Cereus IPAM – IP Address Management Plugin for Cacti
Cereus IPAM – IP Address Management for Cacti
Manage your IP address space without leaving Cacti. Track subnets, VLANs, VRFs, and individual addresses. Scan for live hosts, auto-link discovered devices to Cacti, import from phpIPAM or NetBox, and generate PDF capacity reports.
IPAM and Network Monitoring in One Place
Cereus IPAM brings IP address management into the Cacti interface you already use for monitoring. Instead of maintaining a separate IPAM tool with its own login, database, and user management, you manage your address space right next to the devices that use it.
Discovered devices are automatically cross-linked to Cacti host records. Subnet utilisation is tracked over time. Capacity forecasting warns you before you run out of address space. The full audit changelog records every change with timestamp and username.
The Community edition is free and covers IPv4 subnets, CSV import, automatic Cacti device linking, and the subnet calculator. Professional and Enterprise add IPv6, VLANs, active scanning, multi-tenancy, DHCP monitoring, and much more.
Subnet Management with Utilization
From Basic Tracking to Full IPAM Lifecycle
Subnet Hierarchy
Organise subnets into sections with parent-child relationships. Drill from a /8 summary down to individual /30 point-to-point links. Visual utilisation bars show fill levels at every layer of the hierarchy.
Active Network Scanning
Trigger ICMP ping sweeps directly from the Cacti UI. Scan results auto-populate the address table with discovered hosts, MAC addresses from ARP tables, and DNS hostnames. Link discovered IPs to existing Cacti devices in one click.
IPv4 & IPv6 Support
Full dual-stack address management. IPv6 prefix lengths, EUI-64 address generation, and proper subnet math via PHP’s GMP extension — no PEAR dependencies, no address calculation quirks on large prefixes.
phpIPAM & NetBox Import
Migrate from phpIPAM or NetBox by uploading a CSV export. The secure importer maps fields, validates addresses, and skips duplicates. Bring years of existing IPAM data in minutes.
PDF Capacity Reports
Generate PDF reports showing current utilisation, forecast days-to-exhaustion, top subnets by fill level, and recent allocation activity. Schedule reports to be emailed automatically to a distribution list.
Visual Network Maps
D3.js tile map shows every IP in a /24 as a coloured grid — green (free), orange (reserved), red (in use). Hilbert curve heatmap (Enterprise) visualises /16 blocks as a space-filling curve. Export to PNG.
Visual IP Address Tile Map
The D3.js tile map shows at a glance which addresses are free, reserved, or in use — with tooltips showing hostname and linked Cacti device.
Pricing
| Feature | Community Free | Professional Contact for pricing | Enterprise Contact for pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subnets | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| IP Protocol | IPv4 | IPv4 + IPv6 | IPv4 + IPv6 |
| VLANs & VRFs | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Active Network Scanning | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDF Reports & Scheduled Email | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| phpIPAM / NetBox Import | CSV (500 rows) | ✓ (unlimited) | ✓ (unlimited) |
| Visual Network Maps | — | Tile Map | Tile Map + Hilbert |
| DHCP Scope Monitoring | — | — | ✓ |
| Multi-Tenancy | — | — | ✓ |
| LDAP / AD Group RBAC | — | — | ✓ |
Everything at a Glance
The IPAM dashboard surfaces the metrics that matter most:
- Total addresses managed, allocated and free
- Top 10 subnets by current utilisation
- Capacity forecast: days until critical subnets are full
- Recent allocation changes and address state transitions
- Active scan status and last scan timestamps
- Maintenance window schedule
IPAM Dashboard
Technical Requirements
- Cacti: 1.2.17 or newer
- PHP: 7.4 or newer (8.x recommended)
- PHP GMP Extension: Required for IPv6 subnet math (replaces PEAR Net_IPv4)
- Cereus License Manager: Required for Professional and Enterprise editions
- Network Scanning: Requires PHP exec permission and system ping command
- Database: MySQL 5.7+ / MariaDB 10.3+
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Cereus IPAM replace phpIPAM?
For teams already using Cacti, yes. Cereus IPAM provides the core IPAM lifecycle — subnet management, address tracking, scanning, VLANs, and reporting — integrated into the Cacti UI. The phpIPAM/NetBox importer makes migration straightforward.
Can Cereus IPAM auto-create Cacti devices when a new IP is discovered?
Scanning links discovered IPs to existing Cacti devices where the IP matches. Creating new Cacti devices from scan results is on the roadmap for a future release.
How does capacity forecasting work?
The plugin records daily subnet utilisation snapshots. It fits a linear trend to the last 30 days and extrapolates to estimate how many days until the subnet reaches a configurable warning threshold. Subnets trending toward exhaustion are highlighted on the dashboard.
Is multi-tenancy suitable for MSPs?
Yes. Enterprise multi-tenancy isolates subnets and addresses per tenant, with tenant-scoped user access. Each tenant sees only their own data. A global admin sees everything. LDAP/AD group mapping allows tenant access to be driven from your directory.
Can I import from spreadsheets?
Yes. The CSV importer accepts any properly structured CSV file in addition to phpIPAM and NetBox export formats. The import screen documents the required column headers.
Stop Managing IP Addresses in Spreadsheets
Free for up to 10 subnets. No registration required. Your entire IP space in Cacti.