Unknown Host Item - Newbie question/error

[highway_fixer_man]

Hi,

I am trying to build a custom trigger to alert me if certain services stop working.

If I run this from the zabbix server (where MY_SERVICE_NAME is the name of the process I want to confirm is running, and MY_HOST is a remote host with IP 192.16.2.59):

zabbix_get -s 192.16.2.59 -k 'proc.num[MY_SERVICE_NAME]'

I get the desired result - 1 (Showing that there is one instance of this service running)


If i try and use this in the GUI to create a trigger, I get this error in the "expression constructor":

last(/MY_HOST/proc.num[MY_SERVICE_NAME]):Unknown host item, no such item in selected host

And if I click "Add" I get this error:

Incorrect item key "proc.num[MY_SERVICE_NAME]" provided for trigger expression on "MY_HOST".

Question: How do I turn my working zabbix_get command into a working trigger? I have several custom processes I need to monitor, and I believe this proc.num route is the right way to go - but if not, please correct me. I have read this page as suggested on other posts but while it does tell me things I didn't know, it doesn't show me how to properly format my trigger. From what I read on that page, I believe my formatting to be correct.

[highway_fixer_man]

Right...

I managed to work through this.

I first added an item:

1. Configuration -> Hosts -> Items (for the host I was testing on)
2. Create Item (Top right)
3. Gave it a name ("MY_SERVICE_NAME status" <- this is the name I gave it)
4. Set "Key" as follows :

proc.num[MY_SERVICE_NAME,my_user,all,MY_SERVICE_NAME]

5. Click "Add"

Now to create the trigger:

6. Configuration -> Hosts -> Triggers (for the host I was testing on)
7. Create Trigger (Top right)
8. Gave it a name ("MY_SERVICE_NAME is not running!!" <- this is the name I gave it)
9. Set Severity accordingly
10. Set "Expression" as follows:

last(/MY_HOST/proc.num[MY_SERVICE_NAME,my_user,all,MY_SERVICE_NAME])=0

11. Click "Add"

Works for me.

I now realize that I should have added the items and triggers to a template to make it easier to assign to other hosts. This will be my next task - but hopefully this helps someone else.

[highway_fixer_man]

Furthermore:

This zabbix_get command works just as well:

zabbix_get -s 192.16.2.59 -k 'proc.num[MY_SERVICE_NAME,my_user,all,MY_SERVICE_NAME]'

And this is 100% according to the docs here I believe.

When I try and add this as a trigger:

last(/MY_HOST/proc.num[MY_SERVICE_NAME,my_user,all,MY_SERVICE_NAME])=0

I get the same errors as before:

Expression Constructor:

last(/MY_HOST/proc.num[MY_SERVICE_NAME,my_user,all,MY_SERVICE_NAME]):Unknown host item, no such item in selected host

And the GUI:

Incorrect item key "proc.num[MY_SERVICE_NAME,my_user,all,MY_SERVICE_NAME]" provided for trigger expression on "MY_HOST".

Feel free to berate me for missing something - but I have tried very hard to get this working. I must be misunderstanding something big, or missing something small. Any advice or assistance appreciated.

[highway_fixer_man]

Right...

I managed to work through this.

I first added an item:

1. Configuration -> Hosts -> Items (for the host I was testing on)
2. Create Item (Top right)
3. Gave it a name ("MY_SERVICE_NAME status" <- this is the name I gave it)
4. Set "Key" as follows :

proc.num[MY_SERVICE_NAME,my_user,all,MY_SERVICE_NAME]

5. Click "Add"

Now to create the trigger:

6. Configuration -> Hosts -> Triggers (for the host I was testing on)
7. Create Trigger (Top right)
8. Gave it a name ("MY_SERVICE_NAME is not running!!" <- this is the name I gave it)
9. Set Severity accordingly
10. Set "Expression" as follows:

last(/MY_HOST/proc.num[MY_SERVICE_NAME,my_user,all,MY_SERVICE_NAME])=0

11. Click "Add"

Works for me.

I now realize that I should have added the items and triggers to a template to make it easier to assign to other hosts. This will be my next task - but hopefully this helps someone else.