Table of Contents
4 Key differences of Zabbix Cloud
Comparison table
While most of the functionality overlaps between on-premise Zabbix installations and cloud nodes, there are also differences. A summary comparison table is provided below. Subsequent sections describe selected items in detail.
| Feature / Aspect | Zabbix Cloud | Zabbix on‑premises |
|---|---|---|
| Release cycle | In step with LTS releases | You choose your Zabbix version (stable, beta, custom builds) |
| Ease of use | Ready-to-use platform, fully managed by Zabbix | Requires installation, configuration and maintenance |
| Vulnerability patching | Automatic OS/Zabbix patching | Manual patching by user |
| HTTPS certificate | Valid certificate out‑of‑the‑box (no Let's Encrypt) | Self‑signed by default (Let's Encrypt or other CA can be configured) |
| DB performance (INSERT/UPDATE/SELECT) |
Auto‑partitioning for max speed; no long-running DELETEs | Manual partitioning & cleanup (long DELETE transactions possible) |
| Performance tuning | Pre‑tuned by Zabbix Cloud team (no changelogs) | Full visibility & control over tuning parameters |
| Firewall control | Managed by Zabbix Cloud team; GUI/trapper ports not exposed publicly | Full control of firewall rules and port exposure |
| DB isolation & protection | Highly isolated, no direct DB/SSH access | Depends on your network and host security |
| High availability (HA) | Runs on a highly-available cloud platform, Zabbix proxies can be used for higher data-collection resilience |
User-managed HA |
| SNMP traps | Only via dedicated proxy (no HA/load‑balanced trap receiver) | Direct or via proxy, HA/load‑balance possible |
| SNMP polling | Hard without proxies (each device needs NAT/custom port) | Native SNMP polling; proxy optional |
| Retention settings | History/Trends/Audit only via UI (no API or configuration file) | Configurable in Zabbix server configuration file or via API |
| Custom scripts | AlertScriptsPath, ExternalScripts, frontend & community modules not supported |
Fully supported (scripts path, modules, integrations) |
| ODBC monitoring | Only PostgreSQL (driver {postgresql}); MariaDB plugin present as a placeholder |
ODBC for PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, etc. - fully configurable |
| Limiting ODBC calls | Not possible (StartODBCPollers=1 only; heavy sync queries block other work) |
Fully tunable poller count & scheduling |
| SAML certificate upload | Not supported | Supported via UI or API |
| Scheduled reports | Must create own Email media (script media unsupported) | Supports both script and Email media out‑of‑the‑box |
| Host interface for active checks | Platform-issued IP address (created automatically) | Interfaces managed by you; IPs under your control |
Feature differences
SNMP traps
SNMP traps are only supported through a dedicated Zabbix proxy. If SNMP trap monitoring is required, automated load balancing or high availability for the proxy cannot be used because SNMP traps must be sent to a single IP address.
SNMP polling
Without proxies, SNMP polling requires each device to be exposed via NAT and custom ports.
Retention settings
History, trend, and audit log retention periods can be configured only via the web interface in the cloud. These settings cannot be configured through zabbix_server.conf or the API.
Manual per-item history overrides are not supported (partitioning is controlled globally). Cloud node URLs do not accept the same query parameters as an on-premise installations.
Custom scripts
The following custom script types are not supported by Zabbix Cloud:
- Alert scripts (
AlertScriptsPath) - External scripts (
ExternalScripts) - Frontend scripts on Zabbix Server
Community-developed frontend modules cannot be installed.
ODBC monitoring
Zabbix Cloud supports ODBC monitoring only for PostgreSQL. Use the official Zabbix ODBC template and define the connection string in the template using:
A MariaDB plugin is also installed but currently not functional. If used, define:
There is no known working configuration for Oracle MySQL 8.0 in Zabbix Cloud. While simple queries (such as SELECT 1) may succeed, more complex queries return SQL_ERROR.
It is not possible to limit ODBC calls (StartODBCPollers=1 only). Heavy synchronous reporting may impact performance, and only a single SELECT can run at a time.
Infrastructure access
Zabbix Cloud does not provide SSH access to the underlying nodes, nor does it permit direct database connections (for example, to port 3306). All configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting activities must be carried out via the cloud UI or API, ensuring that the OS and database layers remain isolated and secured.
Active check interface
Active checks in the cloud automatically create a host interface with an IP unrelated to your on-premise network. By default, this IP may be external. To maintain consistency, you can manually delete or adjust the host interface after creation.
SAML certificate upload
SAML authentication is not supported because few providers accept unencrypted or unsigned SAML messages.
Scheduled reports
The default Cloud Email media type uses a script transport and cannot be used for scheduled reports. To send reports by email:
- Create a new Email media type.
- Assign the email media to your user in User settings > Media.
- Select that media type when configuring scheduled reports.