colors for Day and Night

This set of CDEFs is used to colorize the background of a graph with different colors for day, night and weekends. The CDEFs are created as usual, we will show the CDEF definition only. Examples are taken from rrdtool-users mailing list courtesy Erik de Mare. Here are the definitions

Background for Daytime

    cdef=LTIME,86400,%,28800,GT,LTIME,86400,%,64800,LT,INF,UNKN,CURRENT_DATA_SOURCE,*,IF,UNKN,CURRENT_DATA_SOURCE,*,IF

Background for Nighttime

    cdef=LTIME,86400,%,28800,LT,INF,LTIME,86400,%,64800,GT,INF,UNKN,CURRENT_DATA_SOURCE,*,IF,IF

Background for Weekend

    cdef=LTIME,604800,%,172800,GT,LTIME,604800,%,345600,LT,INF,UNKN,CURRENT_DATA_SOURCE,*,IF,UNKN,CURRENT_DATA_SOURCE,*,IF

The value of 86400 represents the number of seconds of a day, whereas 28800 represents 8:00, defined as the start of the day. End of the day, 64800 is assumed at 18:00. Please replace those values if required. For weekends, same logic applies.

Now, let's apply those new CDEFs to a Graph Template. For this example, I've chosen the Unix - Processes that applies to localhost only. In turn, please create three new graph items, associate the processes data source, make them AREAs, select a color and opacity. Choose the daytime , nighttime and weekend CDEF in this sequence. As a last step, move those three new graph items to the top. I've chosen opacity of 20% for Item#1 to 3.

    Graph Item  Data Source                Graph Item Type  CF Type  Item Color
    Item # 1    (proc):                    AREA             AVERAGE  FFFF00
    Item # 2    (proc):                    AREA             AVERAGE  0000FF
    Item # 3    (proc):                    AREA             AVERAGE  2E3127
    Item # 4    (proc): Running Processes  AREA             AVERAGE  F51D30
    Item # 5    (proc): Current:           GPRINT           LAST
    Item # 6    (proc): Average:           GPRINT           AVERAGE
    Item # 7    (proc): Maximum:           GPRINT           MAX

### Command Line Scripts

Cacti support a number of command line scripts. Please find them in the `./cli` directory. As of current, following scripts are supported:

    add_device.php
    add_data_query.php
    add_graph_template.php
    add_graphs.php
    add_perms.php
    add_tree.php
    copy_user.php
    poller_graphs_reapply_names.php
    poller_output_empty.php
    poller_reindex_hosts.php
    rebuild_poller_cache.php

#### Numbers may vary!

In the following examples, several numbers are shown as output from various scripts. They will vary between different installations. So don't bother, if your numbers will vary

#### Rebuild Poller Cache

The poller cache holds all commands that cacti will issue during the polling process in an internal format. It is possible, to review the currenty contents of the poller cache by visiting `System Utilities`, `View Poller Cache`. It is possible to apply filters to this view; it will show up like

    Localhost - Hard Drive Space   	Script Server: /var/www/html/cacti/scripts/ss_host_disk.php ss_host_disk 127.0.0.1 1 1:161:500:somesecret:::::: get total 6
    	                        RRD: /var/www/html/cacti/rra/localhost_hdd_total_61.rrd
    Localhost - Load Average 	Script: /usr/bin/perl /var/www/html/cacti/scripts/loadavg_multi.pl
    	                        RRD: /var/www/html/cacti/rra/localhost_load_1min_5.rrd
    Localhost - Logged in Users 	Script: /usr/bin/perl /var/www/html/cacti/scripts/unix_users.pl
    	                        RRD: /var/www/html/cacti/rra/localhost_users_6.rrd
    Localhost - Memory - Free 	Script: /usr/bin/perl /var/www/html/cacti/scripts/linux_memory.pl MemFree:
    	                        RRD: /var/www/html/cacti/rra/localhost_mem_buffers_3.rrd
    Localhost - Memory - Free Swap 	Script: /usr/bin/perl /var/www/html/cacti/scripts/linux_memory.pl SwapFree:
    	                        RRD: /var/www/html/cacti/rra/localhost_mem_swap_4.rrd
    Localhost - mtaReceivedMessages SNMP Version: 1, Community: somesecret, OID: .1.3.6.1.2.1.28.1.1.1.1
    	                        RRD: /var/www/html/cacti/rra/localhost_mtareceivedmessages_47.rrd
    Localhost - mtaReceivedVolume 	SNMP Version: 1, Community: somesecret, OID: .1.3.6.1.2.1.28.1.1.4.1
    	                        RRD: /var/www/html/cacti/rra/localhost_mtareceivedvolume_49.rrd

There are several circumstances, that may result in the poller cache being out of sync. An example would be a change of the name of a script used in a `Data Input Method`. This change is not automatically propagated to the poller cache. It is required, to run php -q rebuild poller_cache.php manually.

Calling the script with the parameter `--help` yields

    shell>php -q rebuild_poller_cache.php --help
    Cacti Rebuild Poller Cache Script 1.0, Copyright 2004-2017 - The Cacti Group

    usage: rebuild_poller_cache.php [-d] [-h] [--help] [-v] [--version]

    -d            - Display verbose output during execution
    -v --version  - Display this help message
    -h --help     - Display this help message

Debug mode lists the data sources items that are worked upon.

    shell>php -q rebuild_poller_cache.php -d
    WARNING: Do not interrupt this script.  Rebuilding the Poller Cache can take quite some time
    DEBUG: There are '38' data source elements to update.
    DEBUG: Data Source Item '1' of '38' updated
    DEBUG: Data Source Item '2' of '38' updated
    DEBUG: Data Source Item '3' of '38' updated
    DEBUG: Data Source Item '4' of '38' updated
    ....

Without any parameter, some dots are shown as progress indicators.

    shell>php -q rebuild_poller_cache.php
    WARNING: Do not interrupt this script.  Rebuilding the Poller Cache can take quite some time
    ......................................
    shell>

##### Stop the Poller when Rebuilding the Poller Cache

Rebuilding the poller cache interferes with the poller operation. Please make sure, that the poller is not running and will not start during a rebuild operation

#### Re-Index Hosts

Re-Indexing is required only for SNMP/Script Data Queries. Remember, that whan applying a Data Query to a Host, a `Re-Index Method` has to be chosen. This reindex method governs the automatic re-indexing based on specific events.

