How to Install and Configure Cacti on Ubuntu 22.04

Cacti is a network monitoring and graphing tool that uses SNMP to monitor network devices. Follow these steps to install Cacti on Ubuntu 22.04.

Step 1: Install Required Packages

First, install Apache, MariaDB, PHP, and required dependencies:

sudo apt install apache2 mariadb-server php php-mysql libapache2-mod-php -y

Step 2: Install SNMP and RRDTool

Install SNMP and RRDTool, which are required by Cacti:

sudo apt install snmp snmpd rrdtool -y

Step 3: Install Cacti

Install Cacti using the package manager:

sudo apt install cacti -y

Step 4: Configure MariaDB for Cacti

Run the secure installation script for MariaDB:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Then, create a database for Cacti:

    sudo mysql -u root -p -e "CREATE DATABASE cacti DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci;"
    sudo mysql -u root -p -e "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON cacti.* TO 'cactiuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'yourpassword';"
    sudo mysql -u root -p -e "FLUSH PRIVILEGES;"
    

Step 5: Configure Cacti

Import the default Cacti database schema:

sudo mysql -u cactiuser -p cacti < /usr/share/cacti/cacti.sql

Edit the Cacti configuration file to match your database settings:

sudo nano /etc/cacti/debian.php

Step 6: Set Up Cron Job

Enable the Cacti poller by adding a cron job:

echo "*/5 * * * * www-data php /usr/share/cacti/poller.php" | sudo tee -a /etc/cron.d/cacti

Step 7: Configure Apache for Cacti

Edit the Apache configuration for Cacti:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/cacti.conf

Add the following lines:

    Alias /cacti /usr/share/cacti
    <Directory /usr/share/cacti>
        Options +FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride None
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
    

Enable the configuration and restart Apache:

    sudo a2ensite cacti
    sudo systemctl restart apache2
    

Step 8: Access Cacti Web Interface

Now, open a web browser and navigate to http://your-server-ip/cacti. Follow the installation wizard to complete the setup.

Conclusion

You have successfully installed and configured Cacti on Ubuntu 22.04. Your system is now ready for network monitoring.