Cacti vs sFlowTrend

Cacti is a free, self-hosted network graphing and operational monitoring framework built around RRDtool. It collects data through SNMP object identifiers or scripts, which can retrieve database information or run other code. Availability checks cover SNMP, ICMP, TCP, and UDP. Discovery and automation can create graphs and data sources, while Remote Data Collectors distribute collection and cache data during network interruptions. Graph items support line, area, stacked, horizontal-rule, vertical-rule, print, and comment types. Device templates connect devices with graph templates and data queries, and plugins can extend collection to other protocols, with WMI listed as an example. Role-based management covers users, groups, and domains. Cacti supports SNMP versions 1, 2, and 3, with a documented limitation for advanced SNMPv3 settings such as SHA224+ or AES192+ when PHP SNMP is used. It is available for Linux/Unix and Windows. Installation requires MySQL, PHP, RRDtool, Net-SNMP, and a PHP-capable web server such as Apache or IIS.

sFlowTrend is a graphical tool for monitoring network and server activity, including leading network users and applications in real time. It uses sFlow and extensions to connect network, server, and application performance information. It can help identify bandwidth use, unusual traffic, host CPU and memory utilization, and usage trends for upgrade planning. Monitoring requires switches or hosts that send data using the sFlow standard. The software is written in Java and requires Java 11 or later; available downloads include Windows, Linux installers and packages, and a Docker image. From version 7.0, users connect to an installed server through a web client over HTTP or HTTPS. The free plan supports at most five switches or hosts and stores one hour of data in memory. The license permits one copy and bars commercial use without separate written authorization and applicable fees. It provides the software as-is without warranty. Pricing is available on request for other use.