#### Re_Index Methods

Re-Index Method | Description
Uptime Goes Backwards | Refers to a system reboot. Cacti will detect if the target has been rebootet by querying sysUptime (.1.3.6.1.2.1.1.3.0). If the current value for the uptime is lower than the previous one (uptime goes backwards), a reboot is assumed and a re-index is performed
Index Count Changed | Refers to a change of the number of indexed items, e.g. interfaces, without checking sysUptime. It is of particular interest in cases, where indexed entries may change without the need of a reboot. As modern operating systems seldom require reboots for system configuration changes, you may want to consider this setting for many cases (e.g. creating of a new filesystem without a reboot). The index to be considered is defined by the according XML file.
Verify All Fields | All index fields of the according XML file are checked for changes. This is of particular interest e.g. in cases, where the index is non-numeric (e.g. a MAC address).

If you feel the need for manual re-indexing, you may run it from cli. Calling the script with the parameter `--help` yields

    shell>php -q poller_reindex_hosts.php --help
    Cacti Reindex Host Script 1.2, Copyright 2004-2017 - The Cacti Group

    usage: poller_reindex_hosts.php --id=[host_id|All] [--qid=[ID|All]] [--host-descr=[description]]
                               [-d] [-h] [--help] [-v] [--version]

    --id=host_id             - The host_id to have data queries reindexed or 'All' to reindex all hosts
    --qid=query_id           - Only index on a specific data query id; defaults to 'All'
    --host-descr=description - The host description to filter by (SQL filters acknowledged)
    --debug                  - Display verbose output during execution
    -v --version             - Display this help message
    -h --help                - Display this help message

Running it in debug mode for the host with `id=2` may yield

    shell>php -q poller_reindex_hosts.php -id=2 -d
    WARNING: Do not interrupt this script.  Reindexing can take quite some time
    DEBUG: There are '1' data queries to run
    DEBUG: Data query number '1' host: '2' SNMP Query Id: '1' starting
    DEBUG: Data query number '1' host: '2' SNMP Query Id: '1' ending

A silent run for all devices is issued by

    shell>php -q poller_reindex_hosts.php -id=All
    WARNING: Do not interrupt this script.  Reindexing can take quite some time
    .....shell>

You may run this script against a specific data query id using `--qid=[data query id]` like

    shell>php -q poller_reindex_hosts.php --id=All --qid=1 -d
    WARNING: Do not interrupt this script.  Reindexing can take quite some time
    DEBUG: There are '3' data queries to run
    DEBUG: Data query number '1' host: '1' SNMP Query Id: '1' starting
    DEBUG: Data query number '1' host: '1' SNMP Query Id: '1' ending
    DEBUG: Data query number '2' host: '2' SNMP Query Id: '1' starting
    DEBUG: Data query number '2' host: '2' SNMP Query Id: '1' ending
    DEBUG: Data query number '3' host: '15' SNMP Query Id: '1' starting
    DEBUG: Data query number '3' host: '15' SNMP Query Id: '1' ending

It is possible, to select a host based on its host description using `--host-descr=[host description]`. It is allowed to apply an SQL filter expression for the description like `--qid=some%descr`. Use this parameter in conjunction with either `--id=[host id]` or `--qid=[data query id]` or both:

    shell>php -q poller_reindex_hosts.php --id=All --qid=1 --host-descr=ga%f -d
    WARNING: Do not interrupt this script.  Reindexing can take quite some time
    DEBUG: There are '1' data queries to run
    DEBUG: Data query number '1' host: '2' SNMP Query Id: '1' starting
    DEBUG: Data query number '1' host: '2' SNMP Query Id: '1' ending

##### Stop the Poller during Re-Indexing

Re-Indexing interferes with the poller operation. Please make sure, that the poller is not running and will not start during a reindex operation

#### Empty Poller Output Table

During normal poller operation, all retrieved results are intermediately stored in the table named poller_output After execution of cmd.php or Spine, this table holds all results. The poller.php finally issues all rrdtool update operations. Thus, after polling has completed, the table should be empty.

Conditions may arise, where the table is not (completely) emptied. The most often known issue is lack of php memory. In those cases, the table is bigger than the php memory size, thus not all items are handled correctly. If that issue occurs, you may save all pending updates after increasing PHP memory appropriately by running this very script. Calling the script with the parameter `--help` yields

    shell>php -q poller_output_empty.php --help
    Cacti Empty Poller Output Table Script 1.0, Copyright 2004-2017 - The Cacti Group

    usage: poller_output_empty.php [-h] [--help] [-v] [--version]

    -v --version  - Display this help message
    -h --help     - Display this help message

You see, no parameter is required for operating successfully. Under normal circumstances, running this script should yield

    shell>php -q poller_output_empty.php
    There were 0, RRD updates made this pass
    shell>

In case, you hit the poller process or if the table was really not fully processed, you may find

    shell>php -q poller_output_empty.php
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.04
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.04
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.04
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.04
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.04
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.04
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.04
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.04
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.04
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.05
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.05
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.05
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.05
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.05
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.05
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.05
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.05
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.05
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.05
    OK u:0.00 s:0.00 r:0.05
    OK u:0.00 s:0.01 r:0.06
    There were 21, RRD updates made this pass
    shell>

If logging level verbosity was switched to `DEBUG` you may find additional debug messages that usually show up in `cacti.log`

#### Reapply Suggested Names to Graphs

For a general understanding of suggested names used with data queries, please see data-queries-associated-graph-templates. Be aware, that changes to the `Suggested Names` section of a data query will not automatically be propagated to all existing graphs. This is, where poller_graphs_reapply_names.php drops in. Calling the script with the parameter `--help` yields

    shell>php -q poller_graphs_reapply_names.php --help
    Cacti Reapply Graph Names Script 1.0, Copyright 2004-2017 - The Cacti Group

    usage: poller_graphs_reapply_names.php -id=[host_id|All][host_id1|host_id2|...] [-s=[search_string] [-d] [-h] [--help] [-v] [--version]

    -id=host_id   - The host_id or 'All' or a pipe delimited list of host_id's
    -s=search_str - A graph template name or graph title to search for
    -d            - Display verbose output during execution
    -v --version  - Display this help message
    -h --help     - Display this help message

