Chapter 11. Templates

Name

Description

Graph Item Type

This field is important because it defines what kind of graph item this is. Types such

as AREA, STACK, LINE1, LINE2, and LINE3 are used to represent data on the graph,

while COMMENT and GPRINT are used put on the legend. The LEGEND type is

specific to Cacti only and can be used if you want to Cacti to automatically create a

GPRINT LAST/GPRINT AVERAGE/GPRINT MAXIMUM graph item for you.

Note:: You must always put an AREA item before using STACK or your graph will not

render.

Consolidation Function

This tells

RRDTool

which consolidation function to use when representing this data on

the graph. You will typically use AVERAGE for most things on the graph area, and

LAST/MAXIMUM as well for GPRINT items.

CDEF Function

If you want to apply a CDEF function to the graph item, select one here. Check out the

CDEF section of the manual for more information.

Value

This field is only used with the HRULE/VRULE graph item types. Type any valid

integer to draw the line at for HRULE or the time of the day HH:MM for VRULE.

GPRINT Type

If this item is a GPRINT, you can choose how you want the number to be formatted.

You can add your own in the GPRINT Presets section of Cacti.

Text Format

You can enter text to be displayed on the legend here. This field is applicable for all

graph item types except for the virtual LEGEND type.

Hard Return

Check this box to force graph items onto the next line.

11.1.1.2. Graph Item Inputs

After creating graph items for your template, you will need to create some graph item inputs. Graph item inputs are

unique to graph templates because of the large number of items they sometimes contain. Graph item inputs enable

you to take one graph item field, and associate it with multiple graph items.

To create a new graph item input, click Add on the right of the Graph Item Inputs box. There are various fields that must

be filled in for every graph item input:

Table 11 3. Field Description: Graph Template Items

Name

Description

Name

This will be the name used to identify the graph item input on both the graph template

and graph edit pages.

Description

(Optional) This description will be displayed on the graph edit page of any graph

using this template if specified.

Field Type

You must choose the field that you are going to associate with one or more graph

items.

Associated Graph Items

Choose one or more graph items to associate with the field selected for "Field Type".

When the user specifies a value for the field, it will be applied to all of the items you

select here.

11.1.2. Applying Graph Templates to Graphs

Applying a graph template to a graph is a very simple process. The first thing you must do is select the graph you want

to apply the template to under Graph Management. Under the Graph Template Selection box, select the graph template

that you want to apply to the graph and click Save. If this is a new graph or the graph and graph template contains an

equal number of graph items, the graph template will be automatically applied. If number of graph items varies from

the graph to the target graph template, you will be propmted with a warning that your graph will be changed.

Once the template is applied to the graph, you will notice that you can only change values for the fields that you

checked Use Per Graph Value for. You will also notice a new box, called Graph Item Inputs. This is where you can

specify values for the graph items inputs that you defined in the graph template. The values specified here will be

applied to each graph item tied to the graph item input.

Now any time a change is made to the graph template, it will be automatically propagated to the graphs attached to it.

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