Monitor your network with ease!

* Install and setup Cacti to monitor your network and assign permissions to this setup in no time at all
* Create, edit, test, and host a graph template to customize your output graph
* Create new data input methods, SNMP, and Script XML data query
* Full of screenshots and step-by-step instructions to monitor your network with Cacti

In Detail Cacti is a network monitoring tool that provides graphic solutions to your everyday monitoring issues. It has a wide variety of features and misusing them can mean that you are not monitoring your network as closely as you think. This book takes you through all of the key features of Cacti and shows how to use them for maximum effectiveness.

This book will teach you how to use Cacti effectively to monitor your network through its web interface leaving aside all the heavy chunks of code. You will be introduced to all the features of Cacti in an easy-to-understand format.

This book introduces Cacti and goes through its complete installation and setup. After a quick look, it will teach you to use Cacti's amazing graph templating and user management features. You will learn to customize graphs and make them better looking and easier to understand. It will teach you to provide the paths to any external script or command using Cacti. Then it will take you through importing and managing new templates and also customizing them. Creating users and assigning permissions to them is the next step in this book. Towards the end, you will learn to take backups and restore the system.

What you will learn from this book?

* Implement SNMP with Cacti using the Net-SNMP application suite
* Retrieve raw data from the system using Net-SNMP
* Create graphs using the RRDtool for easy understanding
* Add devices to Cacti and use graph templates to monitor your network
* Use built-in data queries to check the status of your network
* Import and export your templates and exchange them with the community
* Create users and assign permissions to them to view or edit graphs
* Understand how Net-SNMP application suite implements SNMP with Cacti and use Net-SNMP to retrieve raw data from the system, then use the RRDtool to create graphs
* Understand Cacti's folder structure along with methods of backing up and restoring
* Use advanced command-line scripts for easy access and managing network

Approach

With loads of screenshots and illustrations and easy step-by-step instructions, this book is ideal for beginners in the network monitoring business.

Who this book is written for?

This book is for anyone who wants to manage a network using Cacti. You don't have to be a Linux Guru to use this book.