Assume a situation, where the suggested names where changed for the standard data query named `SNMP - Get Mounted Partitions`. In this case, you will want to rework all graphs for this data query only. A verbose run will yield

    shell>php -q poller_graphs_reapply_names.php -id=All -d -s="Used space"
    WARNING: Do not interrupt this script.  Interrupting during rename can cause issues
    DEBUG: There are '6' Graphs to rename
    DEBUG: Graph Name 'Localhost - Used Space - Memory Buffers' starting
    DEBUG: Graph Rename Done for Graph 'Localhost - Used Space - Memory Buffers'
    DEBUG: Graph Name 'Localhost - Used Space - Real Memory' starting
    DEBUG: Graph Rename Done for Graph 'Localhost - Used Space - Real Memory'
    DEBUG: Graph Name 'Localhost - Used Space - Swap Space' starting
    DEBUG: Graph Rename Done for Graph 'Localhost - Used Space - Swap Space'
    DEBUG: Graph Name 'Localhost - Used Space - /' starting
    DEBUG: Graph Rename Done for Graph 'Localhost - Used Space - /'
    DEBUG: Graph Name 'Localhost - Used Space - /sys' starting
    DEBUG: Graph Rename Done for Graph 'Localhost - Used Space - /sys'
    DEBUG: Graph Name 'Localhost - Used Space - /boot' starting
    DEBUG: Graph Rename Done for Graph 'Localhost - Used Space - /boot'

Please notice my miss-spelling of the word Space. The `-s=` option is not case sensitive.

#### Copy Local Cacti Users

For use and understanding the limitation of this script, it is of importance to read user-management. In case you're using local cacti user definitions, you may copy a template user to a new user. Don't use this script for LDAP or Web Basic users.

Calling the script with the parameter `--help` yields

    shell>php -q copy_user.php --help

    It is highly recommended that you use the web interface to copy users as this script will only copy Local Cacti users.

    Syntax:
     php copy_cacti_user.php <template user> <new user>

Now let's create a new user `Harry Potter` as follows

    shell>php -q copy_user.php guest "Harry Potter"

    It is highly recommended that you use the web interface to copy users as this script will only copy Local Cacti users.

    Cacti User Copy Utility
    Template User: guest
    New User: Harry Potter

    Copying User...
    User copied...

Find the results of this program call at User Management

    User Name** 	Full Name 	Enabled 	Realm 	Default Graph Policy 	Last Login
    admin  	        Administrator  	Yes  		Local  	ALLOW  			Sunday, October 07, 2007 14:59:32
    guest 	        Guest Account 	Yes 		Local 	ALLOW 			N/A
    Harry Potter 	Guest Account 	Yes 		Local 	ALLOW 			N/A

#### Add a New Device

While it is an easy task to add a new device from the panels, this would be a tedious task for creating dozens of hundreds of devices in one turn. This is, where the script `add_device.php` comes in. First, let's have a look at the whole list of features it provides. Calling the script with the parameter `--help` yields

    shell>php -q add_device.php --help

    Add Device Script 1.0, Copyright 2004-2017 - The Cacti Group

    A simple command line utility to add a device in Cacti

    usage: add_device.php --description=[description] --ip=[IP] --template=[ID] [--notes="[]"] [--disable]
        [--avail=[ping]] --ping_method=[icmp] --ping_port=[N/A, 1-65534] --ping_retries=[2]
        [--version=[1|2|3]] [--community=] [--port=161] [--timeout=500]
        [--username= --password=] [--authproto=] [--privpass= --privproto=] [--context=]
        [--quiet]

    Required:
        --description  the name that will be displayed by Cacti in the graphs
        --ip           self explanatory (can also be a FQDN)
    Optional:
        --template     0, is a number (read below to get a list of templates)
        --notes        '', General information about this host.  Must be enclosed using double quotes.
        --disable      0, 1 to add this host but to disable checks and 0 to enable it
        --avail        pingsnmp, [ping][none, snmp, pingsnmp]
        --ping_method  tcp, icmp|tcp|udp
        --ping_port    '', 1-65534
        --ping_retries 2, the number of time to attempt to communicate with a host
        --version      1, 1|2|3, snmp version
        --community    '', snmp community string for snmpv1 and snmpv2.  Leave blank for no community
        --port         161
        --timeout      500
        --username     '', snmp username for snmpv3
        --password     '', snmp password for snmpv3
        --authproto    '', snmp authentication protocol for snmpv3
        --privpass     '', snmp privacy passphrase for snmpv3
        --privproto    '', snmp privacy protocol for snmpv3
        --context      '', snmp context for snmpv3

    List Options:
        --list-host-templates
        --list-communities
        --quiet - batch mode value return

Wow, that's quite a lot of options. To better understand it's use, let's first stick to the listing options

##### List all Host Templates

    shell>php -q add_device.php --list-host-templates

    Valid Host Templates: (id, name)
    1       Generic SNMP-enabled Host
    3       ucd/net SNMP Host
    4       Karlnet Wireless Bridge
    5       Cisco Router
    6       Netware 4/5 Server
    7       Windows 2000/XP Host
    8       Local Linux Machine

Why are those `Host Templates` of such importance for this script? Well, when using this script to add a new device, there are 3 required parameters. The `description` and the `device ip address` are of course left to you. But for assigning the correct `Host Template Id`, you should first know the correct id of that very parameter. For the purpose of this chapter we assume to add a device that will be associated to a `ucd/net SNMP Host`, so the id of `3` is required.

If you do not want to associate the host to any `Host Template Id`, known as host template None, please provide the parameter `--template=0` or omit this parameter.

##### List all Community Strings

    shell>php -q add_device.php --list-communities

    Known communities are: (community)

    public
    snmp-get

Of course, your list will vary

##### Create a New Device

Now, let's set up the most basic command to add a new device. The description shall be `"Device Add Test"`, the ip will be given as a FQDN, `router.mydomain.com`. As a SNMP enabled device, surely a community string has to be provided; in this case given as `public`. In total, this makes the following command

    shell>php -q add_device.php --description="Device Add Test" --ip="router.mydomain.com" --template=3 --community="public"

    Adding Device Add Test (router.mydomain.com) as "ucd/net SNMP Host" using SNMP v1 with community "public"
    Success - new device-id: (11)

Please visit Devices to see the result:

    Description** 		Graphs 	Data Sources 	Status 	Hostname 		Current (ms) 	Average (ms) 	Availability
    Device Add Test 	0 	0 		Unknown router.mydomain.com 	0 		0 		100

Please use any other combination of parameters in the same way as via the web browser console. You may want to remember the new device id, `11` in this case, for the next steps.

