How to install Cacti on MXLinux Latest

Cacti is a network monitoring tool that provides comprehensive graphs of your network usage. It is an open-source, web-based application written in PHP.

This tutorial will guide you on how to install Cacti on MXLinux Latest.

Prerequisites

Before installing Cacti, you will need:

• A server running MXLinux Latest
• A user with sudo privileges

Step 1: Install Apache and PHP

Cacti requires a web server and PHP to run. Install Apache and PHP using the following command:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install apache2 php

Step 2: Install MySQL

Cacti requires a database to store data. Install MySQL using the following command:

sudo apt-get install mysql-server

During the installation, you will be prompted to set a root password. Remember this password, as you will need it later.

Step 3: Install Cacti

Download Cacti from the official website using the following command:

cd /tmp
wget https://www.cacti.net/downloads/cacti-latest.tar.gz

Extract the downloaded file using the following command:

tar -xvzf cacti-latest.tar.gz

Move the extracted folder to the web server document root using the following command:

sudo mv cacti-*/ /var/www/html/cacti

Step 4: Configure MySQL

Create a new MySQL database and user for Cacti using the following command:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Enter the root password when prompted. Then, create a new database, user, and password using the following SQL statements:

CREATE DATABASE cacti;
CREATE USER 'cactiuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON cacti.* TO 'cactiuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit;

Replace the 'password' with a strong password.

Step 5: Configure Cacti

Edit the Cacti configuration file using the following command:

sudo nano /var/www/html/cacti/include/config.php

Find the following lines in the file:

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

Change the values according to your MySQL settings:

• $database_default: the database name you created in step 4 (e.g., 'cacti')
• $database_username: the database user you created in step 4 (e.g., 'cactiuser')
• $database_password: the password of the database user you created in step 4

Save and close the file.

Step 6: Set Permissions

Set the necessary permissions for Cacti by running the following commands:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/cacti
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/cacti
sudo chmod 777 /var/www/html/cacti/rra/

Step 7: Install Spine (Optional)

Cacti can use Spine, a faster poller than the default cmd.php script. To install Spine, run the following commands:

sudo apt-get install spine
sudo nano /var/www/html/cacti/include/config.php

Find the following line in the file:

$poller_type = 'cmd.php';

Replace it with the following line:

$poller_type = 'spine';

Save and close the file.

Step 8: Access Cacti

Open a web browser and go to http:///cacti/

Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation wizard.

Once the installation is complete, log in using the default credentials:

• Username: admin
• Password: admin

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Cacti on MXLinux Latest. You can now use Cacti to monitor your network usage and performance.

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