Creating a remote SSH data input method

Besides SNMP queries, remote data retrieval is an important part for creating Cacti performance graphs. You may get into a situation where SNMP data retrieval is not possible and you only have SSH access to a device. Let's assume that you want to graph the I/O performance of some server drives using the iostat utility. You will now learn the different steps it takes to create such a remote SSH data input method.

Note

Please note that the book comes with an exported version of the data input method, the data template as well as the graph template. The file cacti_graph_template_unix_-_remote_iostats_command_graph.xml can be imported into Cacti and is provided as a reference for you. You should still try to follow the steps provided here in order to see the different tasks involved to setup your own SSH-based data and graph.

Preparation

As a preparation for the data input method, you will need to create two different scripts and set up public key authentication...