[3] Cacti allows a user to poll services at predetermined intervals and graph the resulting data.

It is generally used to graph time-series data of metrics such as CPU load and network bandwidth utilization.

Cacti is primarily used by Telco providers and Network Operation Centers throughout the world in addition to being the heart of the commercial Spectrum LSF RTM solution which monitors High Performance Computing (HPC) clusters based on IBM LSF product.

[11][12] Berry was inspired to start the project while working for a small ISP while also still in high school, learning PHP and MySQL.

During this development, The Cacti Group stepped up to deliver on much of the promised capabilities on their roadmap including; Multiple Data Collectors; Improved Graph, Device, Template and Tree Security including User Group level permissions; Multiple Data Collection intervals; Site support; and Improved Tree Management and Performant capabilities.

The GitHub community additionally grew and there are now several dozen developers working on perfecting the 1.x release for use in homes, small companies and enterprises throughout the globe.