#### Associate a Data Query to an existing Host

It is recommended to maintain data query associations by maintaining host templates. Each time, a data query is added to a host template, it will automatically associated with all hosts related to that very host template. The data query will be executed as well; this way the snmp cache will be filled with all values related to that query.

Nevertheless, it is sometimes suitable to manually associate a certain data query with a single host only without changing any host template. This is, where the script `add_data_query.php` comes in. First, let's have a look at the whole list of features it provides. Calling the script with the parameter `--help` yields

    shell>php -q add_data_query.php --help

    Add Data Query Script 1.0, Copyright 2004-2017 - The Cacti Group

    A simple command line utility to add a data query to an existing device in Cacti

    usage: add_data_query.php --host-id=[ID] --data-query-id=[dq_id] --reindex-method=[method] [--quiet]

    Required:
        --host-id         the numerical ID of the host
        --data-query-id   the numerical ID of the data_query to be added
        --reindex-method  the reindex method to be used for that data query
                          0|None   = no reindexing
                          1|Uptime = Uptime goes Backwards
                          2|Index  = Index Count Changed
                          3|Fields = Verify all Fields
    List Options:
        --list-hosts
        --list-data-queries
        --quiet - batch mode value return

    If the data query was already associated, it will be reindexed.

Let's first stick to the listing options

##### List all Hosts

    shell>php -q add_data_query.php --list-hosts

    Known Hosts: (id, hostname, template, description)
    1       127.0.0.1       8       Localhost
    11      router          3       router.mydomain.com

##### List all Data Queries

    shell>php -q add_data_query.php --list-data-queries

    Known SNMP Queries:(id, name)
    1       SNMP - Interface Statistics
    2       ucd/net -  Get Monitored Partitions
    3       Karlnet - Wireless Bridge Statistics
    4       Netware - Get Available Volumes
    6       Unix - Get Mounted Partitions
    7       Netware - Get Processor Information
    8       SNMP - Get Mounted Partitions
    9       SNMP - Get Processor Information

##### Add a Data Query

    shell>php -q add_data_query.php --host-id=11 --data-query-id=1 --reindex-method=fields

    Success - Host (11: router.mydomain.com) data query (1: SNMP - Interface Statistics) reindex method (3: Verify All Fields)

This example shows the use of a string `"fields"` for specifying the reindex method. As given by the help text, the use of the numeric value of `"3"` would have given the exact same result. When visiting the device edit panel, you will find non-zero values for the data query status column, e.g. Success [41 Items, 5 Rows].

#### Associate a Graph Template to an existing Host

It is recommended to maintain graph template associations by maintaining host templates. Each time, a graph template is added to a host template, it will automatically associated with all hosts related to that very host template.

Nevertheless, it is sometimes suitable to manually associate a certain graph template with a single host only without changing any host template. This is, where the script `add_graph_template.php` comes in. First, let's have a look at the whole list of features it provides. Calling the script with the parameter `--help` yields

    shell>php -q add_graph_template.php --help

    Add Graph Template Script 1.0, Copyright 2004-2017 - The Cacti Group

    A simple command line utility to associate a graph template with a host in Cacti

    usage: add_graph_template.php --host-id=[ID] --graph-template-id=[ID]
        [--quiet]

    Required:
        --host-id             the numerical ID of the host
        --graph_template-id   the numerical ID of the graph template to be added

    List Options:
        --list-hosts
        --list-graph-templates
        --quiet - batch mode value return

Let's first stick to the listing options

##### List all Hosts

    shell>php -q add_graph_template.php --list-hosts

    Known Hosts: (id, hostname, template, description)
    1       127.0.0.1       8       Localhost
    11      router          3       router.mydomain.com

##### List all Graph Template

    shell>php -q add_graph_template.php --list-graph-templates

    Known Graph Templates:(id, name)
    2       Interface - Traffic (bits/sec)
    3       ucd/net - Available Disk Space
    4       ucd/net - CPU Usage
    5       Karlnet - Wireless Levels
    6       Karlnet - Wireless Transmissions
    7       Unix - Ping Latency
    8       Unix - Processes
    9       Unix - Load Average
    10      Unix - Logged in Users
    11      ucd/net - Load Average
    ...

##### Add a Graph Template

    shell>php -q add_graph_template.php --host-id=11 --graph-template-id=7

    Success: Graph Template associated for host: (11: router) - graph-template: (7: Unix - Ping Latency)

#### Add a New Graph

You won't stop now as you've just created a device from cli. Surely, the task of setting up graphs is the next step. This is done using `add_graphs.php`. Calling the script with the parameter `--help` yields

    shell>php -q add_graphs.php
    Add Graphs Script 1.2, Copyright 2008 - The Cacti Group

    A simple command line utility to add graphs in Cacti

    usage: add_graphs.php --graph-type=[cg|ds] --graph-template-id=[ID]
        --host-id=[ID] [--graph-title=title] [graph options] [--force] [--quiet]

    For cg graphs:
        [--input-fields="[data-template-id:]field-name=value ..."] [--force]

        --input-fields  If your data template allows for custom input data, you may specify that
                        here.  The data template id is optional and applies where two input fields
                        have the same name.
        --force         If you set this flag, then new cg graphs will be created, even though they
                        may already exist

    For ds graphs:
        --snmp-query-id=[ID] --snmp-query-type-id=[ID] --snmp-field=[SNMP Field] --snmp-value=[SNMP Value]

        [--graph-title=]       Defaults to what ever is in the graph template/data-source template.

        [--reindex-method=]    the reindex method to be used for that data query
                               if data query already exists, the reindex method will not be changed
                        0|None   = no reindexing
                        1|Uptime = Uptime goes Backwards (Default)
                        2|Index  = Index Count Changed
                        3|Fields = Verify all Fields
    List Options:
        --list-hosts
        --list-graph-templates [--host_template=[ID]]
        --list-input-fields --graph-template-id=[ID]
        --list-snmp-queries
        --list-query-types  --snmp-query-id [ID]
        --list-snmp-fields  --host-id=[ID] [--snmp-query-id=[ID]]
        --list-snmp-values  --host-id=[ID] [--snmp-query-id=[ID]] --snmp-field=[Field]

    'cg' graphs are for things like CPU temp/fan speed, while
    'ds' graphs are for data-source based graphs (interface stats etc.)

