<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> <HTML ><HEAD ><TITLE >How To</TITLE ><META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.79"><LINK REL="HOME" TITLE="The Cacti Manual" HREF="index.html"><LINK REL="UP" TITLE="Help" HREF="cacti_help.html"><LINK REL="PREVIOUS" TITLE="Help" HREF="cacti_help.html"><LINK REL="NEXT" TITLE="Frequently Asked Questions" HREF="faq.html"><LINK REL="STYLESHEET" TYPE="text/css" HREF="manual.css"></HEAD ><BODY CLASS="CHAPTER" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#840084" ALINK="#0000FF" ><DIV CLASS="NAVHEADER" ><TABLE SUMMARY="Header navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TH COLSPAN="3" ALIGN="center" >The Cacti Manual</TH ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="cacti_help.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Prev</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="80%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom" ></TD ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="faq.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Next</A ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"></DIV ><DIV CLASS="CHAPTER" ><H1 ><A NAME="HOW_TO" ></A >Chapter 16. How To</H1 ><DIV CLASS="SECT1" ><H1 CLASS="SECT1" ><A NAME="SCRIPT_TO_GRAPH" >Simplest Method of Going from Script to Graph (Walkthrough)</A ></H1 ><DIV CLASS="AUTHORBLURB" ><A NAME="AEN2110" ></A ><P > <B CLASS="EMPHASIS" >Written by Kevin der Kinderen, <A HREF="http://kdeuja.com/~kevin/" TARGET="_top" >http://kdeuja.com/~kevin/</A ></B > </P ></DIV ><P > 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. </P ><P > 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. </P ><P > The example here is not realistic, but can be used and expanded upon as a model for creating your own graphs. </P ><P > I've not put a lot of explanations in the procedures. Refer to the Cacti manual for more details. </P ><P > Have a tested script ready to go. I used the following script located in <TT CLASS="FILENAME" >/home/cactiuser/bin</TT > called <TT CLASS="FILENAME" >random2.pl</TT >: </P ><PRE CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING" >#!/usr/bin/perl -w print int(rand(10));</PRE ><P > This script simply prints out a random integer between 0 and 9 every time it's called. </P ><P ></P ><P ><B >The minimal steps to create a graph from a script are simply:</B ></P ><OL TYPE="1" ><LI ><P > Create a Data Input Method to tell Cacti how to call the script and what to expect from it. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Create a Data Source to tell cacti how and where the data will be stored. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Create a Graph to tell cacti how the data will be presented in graph form. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Add Graph to Graph View so you can view the graph. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > View the Graph </P ></LI ></OL ><P ></P ><P ><B >The details are below:</B ></P ><OL TYPE="1" ><LI ><P > Create Data Input Method </P ><P ></P ><UL ><LI ><P > Click the <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Console</SPAN > tab at the top </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Data Input Methods</SPAN > under <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Management</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Add</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Name: Random 2 Input </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Input Type: Script/Command </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Input String: /home/cactiuser/bin/random2.pl </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Create</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Should see "Save Successful." at the top of the page. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Add</SPAN > by Output Fields (there are no input fields for this example) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Field [Output]: random_number </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Friendly Name: Random Number </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Update RRD File: checked </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Create</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Should see "Save Successful." and random_number listed under <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Output Fields</SPAN >. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Save</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Should see "Save Successful." and Random Input listed in <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Data Input Methods</SPAN >. </P ></LI ></UL ></LI ><LI ><P > Create a Data Source </P ><P ></P ><UL ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Data Sources</SPAN > under <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Management</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Add</SPAN > in the top right </P ></LI ><LI ><P > The <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Data Template</SPAN > Section should be None and None, we're not using templates for this example. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Create</SPAN >. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Name: random2ds </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Data Source Path: blank (Cacti will fill this in) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Data Input Source: Random 2 Input (this is the data input method you created in step 1) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Highlight each of the Associated RRA's using control-click </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Step: 300 (300 seconds = 5 minutes) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Data Source Active: checked </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Describe the Data Source Item inside the RRA by... </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Internal Data Source Name: random_number </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Minimum Value: 0 </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Maximum Value: 0 </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Data Source Type: GAUGE </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Heartbeat: 600 </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Create</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > 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) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click Turn On Data Source Debugging Mode to see the results of this step. