14. PHP Script Server

The PHP Script Server is a new feature in Cacti 0.8.6. This new feature allows for the rapid execution of PHP based Data Queries in Cacti. The Script Server process is launched by the poller during every polling cycle. It listens for commands from the poller, executes them, and then waits for an quit signal.

The reason that it is so fast is that PHP is started in memory only one time, and for every Data Query called, it's code is interpreted only once. The resulting Data Query binaries are therefore very efficient. Using the Script Server process over the traditional POPEN process nets a 20+ fold speed improvement in Cacti.

Since PHP scripts are so powerful, this new feature in Cacti, makes it an excellent choice for collecting non-SNMP and SNMP based data.