Like the graph creation from the console, this task is split into two different ones:

- Associated Graph Templates: These are named `cg` graph_type for this script.

- Associated Data Queries: These are named `ds` graph_type for this script. Additional SNMP parameters are required to define those graphs.

##### Exact typing required

When running this cli script, caution must be taken to avoid typos. Sometimes, list options take an ending s, where the option for graph creation comes without s. Error messages are not issued to indicate this typo; instead you will see the general help screen.

##### List Options for Associated Graph Templates

The first list option, `--list-hosts`, is required only if you do not know the `id` of the device you want to add graphs for. It will produce output as follows

    shell>php -q add_graphs.php --list-hosts

    Known Hosts: (id, hostname, template, description)
    ...
    11      router.mydomain.com 3       Device Add Test

You surely recognize the device we've just added?

The next list option, `--list-graph-templates`, is required to identify the number of an `Associated Graph Templates`.

    shell>php -q add_graphs.php --list-graph-templates

    Known Graph Templates:(id, name)
    2       Interface - Traffic (bits/sec)
    3       ucd/net - Available Disk Space
    4       ucd/net - CPU Usage
    5       Karlnet - Wireless Levels
    6       Karlnet - Wireless Transmissions
    7       Unix - Ping Latency
    8       Unix - Processes
    9       Unix - Load Average
    ...

We will need the graph template id of the `ucd/net - CPU Usage` template later. So note the number `4` for it.

It is possible to reduce the listing to the graph templates associated with a specific host template by using `--list-graph-templates --host-template-id=[id]`. For a "ucd/net SNMP Host" this yields

    shell>php -q add_graphs.php --list-graph-templates --host-template-id=3

    Known Graph Templates:(id, name)
    4   ucd/net - CPU Usage
    11	ucd/net - Load Average
    13	ucd/net - Memory Usage...

##### List Options for Associated Data Queries

First task is to find all id's for available data queries.

    shell>php -q add_graphs.php --host-id=2 --list-snmp-queries

    Known SNMP Queries:(id, name)
    1       SNMP - Interface Statistics
    2       ucd/net -  Get Monitored Partitions
    3       Karlnet - Wireless Bridge Statistics
    4       Netware - Get Available Volumes
    6       Unix - Get Mounted Partitions
    7       Netware - Get Processor Information
    8       SNMP - Get Mounted Partitions
    9       SNMP - Get Processor Information

For standard interface statistics, we note the id of `1`

Next task is to find the query_type as done by issuing

    shell>php -q add_graphs.php --snmp-query-id=1 --list-query-types

    Known SNMP Query Types: (id, name)
    2       In/Out Errors/Discarded Packets
    3       In/Out Non-Unicast Packets
    4       In/Out Unicast Packets
    9       In/Out Bytes (64-bit Counters)
    13      In/Out Bits
    14      In/Out Bits (64-bit Counters)
    16      In/Out Bytes
    20      In/Out Bits with 95th Percentile
    21      In/Out Bits with Total Bandwidth
    22      In/Out Bytes with Total Bandwidth
    23      In/Out Bits 1 min
    24      In/Out Bits 1 min (64-bit Counters)

For a standard `In/Out Bits` type, we note the id of `13`

Next issue is to select the `SNMP Field` that shall be used for a new graph.

    shell>php -q add_graphs.php --host-id=11 --list-snmp-fields

    Known SNMP Fields for host-id 11: (name)
    ifAlias
    ifDescr
    ifHwAddr
    ifIndex
    ifIP
    ifName
    ifOperStatus
    ifSpeed
    ifType

For our graph, we will use the field `ifOperStatus` to select the correct interfaces.

In general, you will next determine the values available for the `SNMP Field`, in our case `ifOperStatus`. This is done by

    shell>php -q add_graphs.php --host-id=11 --snmp-field=ifOperStatus --list-snmp-values

    Known values for ifOperStatus for host 11: (name)
    Down
    Up

This is no surprise, of course. Now, all paarmeters required for creating a new graph are determined.

##### Add Non-Indexed Graphs

We will create a graph for `ucd/net - CPU Usage`. Above, we've identified the graph template it to be `4`. In total, that makes up for the following command

    shell>php -q add_graphs.php --host-id=11 --graph-type=cg --graph-template-id=4

    Graph Added - graph-id: (39) - data-source-id: (63)

Find the result when visiting Graph Management

    Graph Title** 			Template Name 		Size
    Device Add Test - CPU Usage 	ucd/net - CPU Usage 	120x500

If the graph template was not associated with that host before, it is now added to the list of Associated Graph Templates.

##### Add Indexed Graphs

First, let's sum up the id's of all resources required for this task:

##### Parametes required for an Interface Traffic Graph

Object | Value | Description
Graph Template Id | 2 | Interface - Traffic (bits/sec)
SNMP Query Id | 1 | SNMP - Interface Statistics
SNMP Query Type Id | 13 | In/Out Bits
SNMP Field | ifOperStatus |
SNMP Value | Up |

This will make up for the following command

    shell>php -q add_graphs.php --host-id=11 --graph-type=ds --graph-template-id=2 --snmp-query-id=1 --snmp-query-type-id=13 --snmp-field=ifOperStatus --snmp-value=Up

    Graph Added - graph-id: (40) - data-source-id: (65)

Find the result when visiting Graph Management

    Graph Title** 				Template Name 				Size
    Device Add Test - CPU Usage 		ucd/net - CPU Usage 			120x500
    Device Add Test - Traffic - lo  	Interface - Traffic (bits/sec)  	120x500

If the data query was not associated with that host before, it is now added to the list of Associated Graph Templates. In this case, the Re-Index Method of `Uptime Goes Backwards` is defaulted if not given otherwise. You may provide a different Re-Index Method by entering the optional parameter `--reindex-method`.

