Cacti stores all collected information via RRDTool into files called rra. The RRDTool requires some parameters in order to create these rra files. Whenever we want to add a new device or create a new graph, we have to input these parameters. Inputting these parameters manually is flexible, but not very user friendly, and there is always a chance of error. Using templates, we can easily overcome this problem.
For example, let's say we have a network of four Linux servers, two Unix servers, and one Cisco router. Here, if we use a template, we will need to make only three different templates: one for the Linux servers, one for the Unix servers, and one for the Cisco router. You may ask why we have to make a template for the Cisco router? We will make it so that we can use it later.
Cacti templates can be imported and exported via the Console under Import/Export. You can only import templates that have been created on a system that is at the same, or an...