New to zabbix

[Jmatrix]

hey

i have a site with several servers with no connection to the main site .

how i monitor the site ?

now i am using some different monitoring program and i have probes on my other sites and through the internet they send my the data .

i sure it easy to do on zabbix as well but i couldn't find how

[Jmatrix]

any one know how it's done ?

[Atsushi]

If you can be placed server somewhere that a possible connection to both the network want to monitoring and the main site, it might be resolved by using the Zabbix proxy.

[timbo]

Hi Jmatrix,

If you mean no direct (aka VPN) access to the (Zabbix Server) site, but access to a public (Internet Accessible) IP is possible, then you could use Active Agents at the remote sites.

Active Agents make outbound connections to communicate with the Zabbix Server, the server does not initiate connections to the Active Agents.

When the Active Agent connects to the Zabbix Server, it will download a list of checks it needs to perform, then will send the results back when it has completed the checks.

See the documentation regarding active agents here:

https://www.zabbix.com/documentation/2.4/manual/concepts/agent

https://www.zabbix.com/documentation/2.4/manual/appendix/items/activepassive#active_checks

Good luck!

-Timbo

[Jmatrix]

Hi Jmatrix,

If you mean no direct (aka VPN) access to the (Zabbix Server) site, but access to a public (Internet Accessible) IP is possible, then you could use Active Agents at the remote sites.

Active Agents make outbound connections to communicate with the Zabbix Server, the server does not initiate connections to the Active Agents.

When the Active Agent connects to the Zabbix Server, it will download a list of checks it needs to perform, then will send the results back when it has completed the checks.

See the documentation regarding active agents here:

https://www.zabbix.com/documentation/2.4/manual/concepts/agent

https://www.zabbix.com/documentation/2.4/manual/appendix/items/activepassive#active_checks

Good luck!

-Timbo

that what i was looking for thanks alot

but how i use it on windows server ?

[timbo]

Hi Jmatrix,

You can find details about installing the Zabbix Agent on Windows systems here:

https://www.zabbix.com/documentation/2.4/manual/appendix/install/windows_agent

There are thousands of different ways to install Zabbix Agents, the following is just one way to install it manually. Everyone's needs are different, and I suggest you make adjustments to this guide to meet your own needs.

Getting the Agent:
1. Download the "Windows (All)" agent from here: http://www.zabbix.com/download.php (Under the "Zabbix pre-compiled agents" heading)
2. Extract the contents to a temporary directory
3. Note there are two directories - "bin" (binaries) and "conf" (configuration)

Setting up the config file:
1. In the "conf" directory you will find the Configuration file "zabbix_agentd.win.conf", rename it to "zabbix_agentd.conf" (the expected default name)
2. Open the config file (in WordPad - Notepad strips the new lines)
3. Find and update at least these three settings: Server, ServerActive and Hostname. Server and ServerActive will be your Zabbix Server IP Address, Hostname will be the Windows Server reference/name. You will need to add ServerActive as a new line (or uncomment it by removing the leading #), as it is not enabled by default
4. Save and close the config file (if it prompts you about it being saved in a "Text-only" format, just click "Yes")
5. Copy/Move it to C:\zabbix_agentd.conf (the expected default location)

Setting up the agent file:
1. In the "bin" directory you will find two more folders "win32" and "win64" (32-bit and 64-bit). Open the folder that is appropriate for your Processor/Operating System. Checks may not work correctly if you install the incorrect version.
2. Create a folder named "Zabbix" in "C:\Program Files\" (win64) or "C:\Program Files (x86)\" (win32), then copy the "zabbix_agentd.exe" file into it.
So you should have something like this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe
OR
C:\Program Files\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe

Installing the agent:
1. Open an elevated command prompt (i.e. with administrative rights) and type one of the following:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe" -install
OR
"C:\Program Files\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe" -install
(with quotes)
This would have installed the Zabbix Agent as a Service
2. You will be able to stop and start the service from the "Services" MMC, or by running the following command:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe" -start
OR
"C:\Program Files\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe" -start

I'm going to assume you know how to create a Host and Items via the Zabbix Web Interface, but as you probably know, you will need a "Host" set up with the same name you specified for the "Hostname" parameter in the "zabbix_agentd.conf" file.

The other thing you'll need to check is that your Items have the "Type" set to "Zabbix Agent (Active)". So you may need to manually create some "Zabbix Agent (Active)" Items as the default Zabbix Templates are just "Zabbix Agent".

Good luck! Hope this helps.

Anyone else stumbling across this post - please, join the forums, let me know if this helped you, and of course, try and help out others where you can.

-Timbo

[timbo]

I tried to edit my original post to include this, but it wouldn't let me


You'll also need to make sure there are no firewall rules in place that will block the network traffic from the Zabbix Active Agent to the Zabbix Server. The Zabbix Agent needs to connect to the Zabbix server on port 10051.