#### Add Items to a Tree

Now, that we've created some nice graphs, they should be put the graph trees. This is done using `add_tree.php`. As you will notice soon, it is possible to even add header items, hosts and graphs to a tree as well as adding a new tree itself. But let us first see the help output. Calling the script with the parameter `--help` yields

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --help

    Add Tree Script 1.0, Copyright 2004-2017 - The Cacti Group

    A simple command line utility to add objects to a tree in Cacti

    usage: add_tree.php  --type=[tree|node] [type-options] [--quiet]

    Tree options:
        --name=[Tree Name]
        --sort-method=[manual|alpha|natural|numeric]

    Node options:
        --node-type=[header|host|graph]
        --tree-id=[ID]
        [--parent-node=[ID] [Node Type Options]]

    Header node options:
        --name=[Name]

    Host node options:
        --host-id=[ID]
        [--host-group-style=[1|2]]
        (host group styles:
         1 = Graph Template,
         2 = Data Query Index)

    Graph node options:
        --graph-id=[ID]
        [--rra-id=[ID]]

    List Options:
        --list-hosts
        --list-trees
        --list-nodes --tree-id=[ID]
        --list-rras
        --list-graphs --host-id=[ID]

##### List Hosts

The first try is dedicated to the list option `--list-hosts`. It goes like

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --list-hosts

    Known Hosts: (id, hostname, template, description)
    1       127.0.0.1       	8       Localhost
    2       gandalf 		3       gandalf
    ...
    11      router.mydomain.com	3       Device Add Test

##### List Trees

Now, let us `--list-trees`. It goes like

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --list-trees

    Known Trees:
    id      sort method                     name
    1       Manual Ordering (No Sorting)    Default Tree

##### List Nodes

Listing all existend node of a given tree is done by

`shell>`php -q add_tree.php --list-nodes --tree-id=1 Known Tree Nodes: type id text Host 7 127.0.0.1 Graph Template Host 9 gandalf Graph Template Host 12 gandalf Graph Template

##### List RRAs

For special tree add options, you will require the id of the RRA definition to completly specify the add request. That's why the corresponding `--list-rras` option is implemented. It goes this way

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --list-rras

    Known RRAs:
    id      steps   rows    timespan        name
    1       1       600     86400           Daily (5 Minute Average)
    2       6       700     604800          Weekly (30 Minute Average)
    3       24      775     2678400         Monthly (2 Hour Average)
    4       288     797     33053184        Yearly (1 Day Average)

##### List Graphs for given Hosts

To be able to add a Graph, the id of that very graph is required. Thus, a `--list-graphs --host-id=[id]` option was implemented

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --list-graphs --host-id=1

    Known Host Graphs: (id, name, template)
    1       Localhost - Memory Usage        	Linux - Memory Usage
    2       Localhost - Load Average        	Unix - Load Average
    3       Localhost - Logged in Users     	Unix - Logged in Users
    4       Localhost - Processes   		Unix - Processes
    5       Localhost - Traffic - eth0      	Interface - Traffic (bits/sec, 95th Percentile)
    33      Localhost - Used Space - Memory Buffers Host MIB - Available Disk Space
    34      Localhost - Used Space - Real Memory    Host MIB - Available Disk Space
    35      Localhost - Used Space - Swap Space     Host MIB - Available Disk Space
    36      Localhost - Used Space - /      	Host MIB - Available Disk Space
    37      Localhost - Used Space - /sys   	Host MIB - Available Disk Space
    38      Localhost - Used Space - /boot  	Host MIB - Available Disk Space

##### Add a new Tree

Cacti comes with a single tree, named Default Tree. Console entry Graph Trees is used to add more trees. With `add_tree.php`, you may now do so from command line as well:

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --type=tree --name="Test Tree Add" --sort-method=manual

    Tree Created - tree-id: (6)

Verify this from console, Graph Trees to find

    Default Tree
    Test Tree Add

as expected.

##### Add a new Header Node to a Tree

Now, that a new tree has been created, you may want to add a new header to that very tree. Use

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --type=node --node-type=header --tree-id=6 --name="Header Test"

    Added Node node-id: (21)

You will want to save the id returned if willing to add further nodes to exactly this new Header Node

Please pay attention, that it is currently not possible to add another header with the same options even if this is possible from console

But it is possible to add a subheader to an already defined header. Even in this case, the `name` has to be unique

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --type=node --node-type=header --tree-id=6 --parent-node=21  --name="SubHeader Test"

    Added Node node-id: (22)

##### Add a new Host Node to a Tree

We will distinguish several options adding a host to a tree. First, let's add a Host directly to a tree. For this example, we use the tree id returned from adding our own `Test Tree Add` known with `id=6`

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --type=node --node-type=host --tree-id=6 --host-id=1

    Added Node node-id: (23)

As no `--parent-node` was given, this host is directly added to the tree itself. If you wish to add a host to a (sub)header, please specify as follows

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --type=node --node-type=host --tree-id=6 --parent-node=21 --host-id=1

    Added Node node-id: (24)

Both example come without a `--host-group-style` option. For those cases, `Graph Template` host group style is default. Here's an example for providing a host group option of `Data Query Index` instead

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --type=node --node-type=host --tree-id=6 --parent-node=22 --host-id=1 --host-group-style=2

    Added Node node-id: (25)

##### Add a new Graph Node to a Tree

Like above, instead of hosts it is possible to add a single graph to a tree or a (sub)header of any tree. Of course, you again will require the `id` of the tree and optionally of the `header`. This results in

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --type=node --node-type=graph --tree-id=6 --graph-id=5

    Added Node node-id: (26)

Like above, this graph now was added directly to the tree itself. To add a graph to a header, proceed as follows

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --type=node --node-type=graph --tree-id=6 --parent-node=21 --graph-id=5

    Added Node node-id: (27)

In both cases, no explicit `--rra-id` was given. This will default to the Daily (5 Minute Average). Specify any other `--rra-id` as given

    shell>php -q add_tree.php --type=node --node-type=graph --tree-id=6 --parent-node=21 --graph-id=1 --rra-id=4

    Added Node node-id: (28)

to provide the `--rra-id` for a rra of Yearly (1 Day Average).

