Upgrading a Plugin

[Voiper99]

Hi all,

Is there any central place that has information on what version of PIA goes with what version of Cacti and what versions of plugins go with what versions of PIA's?

In other words, is there a place that says when your running Cacti version ABC you should be using PIA version XYZ, and, if you want to use plugin <example> you will need to be running Cacti version and/or PIA version ABCD?

I see a lot of people asking "what version of PIA should I use" and similar, and at present I'd like to upgrade my Weathermaps plugin but am not sure if the latest version is compatible with my Cacti/PIA version, so was hoping something like this is available?

Thanks everyone.

[Linegod]

There really isn't anywhere concrete.

I have adjusted the plugin page to show the PIA tag (the Cacti version tag is new, but won't be shown unless you view that plugin), but this is completely dependant on the plugin author adding the tag.

http://docs.cacti.net/plugins

[Voiper99]

ah ok, I feared as much

Is it possible for people such as myself who have not written the plugins but would like to help out, to enter the PIA information? Or is it best just to e-mail it through to you?

For example, I'd like to give some of these plugins a try so if they work with the PIA I am using, I'd be happy to let you know if it'd help.

By the way, is there a PIA to Cacti version map at all so users can see at a glance what version of PIA they need to go with their version of Cacti?

[gandalf]

Usually, release notes of each cacti release name the related PIA (as well as the related spine).
Version compatibilty for plugins is listed in the plugins repository as already said above.
Due to integrating PIA to core cacti with 088, this will be improved soon. Plugin version dependencies will stay, though.
R.

[TheWitness]

Due to the nature of what plugins due to the underlying code and database, it's hard to do a try and buy without a backup of the web site and database.

This is the right approach if you are testing plugins.

A second approach is to have a test system. I "always" have one of these.

TheWitness

[Voiper99]

Usually, release notes of each cacti release name the related PIA (as well as the related spine).

What do you mean when you say the "related spine"? Does a plugin need to be compatible with the Cacti version, PIA version and Spine version too?

Due to the nature of what plugins due to the underlying code and database, it's hard to do a try and buy without a backup of the web site and database.

This is the right approach if you are testing plugins.

A second approach is to have a test system. I "always" have one of these

Agreed! I have a second box where I am doing all of my testing and learning.

[Howie]

I see a lot of people asking "what version of PIA should I use" and similar, and at present I'd like to upgrade my Weathermaps plugin but am not sure if the latest version is compatible with my Cacti/PIA version, so was hoping something like this is available?

Unless it's particularly ancient, I would have thought you would have no problem with Weathermap. There isn't really any history for the PIA of which new features were added in which versions, because it's assumed you'll upgrade as new versions come out (there are often security fixes of some kind in new Cacti versions), but I don't think there's anything that requires newer than 0.8.7a (for poller_output support).

[Voiper99]

There isn't really any history for the PIA of which new features were added in which versions, because it's assumed you'll upgrade as new versions come out (there are often security fixes of some kind in new Cacti versions).

Ah ok, thanks for the info. I have recently taken over responsibility for our Cacti server (which has not had anyone maintaining it for quite some time now) so it is 8.7b.

In regards to keeping the Cacti version up to date, isn't there a chance that plugins that you use which have not been updated to be compatible for the latest PIA/Cacti because they are not being maintained won't work? - (I don't have a specific example so this is more of a hypothetical question).

Do you have to weigh up the options as to either having the latest version of Cacti or keeping your existing plugin set? Or, is Cacti and the PIA backwards compatible?

[Howie]

There isn't really any history for the PIA of which new features were added in which versions, because it's assumed you'll upgrade as new versions come out (there are often security fixes of some kind in new Cacti versions).

Ah ok, thanks for the info. I have recently taken over responsibility for our Cacti server (which has not had anyone maintaining it for quite some time now) so it is 8.7b.

In regards to keeping the Cacti version up to date, isn't there a chance that plugins that you use which have not been updated to be compatible for the latest PIA/Cacti because they are not being maintained won't work? - (I don't have a specific example so this is more of a hypothetical question).

This is relatively rare. There are a few cases like this for 0.8.7g, including Superlinks, and I know a bunch of other plugins have been updated by the Cacti team. I noticed this weekend that my Titlechanger plugin doesn't work anymore because the page titles have changed in g, too.

Going from b to e (ignore f) should be pretty straightforward. You might want to do a bit of research for your specific plugins, and perhaps wait a little while for problems to surface with g, since it's brand new.

As ever, it's a good idea to create a test install on a VM and test on that first. It also means you get to learn how the install works, since you didn't get to do it the first time.

Do you have to weigh up the options as to either having the latest version of Cacti or keeping your existing plugin set? Or, is Cacti and the PIA backwards compatible?

Unless you are using an unusual plugin that's no longer maintained, it shouldn't be a problem. In general, old plugins work with newer Cacti, but it depends on what the plugin does.

[Voiper99]

This is relatively rare. There are a few cases like this for 0.8.7g, including Superlinks, and I know a bunch of other plugins have been updated by the Cacti team. I noticed this weekend that my Titlechanger plugin doesn't work anymore because the page titles have changed in g, too.

Ah ok, thanks for the info.

Going from b to e (ignore f) should be pretty straightforward. You might want to do a bit of research for your specific plugins, and perhaps wait a little while for problems to surface with g, since it's brand new.

OK great. On my VM at home I am playing around with upgrading e to g as a learning experience, then once I have done that I will try from b to e (which should be pretty much the same process?) and then once I have built my confidence up I will do it on the production server at work (after haivng backed everything up of course)

Unless you are using an unusual plugin that's no longer maintained, it shouldn't be a problem. In general, old plugins work with newer Cacti, but it depends on what the plugin does.

Not a problem. I'd say this is just one of the things that you need to test in your test environment (amongst the other things) before you do the upgrade on your production box.