Cacti Installation and Configuration

Introduction

Goals

• Install Cacti
• Create device entry for your local router
• Create device entries for your local servers
• Create entries for class router and switch
• Create graphs for each item
• Place PCs, Routers, Switches in a tree hierarchy of your design.

Use the Network Diagram on the class wiki as a reference.

Notes

• Commands preceded with "$" imply that you should execute the command as a general user - not as root.
• Commands preceded with "#" imply that you should be working as root.
• Commands with more specific command lines (e.g. "rtr1-gY>" or "mysql>") imply that you are executing commands on remote equipment, or within another program.

Install Cacti using ansible

Now login back to ansible control host.

Create a new ansible playbook named cacti.yml to install cacti

This ansilbe playbook will perform:

• install cacti and its dependencies

(venv) vmX-gY@ansible-host:~/ansible-playbook$ vi cacti.yml

- hosts: cacti_hosts
  become: true
  tasks:
    - name: ensure package cache is up to date
      apt: update_cache=yes cache_valid_time=3600
      tags: install

    - name: Set cacti install options
      debconf:
        name: "{{ item.name }}"
        question: "{{ item.question }}"
        value: "{{ item.value }}"
        vtype: "{{ item.vtype }}"
      with_items:
        - { name: "cacti", question: "cacti/webserver", value: "apache2", vtype: "select" }
        - { name: "cacti", question: "cacti/database-type", value: "mysql", vtype: "select" }
        - { name: "cacti", question: "cacti/app-password-confirm", value: "{{ class_password }}", vtype: 'password'}
        - { name: "cacti", question: "cacti/mysql/admin-pass", value: "cacti", vtype: 'password'}
        - { name: "cacti", question: "cacti/mysql/app-pass", value: "{{ class_password }}", vtype: 'password'}
      ignore_errors: true
      tags: install

    - name: install cacti and its dependency
      package:
        name: "{{ item }}"
        state: present
      with_items:
        - cacti
        - cacti-spine
      tags: install

update inventory/hosts as following

(venv) vmX-gY@ansible-host:~/ansible-playbook$ vi inventory/hosts

[nagios_hosts]
vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net

[snmp_hosts]
vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net

[smokeping_hosts]
vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net

[netdot_hosts]
vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net

[rancid_hosts]
vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net

[nfsen_hosts]
vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net
srv1-gY.lab.workalaya.net

[syslog_hosts]
srv1-gY.lab.workalaya.net

[cacti_hosts]
vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net

Now run ansible playbook to install Cacti

(venv) vmX-gY@ansible-host:~/ansible-playbook$ ansible-playbook cacti.yml

PLAY [cacti_hosts] ******************************************************************************************************************************************

TASK [Gathering Facts] **************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net]

TASK [ensure package cache is up to date] *******************************************************************************************************************
[WARNING]: Could not find aptitude. Using apt-get instead

changed: [vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net]

TASK [Set cacti install options] ****************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net] => (item={'name': 'cacti', 'question': 'cacti/webserver', 'value': 'apache2', 'vtype': 'select'})
changed: [vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net] => (item={'name': 'cacti', 'question': 'cacti/database-type', 'value': 'mysql', 'vtype': 'select'})
changed: [vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net] => (item={'name': 'cacti', 'question': 'cacti/app-password-confirm', 'value': 'cacti', 'vtype': 'password'})
changed: [vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net] => (item={'name': 'cacti', 'question': 'cacti/mysql/admin-pass', 'value': 'cacti', 'vtype': 'password'})
changed: [vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net] => (item={'name': 'cacti', 'question': 'cacti/mysql/app-pass', 'value': 'cacti', 'vtype': 'password'})

TASK [install cacti and its dependency] *********************************************************************************************************************
changed: [vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net] => (item=cacti)
changed: [vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net] => (item=cacti-spine)

PLAY RECAP **************************************************************************************************************************************************
vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net   : ok=4    changed=3    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0

Now use a web browser and open the following address:

http://vmX-gY.lab.workalaya.net/cacti

Login to Cacti using following details:

Username: admin
Password: <class_password>

Adding Device

Step 1

• On the left hand side menu, under "Management", click "Devices".
• On the extreme upper right hand side, click "Add" or "+" sign.

Step 2

• On the "Description" field, put in device's FQDN eg. rtr1-gY.lab.workalaya.net
• On the "Hostname" field, put in device's FQDN or IP address eg. rtr1-gY.lab.workalaya.net
• On the "Device Template" dropdown field, choose appropriate device template eg. Cisco Router for Cisco devices and Net-SNMP Devices for Linux machine
• On the "SNMP Version" dropdown field, choose "Version 2"
• On the "SNMP Community" field, put in "NetManage"
• Click the Create button

Step 3

• On the lower part of the website, there is a sub-section called "Associated Data Queries"
• There is a line there named "SNMP - Interface Statistics"
• On that line, it may read "Success [0 Items, 0 Rows]
• If that is the case, please click the round green icon at the extreme right
• If that is not the case, meaning the "Item" part is not 0 and the "Rows" part is not 0, please disregard clicking the round green icon at the extreme left

Step 4 (only for linux VMs)

• On the lower part of the website, there is a sub-section called "Associated Data Queries"
• There is a line there named "Net-SNMP - Get Monitored Partitions"
• On that line, it may read "Success [0 Items, 0 Rows]
• If that is the case, please click the round green icon at the extreme left
• If that is not the case, meaning the "Item" part is not 0 and the "Rows" part is not 0, please disregard clicking the round green icon at the extreme left

CONGRATULATIONS! you have added your router/server into the cacti.

Step 5

• On the upper right part of the website, there is a link named "Create Graph for this Device". Please click that.
• Please click all of the check buttons on the extreme right. We will make a graph for all the server metrics that we can monitor.
• The metrics that we should be able to monitor would be "CPU Usage", "Load Average" and Memory Usage". We should also be able to monitor the interface statistics (remember "snmpwalk ifInOctets"?)
• On the lower part, we should be able to monitor the server partitions.
• If its a bit confusing, just tick all the check buttons on the extreme right.
• Click the Create button

Step 6

• On the left hand side menu, under "Management", click "Trees".
• On the middle of the website, click "Default Tree".
• Click "Edit Tree" button.
• From "Available Devices" section, select desired device and drag and drop that device to "Tree Item" or from "Available Graphs" section, select desired device graph and drag and drop that device to "Tree Item".
• Click on "Save" button.
• There should be a "Save Successful" message.
• Click "Finish Editing Tree" button.

Step 7

• On the extreme top left of the website, there is a "Graph" tab that is colored blue. Please click that.
• There will be a menu on the left hand side. Please click double click the "Default Tree" menu or click arrow icon.
• Click on the device's FQDN
• The graphs of your server will appear on the webpage. Please wait for around 5-10 minutes before it gets populated with graph readings.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

• You can now monitor some of your server performance metrics using nice graphs
• Please wait for a while, before the graphs will have its metric lines.