#### Add Graph Permissions

This script is used to specify special graph permissions to users. The list of parameters is displyed as usual when calling the script with the parameter `--help`

    shell>php -q add_perms.php --help

    Add Permissions Script 1.0, Copyright 2004-2017 - The Cacti Group

    A simple command line utility to add permissions to tree items in Cacti

    usage: add_perms.php [ --user-id=[ID] ]
        --item-type=[graph|tree|host|graph_template]
        --item-id [--quiet]

    Where item-id is the id of the object of type item-type
    List Options:
        --list-users
        --list-trees
        --list-graph-templates
        --list-graphs --host-id=[ID]

##### List Users

The list of users is retrieved by calling the script with the parameter `--list-users`. It goes like

    shell>php -q add_perms.php --list-users

    Known Users:
    id      username        full_name
    1       admin   Administrator
    3       guest   Guest Account

##### List Trees

The list of trees is retrieved by calling the script with the parameter `--list-trees`. It goes like

    shell>php -q add_perms.php --list-trees

    Known Trees:
    id      sort method                     name
    1       Manual Ordering (No Sorting)    Default Tree

##### List Graph Templates

The list of available graph templates is retrieved by calling the script with the parameter `--list-graph-templates`. It goes like

    shell>php -q add_perms.php --list-graph-templates

    Known Graph Templates:(id, name)
    2       Interface - Traffic (bits/sec)
    3       ucd/net - Available Disk Space
    4       ucd/net - CPU Usage
    5       Karlnet - Wireless Levels
    6       Karlnet - Wireless Transmissions
    7       Unix - Ping Latency
    8       Unix - Processes
    9       Unix - Load Average
    ...

##### List Graphs for given Hosts

To be able to add a permissions to a specific Graph, the id of that very graph is required. Thus, a `--list-graphs --host-id=[id]` option was implemented

    shell>php -q add_perms.php --list-graphs --host-id=1

    Known Host Graphs: (id, name, template)
    1       Localhost - Memory Usage        	Linux - Memory Usage
    2       Localhost - Load Average        	Unix - Load Average
    3       Localhost - Logged in Users     	Unix - Logged in Users
    4       Localhost - Processes   		Unix - Processes
    5       Localhost - Traffic - eth0      	Interface - Traffic (bits/sec, 95th Percentile)
    33      Localhost - Used Space - Memory Buffers Host MIB - Available Disk Space
    34      Localhost - Used Space - Real Memory    Host MIB - Available Disk Space
    35      Localhost - Used Space - Swap Space     Host MIB - Available Disk Space
    36      Localhost - Used Space - /      	Host MIB - Available Disk Space
    37      Localhost - Used Space - /sys   	Host MIB - Available Disk Space
    38      Localhost - Used Space - /boot  	Host MIB - Available Disk Space

##### Add Graph Permissions to specific Users

There are various ways to define graph permissions to specific users. First, we will add graph permissions for a given host. This is done using the parameter `--item-type=host` as follows

    shell>php -q add_perms.php --user-id=4 --item-type=host --item-id=1

`--user-id=4` must specify an existing users. Else, an error message will be printed. As `--item-type=host` is given, `--item-id=1` must specify a valid host. Again, if no host with this specific id exists, an error message will be printed. No output is produced on successful operations.

Next, we will add graph permissions for a given tree. This is done using the parameter `--item-type=tree` as follows

    shell>php -q add_perms.php --user-id=4 --item-type=tree --item-id=1

`--user-id=4` must specify an existing users. Else, an error message will be printed. As `--item-type=tree` is given, `--item-id=1` must specify a valid tree (the Default Tree in this case). Again, if no tree with this specific id exists, an error message will be printed. No output is produced on successful operations.

Adding graph permissions for a given graph template is done using the parameter `--item-type=graph_template` as follows

    shell>php -q add_perms.php --user-id=4 --item-type=graph_template --item-id=25

`--user-id=4` must specify an existing users. Else, an error message will be printed. As `--item-type=graph_template` is given, `--item-id=1` must specify a valid graph_template (the Interface - Traffic (bytes/sec) in this case). Again, if no graph template with this specific id exists, an error message will be printed. No output is produced on successful operations.

Last but not least we add graph permissions for a given graph by using the parameter `--item-type=graph` as follows

    shell>php -q add_perms.php --user-id=4 --item-type=graph --item-id=8

`--user-id=4` must specify an existing users. Else, an error message will be printed. As `--item-type=graph` is given, `--item-id=1` must specify a valid graph. Again, if no graph template with this specific id exists, an error message will be printed. No output is produced on successful operations.

### Debugging

Cacti users sometimes complain about NaN's in their graphs. Unfortunately, there are several reasons for this result. The following is a step-by-step procedure recommended for debugging.

#### Check Cacti Log File

Please have a look at your cacti log file. Usually, you'll find it at `<path_cacti>/log/cacti.log`. Else see `Settings`, `Paths`. Check for this kind of error:

    CACTID: Host[...] DS[....] WARNING: SNMP timeout detected [500 ms], ignoring host '........'

For "reasonable" timeouts, this may be related to a snmpbulkwalk issue. To change this, see `Settings`, `Poller` and lower the value for `The Maximum SNMP OID's Per SNMP Get Request`. Start at a value of 2 and increase it again, if the poller starts working. (1 or less disables snmpbulkwalk) Some agent's don't have the horsepower to deliver that many OID's at a time. Therefore, we can reduce the number for those older/underpowered devices.

#### Check Basic Data Gathering

For scripts, run them as cactiuser from cli to check basic functionality. E.g. for a perl script named `your-perl-script.pl` with parameters "p1 p2" under *nix this would look like:

    su - cactiuser
    /full/path/to/perl your-perl-script.pl p1 p2
    ... (check output)

For snmp, snmpget the _exact_ OID you're asking for, using same community string and snmp version as defined within cacti. For an OID of `.1.3.6.1.4.something`, community string of `very-secret` and version 2 for target host `target-host` this would look like

    snmpget -c very-secret -v 2c target-host .1.3.6.1.4.something
    .... (check output)

#### Check cacti's poller

First make sure that crontab always shows poller.php. This program will either call cmd.php, the PHP based poller _or_ cactid, the fast alternative, written in C. Define the poller you're using at `Settings`, `Poller`. Cactid has to be implemented seperately, it does not come with cacti by default.

Now, clear `./log/cacti.log` (or rename it to get a fresh start)

Then, change `Settings`, `Poller Logging Level` to DEBUG for _one_ polling cycle. You may rename this log as well to avoid more stuff added to it with subsequent polling cycles.

