poller.php exec() problem

[web wheeler]

I just installed Cacti and I'm getting this message from poller.php:

Warning: exec() has been disabled for security reasons in /usr/share/cacti/lib/poller.php on line 125

I couldn't find anything in the Cacti documentation that said anything about configuring php to allow exec().

So, what would be the best way to resolve this problem?

I'm running PHP Version 5.2.6 in Fedora 9 (Kernel Linux 2.6.27.5-37.fc9.i686).

Thanks for your suggestions!

[plikadida]

check php.ini file and see if exec command has been disabled there....

[web wheeler]

Of course my php.ini file disables the exec() command. Exec() and other system calls in PHP, running under Fedora, are disabled by default.

Enabling exec() in php has its problems as well. However, what I'm wondering is why there is nothing in the Cacti documentation that addresses this issue and if enabling exec() in the php.ini file is the recommended solution?

[cigamit]

Yes, enabling exec is required. PHP provides us with that function, and we use it. Disabling functions in PHP has the ability to break any application. We can not provide a work around for it being disabled (such as use shell_exec instead) since they might just go and disable that one too. It would be like a Cat and Mouse game.

We don't provide specific Vendor information such as "For Fedora check to ensure exec is enabled in your php.ini" as we can not keep track of all the changes Distro Vendors make to their internal settings. It is your responsibility to ensure your server is setup correctly to run the application.

That and I wouldn't recommend Fedora to run even my test boxes on. I still have nightmares from when I used to use it.