CACTI. "A complete graphical solution".
The Cacti tool provides a graphical representation of data stored in the database provided by RRDtool. For example, use of internet, temperature, speed, voltage, number of impressions, etc.. The RRDtool will be used to store and process data collected via SNMP. To make use of RRDtool, what is needed is a sensor to measure the data and feed the RRDtool with that data. Then the RRtool creates a database, it stores and retrieves the data from the sensors, Cacti creates graphs in PNG format.
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So, using SNMP (simple network management protocol) to gather data traffic from a particular device (routers, servers, cámarasvídeo printers, etc.), requires having at least one system running and properly configured SNMP.
The basic components of an SNMP managed network are: the agents, software components that run on devices to manage, and managers, software components running on the network management systems. A system can operate exclusively as a manager or agent, or you can perform both functions simultaneously. Therefore, the SNMP protocol is a distributed client-server architecture.
The SNMP server side software consists of an SNMP manager, responsible for polling the SNMP agents to obtain specific information and sending requests to those agents requesting the modification of a given value of your configuration. That is, the elements of the management system located at the centralized management platform network, interacting with human operators and trigger the necessary actions to carry out the tasks they invoked or scheduled.
The client side of SNMP is an SNMP agent software and a database with information management or MIB. SNMP agents receive requests and report information to SNMP managers for the community to which they belong, being a community, an administrative domain SNMP agents and managers. That is, are the elements of the management system located in each of devices to manage, and invoked by the system operator.
The operating principle lies therefore in the exchange of node management information between managers and managed nodes. Typically, the agents kept in each device manage information about their condition and configuration. The manager asks the agent, through the SNMP protocol, to perform certain operations with data management, through which you can check the status of the appeal and may influence their behavior. When any abnormal situation on a managed resource, agents, without having to be invoked by the manager, issue the so-called events or notifications that are sent to a manager so the management system can act on it.
A MIB (Management Information Base) is a hierarchical database of objects and values stored in an SNMP agent.
Each individual MIB is a subtree of the overall structure of MIB defined by the ISO ( International Standards Organization). The RFC 1156, called MIB-I, specifies certain information from the first level. The RFC 1158, called MIB-II, is more comprehensive.
However, these specifications can not describe with the accuracy required, all the types of agents, the manufacturers of hardware and software that are being developed MIB owners. Thus, an organization may have authority over the objects and branches of the MIB. Generally, the MIB objects are referenced by an identifier.
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There are three versions of SNMP: SNMP version 1 (SNMPv1), SNMP version 2 (SNMPv2) and SNMP version 3 (SNMPv3).The new and final version of SNMP, SNMPv3, strengthens the security features, including authentication, privacy and access control and protocol management, with greater modularity and the possibility of remote configuration. SNMPv3 appeared in 1997, being described in RFC 1902-1908 and 2271-2275. Note that SNMPv3 is not a standard that replaces SNMPv1 and / or SNMPv2, but defines a series of additional security capabilities and management to be used in conjunction with SNMPv2 (preferably) or SNMPv1. These improvements will make SNMP is formed in a management protocol which can be used with high performance in all types of networks, displacing the medium term as standard CMIP management of large networks of telecom operators.