Now, find the host/data source in question. The `Host[<id>]` is given numerically, the <id> being a specific number for that host. Find this <id> from the `Devices` menue when editing the host: The url contains a string like

    id=<id>

Check, whether the output is as expected. If not, check your script (e.g. `/full/path/to/perl`). If ok, proceed to next step

This procedure may be replaced by running the poller manually for the failing host only. To do so, you need the <id>, again. If you're using cmd.php, set the DEBUG logging level as defined above and run

    php -q cmd.php <id> <id>

If you're using cactid, you may override logging level when calling the poller:

    ./cactid --verbosity=5 <id> <id>

All output is printed to STDOUT in both cases. This procdure allows for repeated tests without waiting for the next polling interval. And there's no need to manually search for the failing host between hundreds of lines of output.

#### Check MySQL updating

In most cases, this step make be skipped. You may want to return to this step, if the next one fails (e.g. no rrdtool update to be found)

From debug log, please find the MySQL update statement for that host concerning table `poller_output`. On very rare occasions, this will fail. So please copy that sql statement and paste it to a mysql session started from cli. This may as well be done from some tool like phpMyAdmin. Check the sql return code.

#### Check rrd file updating

Down in the same log, you should find some

    rrdtool update <filename> --template ...

You should find exactly one update statement for each file.

RRD files should be created by the poller. If it does not create them, it will not fill them either. If it does, please check your `Poller Cache` from Utilities and search for your target. Does the query show up here?

#### Check rrd file ownership

If rrd files were created e.g. with root ownership, a poller running as cactiuser will not be able to update those files

    cd /var/www/html/cacti/rra
    ls -l localhost*
    -rw-r--r--  1 root      root      463824 May 31 12:40 localhost_load_1min_5.rrd
    -rw-r--r--  1 cactiuser cactiuser 155584 Jun  1 17:10 localhost_mem_buffers_3.rrd
    -rw-r--r--  1 cactiuser cactiuser 155584 Jun  1 17:10 localhost_mem_swap_4.rrd
    -rw-r--r--  1 cactiuser cactiuser 155584 Jun  1 17:10 localhost_proc_7.rrd
    -rw-r--r--  1 cactiuser cactiuser 155584 Jun  1 17:10 localhost_users_6.rrd

Run the following command to cure this problem

    chown cactiuser:cactiuser *.rrd

#### Check rrd file numbers

You're perhaps wondering about this step, if the former was ok. But due to data sources MINIMUM and MAXIMUM definitions, it is possible, that valid updates for rrd files are suppressed, because MINIMUM was not reached or MAXIMUM was exceeded.

Assuming, you've got some valid `rrdtool update` in step 3, perform a

    rrdtool fetch <rrd file> AVERAGE

and look at the last 10-20 lines. If you find NaN's there, perform

    rrdtool info <rrd file>

and check the `ds[...].min` and `ds[...].max` entries, e.g.

    ds[loss].min = 0.0000000000e+00
    ds[loss].max = 1.0000000000e+02

In this example, MINIMUM = 0 and MAXIMUM = 100. For a `ds.[...].type=GAUGE` verify, that e.g. the number returned by the script does not exceed `ds[...].MAX` (same holds for MINIMUM, respectively).

If you run into this, please do not only update the data source definition within the Data Template, but perform a

    rrdtool tune <rrd file> --maximum <ds-name>:<new ds maximum>

for all existing rrd files belonging to that Data Template.

At this step, it is wise to check `step` and `heartbeat` of the rrd file as well. For standard 300 seconds polling intervals (step=300), it is wise to set `minimal_heartbeat` to 600 seconds. If a single update is missing and the next one occurs in less than 600 seconds from the last one, rrdtool will interpolate the missing update. Thus, gaps are "filled" automatically by interpolation. Be aware of the fact, that this is no "real" data! Again, this must be done in the Data Template itself and by using rrdtool tune for all existing rrd files of this type.

#### Check rrdtool graph statement

Last resort would be to check, that the correct data sources are used. Goto `Graph Management` and select your Graph. Enable DEBUG Mode to find the whole `rrdtool graph` statement. You should notice the `DEF` statements. They specify the rrd file and data source to be used. You may check, that all of them are as wanted.

#### Miscellaneous

Up to current cacti 0.8.6h, table `poller_output` may increase beyond reasonable size.

This is commonly due to php.ini's memory settings of 8MB default. Change this to at least 64 MB.

To check this, please run following sql from mysql cli (or phpmyadmin or the like)

    select count(*) from poller_output;

If the result is huge, you may get rid of those stuff by

    truncate table poller_output;

As of current SVN code for upcoming cacti 0.9, I saw measures were taken on both issues (memory size, truncating poller_output).

#### RPM Installation?

Most rpm installations will setup the crontab entry now. If you've followed the installation instructions to the letter (which you should always do ;-) ), you may now have two poller running. That's not a good thing, though. Most rpm installations will setup cron in `/etc/cron.d/cacti`

Now, please check all your crontabs, especially `/etc/crontab` and crontabs of users root and cactiuser. Leave only one poller entry for all of them. Personally, I've chosen `/etc/cron.d/cacti` to avoid problems when updating rpm's. Mosten often, you won't remember this item when updating lots of rpm's, so I felt more secure to put it here. And I've made some slight modifications, see

    shell> vi /etc/cron.d/cacti
    */5 * * * *     cactiuser       /usr/bin/php -q /var/www/html/cacti/poller.php > /var/local/log/poller.log 2>&1

This will produce a file `/var/local/log/poller.log`, which includes some additional informations from each poller's run, such as rrdtool errors. It occupies only some few bytes and will be overwritten each time.

If you're using the crontab of user "cactiuser" instead, this will look like

    shell> crontab -e -u cactiuser
    */5 * * * *     /usr/bin/php -q /var/www/html/cacti/poller.php > /var/local/log/poller.log 2>&1

#### Not NaN, but 0 (zero) values?

Pay attention to custom scripts. It is required, that external commands called from there are in the `$PATH` of the cactiuser running the poller. It is therefor recommended to provide `/full/path/to/external/command`

User "criggie" reported an issue with running smartctl. It was complaining "you are not root" so a quick `chmod +s` on the script fixed that problem.

Secondly, the script was taking several seconds to run. So cacti was logging a "U" for unparseable in the debug output, and was recording NAN. So my fix there was to make the script run faster - it has to complete in less than one second, and the age of my box made it difficult to accomplish.