On the Zabbix Agent end, you'll need to ensure Outbound port "10051" is open (lets face it, most organisations allow everything outbound).
On the Zabbix Server end, you'll need to ensure Inbound port "10051" is open (you can restrict this with a IP Address whitelist if you're dealing with static IP Addresses).

BTW, at the moment Zabbix traffic is unencrypted (encryption is coming in a future release). While most organisations will see this as an acceptable risk, it is something to keep in mind.

If you're still having trouble, you can test connectivity with Telnet:
Zabbix Server port 10051
Zabbix Agent port 10050

-Timbo

[Jmatrix]

Hi Jmatrix,

You can find details about installing the Zabbix Agent on Windows systems here:

https://www.zabbix.com/documentation/2.4/manual/appendix/install/windows_agent

There are thousands of different ways to install Zabbix Agents, the following is just one way to install it manually. Everyone's needs are different, and I suggest you make adjustments to this guide to meet your own needs.

Getting the Agent:
1. Download the "Windows (All)" agent from here: http://www.zabbix.com/download.php (Under the "Zabbix pre-compiled agents" heading)
2. Extract the contents to a temporary directory
3. Note there are two directories - "bin" (binaries) and "conf" (configuration)

Setting up the config file:
1. In the "conf" directory you will find the Configuration file "zabbix_agentd.win.conf", rename it to "zabbix_agentd.conf" (the expected default name)
2. Open the config file (in WordPad - Notepad strips the new lines)
3. Find and update at least these three settings: Server, ServerActive and Hostname. Server and ServerActive will be your Zabbix Server IP Address, Hostname will be the Windows Server reference/name. You will need to add ServerActive as a new line (or uncomment it by removing the leading #), as it is not enabled by default
4. Save and close the config file (if it prompts you about it being saved in a "Text-only" format, just click "Yes")
5. Copy/Move it to C:\zabbix_agentd.conf (the expected default location)

Setting up the agent file:
1. In the "bin" directory you will find two more folders "win32" and "win64" (32-bit and 64-bit). Open the folder that is appropriate for your Processor/Operating System. Checks may not work correctly if you install the incorrect version.
2. Create a folder named "Zabbix" in "C:\Program Files\" (win64) or "C:\Program Files (x86)\" (win32), then copy the "zabbix_agentd.exe" file into it.
So you should have something like this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe
OR
C:\Program Files\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe

Installing the agent:
1. Open an elevated command prompt (i.e. with administrative rights) and type one of the following:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe" -install
OR
"C:\Program Files\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe" -install
(with quotes)
This would have installed the Zabbix Agent as a Service
2. You will be able to stop and start the service from the "Services" MMC, or by running the following command:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe" -start
OR
"C:\Program Files\Zabbix\zabbix_agentd.exe" -start

I'm going to assume you know how to create a Host and Items via the Zabbix Web Interface, but as you probably know, you will need a "Host" set up with the same name you specified for the "Hostname" parameter in the "zabbix_agentd.conf" file.

The other thing you'll need to check is that your Items have the "Type" set to "Zabbix Agent (Active)". So you may need to manually create some "Zabbix Agent (Active)" Items as the default Zabbix Templates are just "Zabbix Agent".

Good luck! Hope this helps.

Anyone else stumbling across this post - please, join the forums, let me know if this helped you, and of course, try and help out others where you can.

-Timbo

thank you alot i will try doing it

[Jmatrix]

I tried to edit my original post to include this, but it wouldn't let me


You'll also need to make sure there are no firewall rules in place that will block the network traffic from the Zabbix Active Agent to the Zabbix Server. The Zabbix Agent needs to connect to the Zabbix server on port 10051.

On the Zabbix Agent end, you'll need to ensure Outbound port "10051" is open (lets face it, most organisations allow everything outbound).
On the Zabbix Server end, you'll need to ensure Inbound port "10051" is open (you can restrict this with a IP Address whitelist if you're dealing with static IP Addresses).

BTW, at the moment Zabbix traffic is unencrypted (encryption is coming in a future release). While most organisations will see this as an acceptable risk, it is something to keep in mind.

If you're still having trouble, you can test connectivity with Telnet:
Zabbix Server port 10051
Zabbix Agent port 10050

-Timbo

I managed to install the agent on the server that is not on my network
i see in the firewall that the agent is sending .

but on the zabbix server i see that the agent in unreachable

[timbo]

Hi Jmatrix,

Active agents do not change the Availability Status on the Zabbix server. The Red/Green "Z" in the Availability column is used to report the status of connecting to Zabbix Passive Agents only (not Zabbix Active Agents).

I have many Active Agents, and all four Availability Status squares are grey. Are any values coming though to your "Zabbix agent (active)" Items?

It sounds like you may have some "Zabbix agent" Items set up for that Host, you'll need to change them to "Zabbix agent (active)" Items. If you're using templates, you may need to remove the template and manually create the Items, or adjust the Items in the template accordingly.

Hope this helps.

-Timbo