Time for action – configuring Cacti

The database and some other special configuration tasks are done by editing the information in the config.php file.

1. Navigate to the cacti directory:

   cd /var/www/html/cacti/include
   

2. Edit config.php with vi:

   vi config.php
   

   

3. Change the $database_username and $database_password fields to the previously created username and password.

4. Change the line $config['url_path'] = '/' to $config['url_path'] = '/cacti/'

What just happened?

You changed the database configuration for Cacti to the username and password that you created earlier. These settings will tell Cacti where to find the database and what credentials it needs to use to connect to it. You also changed the default URL path to fit your installation. As you install Cacti to /var/www/html/cacti, a sub-directory of the document root, you need to change this setting to /cacti/, otherwise Cacti will not work correctly.

Creating the poller cron entry and Cacti's system user

For the poller to work correctly, Cacti needs a system user account. You are going to create one now and also set up the poller's cron entry.