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Save</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Should see "Save Successful" and your new Data Source listed. </P ></LI ></UL ></LI ><LI ><P > Create Graph </P ><P ></P ><UL ><LI ><P > Select <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Graph Management</SPAN > under <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Management</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Add</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Selected Graph Template: None </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Host: None </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Create</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Title: RANDOM NUMBERS </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Image Format: PNG </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Height: 120 </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Width: 500 </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Auto Scale: checked </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Auto Scale Options: Use --alt-autoscale-max </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Logarithmic Scaling: unchecked </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Rigid Boundaries: unchecked </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Auto Padding: checked </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Allow Graph Export: checked </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Upper Limit: 100 </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Lower Limit: 0 </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Base Value: 1000 </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Unit Value: blank </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Unit Exponent Value: 0 </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Vertical Label: Random Number </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Create</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Should see "Save Successful." </P ></LI ><LI ><P > 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: </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Add</SPAN > by <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Graph Items</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Data Source: (from list) No Host - random2ds (random_number) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Color: 0000FF (Blue) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Graph Item Type: LINE2 </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Consolidation Function: AVERAGE </P ></LI ><LI ><P > CDEF Function: None </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Value: blank </P ></LI ><LI ><P > GPRINT Type: Normal </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Text Format: blank </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Insert Hard Return: unchecked </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Create</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Should see "Save Successful.", Item #1 listed and a graph under debug (probably with nothing in it yet) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > To add a legend, click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Add</SPAN > by <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Graph Items</SPAN > again </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Data Source: No Host - random2ds (random_number) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Color: None </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Graph Item Type: GPRINT </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Consolidation Function: LAST </P ></LI ><LI ><P > CDEF Function: None </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Value: blank </P ></LI ><LI ><P > GPRINT Type: Normal </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Text Format: Cur: </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Insert Hard Return: unchecked </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Create</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > 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. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > At the bottom of the page, click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Save</SPAN >. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Should see "Save Successful." and your graph listed. </P ></LI ></UL ></LI ><LI ><P > Add graph to the graph view </P ><P ></P ><UL ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Graph Trees</SPAN > under <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Management</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > We'll create a tree called "test" to place our graph </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Add</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Name: test </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Should see "Save Successful" </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Add</SPAN > beside <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Tree Items</SPAN > (to add our graph to this tree) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Under Tree Items [graph]... </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Graph: RANDOM NUMBERS (we named this in step 3) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Round Robin Archive: Daily (5 Minute Average) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Create</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Should see "Save Successful." and RANDOM NUMBERS listed under <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Tree Items</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Click <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Save</SPAN > </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Should see "Save Successful." and test listed under <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Graph Trees</SPAN > </P ></LI ></UL ></LI ><LI ><P > View Graph </P ><P ></P ><UL ><LI ><P > Select <SPAN CLASS="GUILABEL" >Graphs</SPAN > tab </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Select tree view (Tree beside settings tab) </P ></LI ><LI ><P > Select test tree on left </P ></LI ><LI ><P > 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. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > 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. </P ></LI ><LI ><P > 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. </P ></LI ></UL ></LI ></OL ></DIV ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="NAVFOOTER" ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"><TABLE SUMMARY="Footer navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="cacti_help.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Prev</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="index.html" ACCESSKEY="H" >Home</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="faq.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Next</A ></TD ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" >Help</TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="cacti_help.html" ACCESSKEY="U" >Up</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" >Frequently Asked Questions</TD ></TR ></TABLE ></DIV ></BODY ></HTML >
